By La Tanya Harry
Howard University English Professor Sandra Shannon compared Montgomery Fellow August Wilson's play, "Joe Turner's Come and Gone," to Debbie Allen and Steven Spielberg's film "Amistad" Thursday for a 30-person audience in Alumni Hall.
Shannon said both works described the preservation of African culture in America, which she said is important because, "We cannot move forward unless we know where we came from."
In "Joe Turner's Come and Gone," the protagonist, Loomis, is kidnapped for seven years by Turner and forced to work for him. When Loomis returns to his family, his wife no longer wants him and he is forced to take care of his daughter by himself.
The two works seem to feed off each other, she said. "Amistad" tells the story of a group of slaves who come to America and fight for their freedom in an American courtroom. While they are in America, the slaves are introduced to Christianity by a group of missionaries. Although the main slave character, Cinque, and another slave are intrigued by the pictures of Christ, they never conform to Christianity but remain true to their gods.
"Joe Turner's Come and Gone" picks up where "Amistad" left off, with Loomis as the "symbol of Black America at the turn of the century," Shannon said.
Unlike Cinque and the other slaves, blacks at this time have accepted Christianity as their religion. Loomis is, in fact, a deacon at a Christian church.
In both works, the need to return to one's roots is the central theme. When Loomis questions why God has wronged him, he denounces the Christian faith by slicing his chest. This is considered an intolerable act in Christian religion.
In "Amistad," Cinque, wears a lion's tooth around his neck, which he received as a reward for killing the village lion. Now that he is in America, Cinque makes sure the lion's tooth is always with him as it serves as a reminder of and a connection to his home in Africa.
Shannon continued by showing how even in America all the characters kept part of their heritage with them. In "Amistad," Cinque comes across an African violet while walking through John Quincy Adams's flower garden. The flower causes him to conjure up memories of home. Shannon said that "like the flower, Cinque knows that he too must endure this new world and change."
In the play, several characters practice African traditions such as sprinkling salt on the threshold and dancing the Juba around the table, she said.
Shannon said she felt that "both works allow us to remember what many want to forget [about our past]." She said she also felt these works "invite us to grapple with the stories of those who have gone before us."
Although she said she found both works intriguing, Shannon seemed more receptive to Wilson's play than the film. "Thematically, ["Amistad"] is poor," she said. "Cinque is made into a hero."
"Debbie Allen was inspired to create the film 'Amistad' from a collection of essays entitled 'Amistad' she found in a Howard University bookstore. However, Wilson received his inspiration from his own personal experiences," she said.
During the question and answer period, Shannon called off quotes and other bits of information about Wilson's work from memory.
