By Mansfield Frazier
In spite of the fact citizens of Ohio resoundingly and overwhelmingly repudiated the union-busting Senate Bill 5 (which, among other things, took away unions’ right to collectively bargain) that Gov. Kasich rammed through the Republican-dominated Legislature, progressives — if they’re not mindful — still might find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory as they move forward and attempt to build on their stunning and nationally important win.
The night before the Nov. 8 election, the issue of lack of full racial inclusion in politics (something minority politicians and activists have been seething and quietly complaining about for years in Ohio, as well as in many other states) was brought into sharp relief as MSNBC’s liberal-leaning The Ed Show was broadcast from Columbus. Set against the backdrop of hundreds of placard-waving union members of all races and both genders, and displaying all of the zeal and grassroots fervor of political rallies of old, Ed Schultz interviewed 11 union people on the air — astoundingly, all 11 of them white.
The progressive leadership in Ohio that allowed this unfortunate omission of persons of color to occur (Schultz’s producers, who always are racially inclusive, didn’t select who would go in front of the camera, the union folks in Ohio did) might tend to dismiss this lack of inclusion as trivial or minor, but to minorities it certainly isn’t, and the fact it occurred at all is indicative of a deeper, ongoing problem on the Left. Just imagine if all of the folks Schultz interviewed that night had been persons of color… the outrage would have been thunderous, and rightly so.
Immediately after the show concluded, phones and other communications devices of many of the loyal blacks who worked very hard to assure victory in the statewide campaign to defeat the onerous bill went into apoplectic overdrive. They were, once again, loudly complaining about the lack of diversity in regards to the public faces of this and other campaigns, but, as usual, only among themselves. While they were stunned, hurt and humiliated… they were not surprised. They’ve experienced many similar slights, both overt and subtle, over the decades. However, it’s now time for them to go public with their justified grievances. The last thing progressives should want is for disgruntled minorities to stay at home on future election days.
While this recent attack on workers was defeated by a historically wide margin at the polls, future votes won’t be as lopsided, and progressives will need to keep everyone, minorities included, engaged and energized to carry this victory forward to the next election… and indeed, to elections far into the future.
The failure to include minorities was not the result of some Machiavellian plot on the part of anyone in a leadership role in Ohio — it simply was the result of small-minded, amateurish planning and oversight by some racially tone-deaf operatives. True media professionals simply don’t make these kinds of juvenile mistakes.
What progressives in Ohio (and probably other states) obviously need is a “diversity consultant.” Someone empowered to point out their sins of omission before they occur in public for the entire world to see. Failure to pay attention to this detail could prove to be the margin of failure in some future campaign.
The sad fact is, in spite of the progress we’ve made in this arena since the beginning of the civil rights movement, diversity and inclusion often doesn’t occur on its own in America — it still has to be assiduously worked at, and professionals at messaging understand this fact and have learned to act proactively.
Major corporations and other organizations assign someone to assure that everyone, every group, is fairly represented in every instance. Progressives need to follow suit, lest they continually slip up and from time to time look like the virtually all-white Party on the right they often castigate. This isn’t about sour grapes or political correctness — it’s simply about designing and improving upon strategies that can assure future consistent wins for progressives.
The Shadow Box at Karamu
What happens when you put the Pulitzer-prize winning words of an accomplished playwright in the mouths of seasoned thespians under the guidance of an artistic director at the height of his craft? Magic… that’s what happens.
In this age of Tyler Perry foolishness, where people are seeking cheap, lowbrow, escapist chuckles as a means to avoid the harsh realities facing citizens and our nation, it takes real courage for a majority Black theatre company to tackle a play as challenging as Michael Cristofer’s The Shadow Box — an up-close examination of dying. But, conversely, the timing perhaps could not be better to put the travails of the day into perspective with a staged look at one of the two things all humans have in common: Death. The only other commonality we all share is birth.
So, your 401K is tanking, you’ve lost your job, you’re hiding your car each night from the repo man, your house is in foreclosure, your medical bills are piling up, and your teenager is getting higher than Charles Manson… is this what’s got your boxer shorts all in a bunch, buddy? Well, things could be worse and this brilliant 1977 play will put it all in perspective: At least you’re not one of the residents of a hospice like the three Cristofer protagonists… who, during the course of the evening, set out to teach us this one major life lesson: The only way we learn how to truly live… is by learning how to die… to make peace with our own eventual demise.
This tale moves so seamlessly between these finely drawn characters it’s quite literally impossible to single out one or two performers without doing a disservice to the remainder of the cast… they truly all were magnificent. Director Terrance Spivey gave them what they needed in terms of great direction, the freedom to express and face their emotions head-on, the solid boards of Karamu on which to practice their craft, and the picture perfect set design… with the result being nothing short of spellbinding.
Actors spend their careers attempting to get inside the heads of characters they usually have nothing or little in common with, but with this play they certainly do. While two of Cristofer’s characters might be suffering from diseases that are taking their lives far too prematurely, we all — thespians included — will one day face the same destiny. This fact, I think, allows the cast members to delve deeper inside their wellsprings of emotions.
As Dylan Thomas wrote:
Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Cristofer’s theatrical device of having all three hospice patients and their families on stage at the same time in three distinct settings magnifies the emotions to the point that, by the time the resolutions occur, the tension is as taunt as the string on a crossbow… making the device of having the actors at the end of the play stand on stage, face the audience and essentially explain to them what they’ve just witnessed completely superfluous. That minor issue aside, Karamu’s production of The Shadow Box is great, provocative, thought-provoking entertainment… but only for sentient, thinking adults.
It runs though the weekend in Karamu’s Arena Theatre.
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://www.neighborhoodsolutionsinc.com.
2 Responses to “MANSFIELD: How Progressives Can Still Manage to Lose at the Grassroots Level”
James
I would caution your use of the word “progressives” in regards to the supporters of SB 5.
Unions aren’t necessarily progressive today. They certainly have been in the past, but today I’d argue that their main goal is fighting for their own membership, not progressive ideals per se.
In the case of state employee unions and SB 5, that membership is largely better educated, better paid and less diverse than Ohio as a whole.
Essentially, the defeat of SB 5 is the victory of Ohioans making $25/hr convincing Ohioans who make $15/hr to vote and pay for the formers’ interests.
That isn’t a progressive outcome.
Art McKoy
Brother Art is volunteering for this “diversity consultant” gig. Who better to show the way? Bullhorn in the left hand while the other is extended out. A brother needs to eat, ya know.
BTW, I like that there Tyler Perry foolishness. It reminds me of life ’round the Superfly.