After a one hour and thirty-minute open listening session Thursday, Theatre Wesleyan students and faculty have decided to not perform their production of “Down in Mississippi” at Texas Wesleyan because of the reaction of students over the racially explicit language used in the play between a white actor and black actor. 

“The decision was made after lengthy meetings of theatre department students and faculty.  These theatre department discussions took place following the open listening session Thursday during which students and the entire campus community engaged in an open discussion about Theatre Wesleyan’s production of the play,’ Texas Wesleyan University said in an email sent out today. 

“The listening session allowed for meaningful and consequential engagement for our students, staff, faculty, community members, and the chairman of the Board of Trustees,” the email continued.

The university held the open session, facilitated by Assistant Director for Student Diversity and Inclusion Programs Chatashia Brown, after learning that several students organized a petition to support the cancelation of the play and planned to protest on opening night. 

In an email to students on Wednesday addressing student concern, the school offered a quick synopsis of the play and the historical references to the events that eventually “helped give birth to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.” The play about the civil rights movement known as the Freedom Summer Project was written by Carlyle Brown. 

The open listening session featured panelists Honorable Glenn Lewis, chairman of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Joe Brown, professor of Theatre Wesleyan, D. Wambui Richardson, artistic director of the Jubilee Theatre and visiting Theatre Wesleyan professor, and Carlyle Brown, who attended via video call.  

Microphones were placed at the front of each audience aisle to allow members of the Wesleyan community to express their concerns or share their opinions on the production. 

The panelists supported the theatre production and felt it was, according to Lewis, as a historical representation of events that happened and that censoring the “artistic creation” is not a solution. 

The main concern the students voiced was the “triggering” effect of using the racially explicit word, which is repeated 11 separate times throughout the play, and how it can cause trauma to the black students in the audience.  

Third year political science major Micheline Karenga believed that a simple pre-show warning of the racially explicit word does not prepare the black audience members for the emotional impact and will make several people feel uncomfortable. 

“I don’t know if you really thought a lot about [how uncomfortable the word is], or the trauma that people [are going to have after watching the play]. I don’t think that you really [thought] about how that will affect a person’s mental health,” Karenga said. 

Another concern the students addressed was the purpose of using the impactful word instead of removing it from the play all together. First-year student and biology major Tayloure Skillern has been a longtime advocate for eliminating the racial word from not only the white community but the black community too.

“I understand your message,” Skillern said when addressing Carlyle Brown directly about his choice to use the racial word in his play. “We can’t just simply erase [the word]. That’s a part of our history, and we understand that. But what message is that [word] sending to our students on campus?” 

Carlyle Brown expressed his concern about the pushback of the black students at Wesleyan and the impact of his play. He said, “I didn’t write that to trigger you. I feel insulted that you feel like I intentionally meant to, being a black man, be dismissive of black people. I’m really sad that you would assume that.” 

“If there’s going to be a future, yeah, you have to heal, but you young people are the ones who need to take the mantle. And so maybe you should be less fragile. And try to listen to what your former generations are trying to teach you for the well good being of all of us,” Carlyle Brown said. 

The open listening session lasted an hour and a half with mainly participants speaking up against the play and the use of the explicit racial word. However, some people spoke in favor of keeping the play in production.  

Wesleyan facilities staff member and alumnus Bruce Terry supports the message the play portrays. “I don’t condone the use of the word at all. But I also understand that you can’t erase history.”  

Terry compared the censoring of the word to future generations forgetting the pain black people endured in the 60’s when white people fought against the civil rights of blacks.  

He used Ruby Bridges as an example, saying if the racial word is removed because people are uncomfortable, then his great-grandchildren will not understand how Bridges must have felt as a child when she first entered the newly desegregated school while a white crowd outside was yelling the word. “And they are going to think that she went there and just walked in that school, and that is not the case,” he said. 

Lewis’ final thought to students was that “The whole point of those training sessions during Freedom Summer [was] to teach those students that nobody can make you feel inferior except you. Nobody can make you feel inferior unless you allow them to do so.” 

After hearing everyone’s opinion on the matter and reflecting on the controversy, senior mass communications student Chance Carroll wants to watch the play so he can feel more connected to what his “ancestors and grandparents” experienced in their lives. 

“It’s clear that people of our generation tend to run from problems instead of attacking it head on,” Carroll said. “Canceling this play is a prime example of U.S running from the problem and allowing people to still feel it’s acceptable to have those type of feelings or say those type of things to a race.” 

Also listening to the conversation was student actress playing Ellen Borman in “Down in Mississippi” Peri Zachmeyer. “I believe that this meeting was important, but I wish that it happened earlier,” she said. 

Theatre Wesleyan actors have been working on the production since mid-August. During that time, Zachmeyer spent some time researching black history and the Freedom Summer event to accurately understand the impact of historical events. 

“After working on the show and doing the show, I believe that it is a very important message to portray to students,” she said. 

Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Dr. Dennis Hall was impacted by the emotions of the students who spoke at the event. “Our students are hurting, and I don’t like that. I think, frankly, there’s no easy solution to this scenario and that makes it really tough. One of the things that is very difficult right now is that both sides are right. So that then presents a dilemma” 

Hall felt the students who approached the microphones to express their opinions were “remarkable” for their courageous action.  

Skillern and first-year political science major Jaelin Nero often returned to the microphone to continue the dialogue from a student point-of-view. They both highlighted that the Wesleyan student body is not culturally mature enough to handle an intense play like “Down in Mississippi.” Both students said with proper diversity classes and training, students can understand the magnitude of the topics and racially explicit words.

“We don’t need to hear the words to understand the impact in history. We talked multiple times about the things that happened to black people, Native Americans, Hispanics in this country, and we didn’t use any language like that,” Nero said. 

The lack of communication between the university and students about diversity and inclusion changes, according to Skillern, is a major issue causing a disconnect between administrators and students. “They say that they’re [making changes], but it’s about communication to at least let us know that you’re trying to listen to the students,” Skillern said. “Include us in that.” 

The reaction to “Down in Mississippi” is not the first time students have addressed their concerns about diversity and inclusion to Wesleyan administration. Students held a protest and supported a student’s hunger strike to emphasize the importance that the university needed to increase cultural training for faculty, staff and students.