THEATER IS US: Creating Awareness of Antisemitic and Stereotypes of Others
Estee Stimler — playwright, lyricist, and producer in London — shares her views on antisemitism in the London theater.
Theater Is Us takes up the “challenge” of Estee Stimler. The grassroots mission of Theater Is Us is to get ahead of antisemitic and “othering” sterotypes in plays before these plays are performed.
This has nothing to do with “cancel” culture. It has all to do with reaching out to the playwrights, play directors, theater producers, etc. — many whom are unaware of the antisemitism and “othering” negative portrayals that they may be perpetuating. These are the top theater people who can make changes in dialogue and action before the plays are public.
And here is my personal note:
Born in 1948, I grew up in Elgin, Illinois with a father who enjoyed listening to music. So I went off to college at Mighigan State University in E. Lansing, Michigan, with a turntable for which my father had negotiated along with my collection of vinyl records.
This included the album WEDNESDAY MORNING, 3 AM by Simon & Garfunkel featuring the song “He Was My Brother.” Written by Paul Simon and performed by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, the song was released on October 19, 1964.
This song is a dedication to Michael Schwerner, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman –- volunteers for the Freedom Summer campaign in Mississippi in the summer of 1964. This campaign was launched by American civil rights activitists in June 1964 to register as many African-American voters as possible in the state of Mississippi.
These three civil rights activists were murdered at the hands of a Ku Klux Klan lynch mob on June 21, 1964, near Philadelphia, Mississippi. (Chaney was black; Schwerner and Goodman were Jews from New York City.)
After spending a night in jail they were released into an ambush by Klansmen, who shot Goodman and Schwerner at point-blank range. Chaney was chased, beaten, and shot three times. On August 4, 1964, after weeks of searching, their bodies were found to have been buried in an earthen dam.
Eleven months later from the date their bodies were found — the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted on July 2, 1964, as a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requirements, racial segregation in schools and public accomodations, and employment discrimination.
To this day hearing the following lyrics from “He Was My Brother” brings tears to my eyes.
He was my brother
Five years older than I
He was my brother
Twenty-three years old the day he died
Freedom rider
They cursed my brother to his face
Go home, outsider
This town’s gonna be your buryin’ place
He was singin’ on his knees
An angry mob trailed along
They shot my brother dead
Because he hated what was wrong
He was my brother
Tears can’t bring him back to me
He, he was my brother
And he died so his brothers could be free
He died so his brothers could be free