Black Power’s epigram: transatlantic radicals at the turn of the century

Millette, Holly-Gale (2014) Black Power’s epigram: transatlantic radicals at the turn of the century. British Association of American Studies (BAAS), University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom. 10 - 13 Apr 2014.

Abstract

In October of 1903 the Williams & Walker touring collective opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London in In Dahomey – the most economically and critically successful of all the turn of the century black theatricals. Its success does not entirely chime with its content: the show was entirely anchored by the ‘Uplift’ of a race, the subversion of imperialism, and diasporic identities seeking legitimate power. To succeed, the politically active cast engaged in a double-consciousness of presentation to ‘sell’ a show whose main premise was the legitimation of PanAfricanism and repatriation. This paper speculates on their engagement with European and American radicals of their time and argues their place in the cultural geography of transatlantic racial radials in the twentieth century. My thoughts are that personal pain led them to act collectively to subvert popular entertainment in a two-way cathartic dance of resistance. The Company’s success placed them, on their return, at the pinnacle of Harlem Renaissance’s elite, a group of people and an epoch that burnt fast and died young. However, the strides they made toward radicalising their brethren and uplifting their race were quite long ones. I see their story as an epigram to the narrative of their race’s politicisation and expressions of Black Power later in the century.

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Contributors

Author: Holly-Gale Millette

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