It is human nature to tell stories and to appreciate and participate in theatre traditions in every society. Every culture expresses theatre and may have their own traditions that have helped pave the way for how they are today. The involvement of African-Americans has increased tremendously in theatre since the nineteenth century and continues to increase as time goes on. African-Americans have overcome many obstacles with getting their rights and the participation and involvement of Theatre was something also worth fighting for. American history has played an important role with the participation of African-Americans in theatre. Slavery occurrence in America made it difficult for blacks in America to be taken seriously and to take on the characters of more serious roles. With many obstacles in the way African-Americans fought for their rights and also for the freedom that they deserved in America. As the participation of African-Americans involvement within the theatre increase so do the movements in which help make this possible. It is the determination of these leaders, groups, and Theaters that helped increase the participation and created the success that African-Americans received throughout history in American Theatre. Enslaved Africans have always brought music, dancing, and singing to the plantation life. It has always been apart of African-American culture to resemble theatre with traditions. Theatre traditions are a great way to be able to express yourself and given the history of African-Americans they always loved the rituals of music, dancing, and singing. It was a great way to be able to keep their mind off dealing with slavery and the lack of rights they were given within America at that time. In 1820 William B... ... middle of paper ... ...t could be done based on ethnicity. The history of America has an important effect as to why such limitations for African-Americans existed. With slavery and segregation African-Americans have been through a lot and being accepted was not always easy. It did not stop African-Americans from trying, but only made them work that much harder to gain their acceptance within the theatre. The establishments of various groups and movements inspired African-Americans to fight for what they wanted and they continue to do so today! The involvement of African-Americans within the theatre has changed overtime but has always existed. Their works became more publicized as the acceptance and African-Americans changed overtime throughout America. No matter the race or color of our skin all humans are capable of producing their own unique style of theatre and will continue to do so.
For this rhetorical analysis paper I chose one of my favorite, and most famous, sports speeches of all time, Lou Gehrig’s farewell to baseball address. Lou Gehrig was a famous baseball player in the 1920’s and 30’s. Lou didn’t really need to use a attention getting introduction, he was well known and loved by so many that people piled into Yankee Stadium to watch and listen to him give this speech. Although he didn’t need an attention getter, he began his speech with one of the greatest baseball quotes of all time, “Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” (Gehrig, 1939) Every single time I hear or read that opening line it sends chills down my spine and stops me for a moment to reflect on everything that is going on in my own life.
Throughout the course of American history, there have been copious amounts of famous speeches, spoken by many different people. From political figures to sports players; these people have provided deep thoughts and great insights about who they are and the world we live in today. Being a sports enthusiast, a memorable speech comes to my mind. Lou Gehrig’s “farewell speech”, given on July 4th, 1939, to more than 62,000 fans at New York City’s Yankee Stadium, has become a cornerstone in the history of baseball in America. Lou Gehrig is considered one of the most under-rated sports players of all time. Gehrig played in the same era with greats like Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio. In Fact, Gehrig played on the same team and actually batted behind Ruth and DiMaggio. Gehrig’s nickname is the “Iron Horse,” which came about with Gehrig’s amazing consecutive games played streak. Gehrig played in 2,130 consecutive games, which stood as the consecutive games record until just recently broken by Cal Ripken, Jr. Gehrig died in 1941, at the age of 37. Though many famous speeches have been spoken throughout time, Lou Gehrig’s farewell speech has remained one of the most memorable speeches of all time, due to the way he captivated his fans with the use of rhetoric.
People have dreams of what they want to do or accomplish in life, but usually musical theatre is just pushed into the non-realistic void. It isn’t a dream for me. In the past four years, musical theatre has been clarified as my reality. Musical theatre has been the only thing I have seen myself wanting to do. My first love was The Phantom of the Opera, seeing how I watched it almost every day and it was one of the first shows I saw. Of course, I started doing all of those cute shows in middle school and making a huge deal about it to my family and friends, but I have never felt so passionate about something. The minute I get up on that stage I throw away Riley for two and a half hours and it’s the most amazing feeling! Being able to tell a story
With the contributions that Babe Ruth brought to revolutionize baseball, help aided the United States, and help the survival of sports are reasons why he should be Time Person of the Year. He as an individual has brought and contributed a lot to this nation and to sports that no other person has ever done in history. If Babe didn’t give hope to americans, the United States might have suffered more in the long run. These accomplishments and contributions from Babe Ruth has much significant effect that he should be considered Time “Person of the year”.
“I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth” (“Farewell”, n.d.) These were the words on Henry Louis Gehrig on July 4th, 1939 at Yankee Stadium. For most of his life, Lou Gehrig had been just that…lucky. Gehrig was a baseball superstar. He had appeared in 7 all-star games and won 6 World Series titles (“All-Star Game”, n.d; “Lou Gehrig”, n.d.). His record of streak of 2130 consecutive games played had earned him the nickname, “the iron horse”. However, it is not for these accomplishments that Gehrig is most known. Gehrig is most known for the disease that took his career, his life, and finally, his name.
Both Dr. Manganelli in “The Tragic Mulatta Plays the Tragic Muse” and Dr. Ashton in “Entitles: Booker T. Washington’s Signs of Play” depict marginalized African-American characters who have to deal with being former slaves and get into the public light in performative roles. Both authors show that African-American always have to perform for white people, be it when they are slaves, in a concubine role or later when they are free.
The 1920’s ushered in a lot of new things, including talent. One of these talents was Lou Gehrig, one of the greatest baseball players of all time. He started off small, but quickly rose to the top, known by almost everyone in the nation. But Gehrig suffered one of the rarest degenerative diseases, now known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was able to bond the nation over his determination and kindness. Gehrig brought much to the plate during his fourteen-year career, something not many other baseball players have been able to accomplish.
Look for something positive in each day, even if some days you have to look a little harder. Lou Gehrig, an exceptional baseball player for the New York Yankees from 1923-1939, conveys his positivity and accepting the manner in his farewell speech given at the Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939, announcing his retirement. Two weeks prior his farewell speech, Gehrig was diagnosed with ALS disease that eventually destroyed and demolished his muscular structure and his career. Lou Gehrig stood in the field as friends, family, fans and colleagues listened intently to the compelling farewell speech. To further conclude, Lou Gehrig’s farewell speech, “The Luckiest Man,” revealed not only Lou Gehrig’s accepting and positive manner but also his exceptional use of rhetorical devices.
Plum, Jay. "Accounting for the Audience in Historical Reconstruction: Martin Jones’s Production of Langston Hughes’s Mulatto." Theatre Survey. v 36 (1995) 5-19.
Levels of Literacy in African-American Literature - Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Song of Solomon, and Push
American Theatre: History, Context, Form. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univ, 2011. Print. Scott, Freda L. "Black Drama and the Harlem Renaissance."
Harlem Renaissance was a period where the black intellectuals comprised of the poets, writers, and musicians explored their cultural identity. This paper will explain what the Harlem Renaissance period was really about , as well as the artists that were associated with this practice including Marian Anderson, James Weldon Johnson, and Romare Bearden.
Effiong, Philip U. In Search of a Model for African-American Drama: a Study of Selected Plays
The legacy of Jackie Robinson was that he left open roads to minorities to be able to play in MLB. Jackie played at the time that racism still existed which means that teams were isolated and with the help of branch Rickey, Robinson could move forward making history eliminating the barrier between White-Americans and African-American.
Throughout his professional career, Jackie Robinson, received criticism for being the first “black” player to play the game. Not only did Jackie Robinson manage to live up to the criticism, he also changed the face of America’s greatest past time forever. With his entrance into the MLB he opened the path for great black players like Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, and Ozzie Smith just to name a few. In crossing the color-barrier in baseball Robinson not only strived as a great player on the field, but also a inspiration to the black community of the field with his humility, and willingness to move forward in a time where blacks were not considered “equal”.