February is Black History Month, a time to celebrate and recognize achievements made by African Americans. This year, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History selected African Americans and the Arts as the month’s theme to honor the influence African American culture has had on the arts throughout history.
On their website, ASALH wrote, “For centuries Western intellectuals denied or minimized the contributions of people of African descent to the arts as well as history, even as their artistry in many genres was mimicked and/or stolen.”
Derek Charles Livingston, the director of new play developments for the Utah Shakespeare Festival and an African American artist himself, said, “There would be no American music without the influence of people of African descent and those who were brought here enslaved.”
He gave the example of the banjo, an instrument brought to America with enslaved people, explaining, “The banjo gave way to the guitar, to the bass guitar, the electric guitar, the acoustic guitar — a direct lineage from the influence of African people.”
Not only has African American culture shaped the field of art, but African Americans have a unique experience with the arts, which is acknowledged with the selection of this theme.
“I think one of the things that may distinguish me as an African American artist particularly is an affinity and natural inclination for works of other African American artists,” Livingston said. “I am as schooled in the works of Shakespeare and Ibsen and Shaw as I am in the works of African American playwrights.”
Because of their history, African Americans have had an important story to tell through art. The ASALH website explains that, because of their suffering, enslaved people of color created spirituals, and in the 1970s, African Americans created the genre of hip-hop as a medium to express the unique circumstances they were facing.
“You have this philosophy that all people are created equal and everyone is guaranteed their unalienable rights — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — and I think, through the arts, Americans are constantly being reminded that the promise is written… but it has not been guaranteed,” said Livingston.
Livingston shared that this is why he is so disheartened by the new anti-DEI legislation being passed in Utah: H.B. 257 and H.B. 261. Livingston believes these laws would strip students in DEI programs of their voice on campus, but perspectives and stories coming from people of color and minorities are just as important as the more prominent perspectives in Utah.
With Cedar City being the host of the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the community has a strong connection to the arts.
“The Utah Shakespeare Festival for the first 59 years of its history didn’t produce a play by a playwright of color,” Livingston said. “For the past four years, there has been at least one African American playwright represented in our offerings. It’s a small change because I think the festival is decades behind, but it is an acknowledgement.”
This designated month and theme allow Southern Utah University to acknowledge the influence of African American history on the arts and highlight those voices around campus.
Author: Heather Turner
Photos courtesy of the Utah Shakespeare Festival
Editor: Tessa Cheshire
arts@suunews.net
