Column: Moving performance, unsatisfying discussion
A cast of 14 performed a staged reading of “For Bo” by Ayvaunn Penn, based on the murder of Botham Jean by officer Amber Guyer and and the trial that followed.
Part of USC Aiken’s Black History Month events, this reading took place in the Etherredge Center on Feb. 21, joining a national movement to build awareness of the issues the play raises.
On September 6, 2018, an off duty, white, female Dallas policewoman entered a neighbor’s apartment, reportedly thinking it was her own, and killed the black occupant, Botham Jean, with a single gunshot.
Jean, who was armed with a spoon, was eating ice cream in his underwear while watching television in his own home. He was of unimpeachable character and Guyer was not.
On Oct. 1, 2019, Guyer was found guilty and convicted of murder. Multiple factors, including the 72 hour delay in her arrest-originally for manslaughter, not murder-the one year delay of the trial, and the televised behavior of key contributors (the judge and Jean’s own brother), created a social media storm.
A chorus, like that of a Greek tragedy, chanted repetitiously about the details of the incident throughout the play. The cast of readers were USCA students, many with no prior theatre experience. The play ended with an alternate series of events where, due to communication between Jean and Guyer, no one was harmed.
After the play, local community leaders, including an Episcopal priest, a community coordinator of the Aiken Department of Public Safety and a local representative of the NAACP, went on stage to comment on the play and issues raised. One of the strongest themes discussed was forgiveness and offering better communication was suggested as a way to move forward.
To this author, the discussion was very unsatisfying. The topic of how to keep racist, murderous bullies-who are empowered to kill black men, often without consequences-out of positions of power was never discussed and the problem is not going away. I wanted to ask what, regardless of race, what could individuals do about the ongoing problem of police officers shooting unarmed black men.
No questions were permitted in the discussion led by the USCA Office of Diversity Initiatives, apparently due to time restraints.
Photo by David Frantz.
