TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: Facing tragedy as part of maturity

Can tragedy help us grow to maturity?

The Canopy Roads Theater Company is presenting a staged version of Harper Lee's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD at Tallahassee's Goodwood Museum on November 10^th, 11^th and 12^th, 2015 at 7:00 PM.   MOCKINGBIRD tells the story of Jean-Louise “Scout” Finch, a spunky and tomboyish ten year old girl who witnesses the ugliness of racism in her small Alabama town, circa 1935.  Atticus Finch - her father - unsuccessfully defends a Black man falsely accused of raping a White woman.   By the story's end, Scout learns that ignorance is usually the basis of fear and that tradition and selfishness often negate freedom, justice and truth. But she also learns the power of love and empathy.

I play Reverend Sykes in this production; in addition, I once played a gender-reversed version of Scout in a freshman acting class at the High School of the Performing Arts, my alma mater. The irony of the latter should be obvious: I am Black, having been born and reared in New York City. My two parent family was solidly middle class and “Jim Crow” was not a factor in my childhood (although his cousin, “Sir James Crowe, esquire” certainly was). Still, tragedy factored into my upbringing.

One of my earliest memories was of an accident that occurred in Jamaica, N.Y., when I was four or five years old. A speeding car crossed the line and crashed head-on into a mid-sized box truck. My uncle hoisted me onto his shoulders above the spectators, to peer inside the car.  I distinctly remember that the crowd and the uninjured truck driver were all Black, while the dead auto driver and her two or three deceased young children were White. I remember their contorted bodies, which were smashed and splattered against what was left of the car's dashboard and windshield.

Despite my mother's overprotective nature, I still dealt with many other tragedies. One of my childhood friends died of an internal infection. When I was in the second grade, one of my classmates was killed while playing on the tracks of the Long Island Railroad. In 1973, a neighborhood boy named Clifford Glover – age ten - was shot in the back by N.Y.P.D. police officer Thomas Shea. Shea was eventually acquitted via the standard Thin Blue Line excuse - “The kid had a gun!” - even though no gun was ever produced. Later still, my teenage cousin was murdered by her boyfriend; likewise, I have known and buried too many other young people who died young, usually from murder or drugs or disease. I consider all of these events to be an integral part of my childhood.

In this adaptation of MOCKINGBIRD, Rev. Sykes tells Scout's brother to “Take Miss Jean Louise home now...These things aint fit for her to hear!” in response to the lurid testimony of an avowed racist. Scout does not leave. In this way, Harper Lee reminds us that Life cannot be ignored; that any genteel civility that covers evil must be scrutinized and stripped away. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD serves as the mirror that we must face, if we are to continue to live and grow and thrive.

MOCKINGBIRD will be presented at the Goodwood's Museum's Carriage House on November 10^th, 11^th and 12^th at 7:00 PM. For ticket information please go to: www.goodwoodmuseum.org or call (850) 877-4202.