The Forgotten Story of Orson Welles' All-Black 'Macbeth'
Okay, last one and I'll stop bombarding the forum!
"What if I told you that, as a part of a federal stimulus package, the federal government once wrote a 20-year-old director a check to stage Macbeth to fight Jim Crow? Don’t worry — it gets weirder. This young director set his version of the Shakespeare masterpiece in Haiti, and based it loosely on the life of a former slave-turned-revolutionary-turned-king named Henry Christophe, and cast only black performers. The year was 1936, the director was Orson Welles, and the New Deal was fly as hell, y’all.
Even before its debut, the play faced rebuke. New Deal opponents had already declared that the Federal Theater Project was a waste of tax dollars, yet another in the long line of Roosevelt’s excessing spending programs. Seeing federal money going to produce such “radical” works, Percy Hammond of the Herald Tribune called the Negro Theater an “exhibition of deluxe boondoggling.” FTP productions like Welles’ Macbeth were so controversial, in fact, that Hallie Flanagan was eventually called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee, accused of using the Federal Theater Project as a front to spread communist and socialist propaganda.
Many African-Americans were upset that Welles, a white director, was chosen to lead an otherwise all-Black production. The play coincided with the height of the Harlem Renaissance: writers, poets, and playwrights like Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Jean Toomer, and Claude McKay were producing some of their best work (Hughes’ The Mulatto had just opened in Harlem to rave reviews). Most of the building blocks for the Negro Theater Unit were already in place due to McClendon founding The Negro People’s Theater a year earlier. There was already a wealth of experience and talent in the African-American community, especially in Harlem, but a significant lack of funding and opportunity. Why hand the reins of such a well-funded, potentially ground-breaking project to a white guy from the Midwest?
An integrated crowd of more than 10,000 people gathered to attend the opening at Harlem’s historic Lafayette Theater. When the play ended, it was reported that there was a 15-minute standing ovation. This is important, because at that time, even in northern cities like New York, most venues were still heavily segregated. Even George Gershwin’s legendary production of Porgy and Bess, which debuted a year earlier, was performed in front of all-white audiences. After the 10-week run at the Lafayette, and another shorter run in Manhattan, the troupe toured to cities like Seattle, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, and Boston, performing Macbeth to sold-out, integrated crowds across the country."
The article mentions that the Federal Theater Project launched Welle's career.
Welle's interview and clip of the production, as well as some great photos here https://www.inverse.com/article/7139-the-forgotten-story-of-orson-welles-all-black-macbeth-production
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The original Broadway production of Richard Wright's "Native Son", done in 1941 - 1942, just a year after the book had been published (and it also starred Helen Martin who appeared in so many black TV comedies during the '70s and '80s).
[font size="1"](Helen Martin in "Sanford and Son"
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As a side note, last weekend, I *finally* after all these years, watched "Citizen Kane". And all I can say is that man was brilliant, in a visionary way. They had dubbed him a "prodigy" when he was 20 and they were right. So many of us "got to know him" in his older years with his "Great Mysteries" series in the '70s as well as the Nostradamus documentary from 1981 and of course, the Paul Masson commercials -
My mother remembered his 1938 radio broadcast (she was 8 then) of "War of the Worlds" and folks living in this area (Philly) being directly next door to New Jersey, freaked out according to her (although apparently they say the reactions were a "myth"
).
I am slowly discovering his beginnings and just how radical he was - particularly in his films and other productions.
It dwarfs every library that ever existed as more and more material is made available. It draws you in to find out additional details about a subject to get a fuller perspective. I read that book many years ago and need to revisit it.
Great find! 
I remember spending hours upon hours in libraries and just loving it. I feel a little guilty for not stepping into one in years. But I wouldn't give up finding what I want and need in minutes or seconds on the innernets 
And Good Lord, I was awful at returning books, constantly racking up on overdue books, using everybody's card to check out books 
Haven't been in a public library in ages either - probably because once I started working, I started buying books and filling up bookcases left and right! In fact, during the late '80s and early '90s, various folks had compiled lists of the "100 books" to read.
One list from George Curry - http://www.georgecurry.com/top-100-books-on-black-history
Another here (that includes many I had seen/heard recommended from various scholars in magazines and on radio and eventually on the early web) - http://www.whenweruled.com/?p=23
I expect most of those are not in a typical "public library" despite being history-related.
In several cases, once I found a remarkable author, I ended up grabbing other books from that author.
Dr. Yosef ben-Jochannon on it. I love how he was known as Dr. Ben to the younger generation before he passed this year. I was about to have a fit when I didnt see Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop's Civilization or Barbarism on the list but found him on the second link
On my way to ordering Black Women in Antiquity – 2nd Ed (Journal of African civilizations) The reviews are outstanding.
Thanks for the links, BumRushDaShow! You are correct, Sah! Most of my African and AA history books were bought from brick and mortars back in the day. It's a real joy to look at these titles and know there's a lifetime of reading easy to find these days.
including the ones where he had to photocopy everything and had someone bind them. Dr. Ben used to come on Bob Law's radio program on WLIB (and other stations over the years) in NYC. Amazing man!
And I have all of Dr. Van Sertima's books as well to the point where I had the opportunity to attend one of his lectures given here in Philly with my Mom back in 1993, and afterwards, got him to sign copies of his books that we brought (he was also selling some of his books and tapes of his lectures). I told him that I had all of his books and he was incredulous... until I started naming them off and he admitted to forgetting about a couple. 
He even asked my mother to hold his wallet while he tried to get a pen out to sign. We had brought a hardcover of "They Came Before Columbus" and a trade softback of "African Presence in Early America" to sign. He passed about 6 years ago but I'ma tell ya - that was one driven man!!!
Hope you enjoy the book! 
I still have that photocopied book and it survived a house fire! Big, light green book?
All I can say is that I'm totally jealous you met Dr. Van Sertima! Dr. Ben, Dr. Van Sertima, Dr. Diop, all gone now. Brave and outstanding souls and I'm forever grateful 
Yes, that's it! He didn't care how he got the info out. He just had to do it and thank goodness for Black Classic Press, Africa World Press, and Third World Press for grabbing his and so many others' books that had gone out of print and put them back out again!!! I used that book as part of my "research" before I actually took my trip to Egypt back in 1992 (and believe it or not, it was with Dr. Molefi Asante and that was his first trip there - he took his wife, son, and mother (who was in her 80s then). Of course he's been there many times after that.
And yes, the world has lost so many of these amazing souls but they did leave behind a bunch to continue to take up the cause like Runoko Rashidi and others. And the amazing Lerone Bennett, Jr. is still with us (one of my younger sisters actually had him speak to her class back when she was in 5th grade - I think around 1973/74). I grew up with his book "Before the Mayflower" in the house and he still keeps it updated!
