'Green Book'

 American Art & Culture
Without African Americans?

What if the segregationists of the South had been successful in COMPLETELY keeping the races separated — including in the realm of arts and culture?

That was an overarching question I was left with after watching the moving and thought-provoking 2018 film Green Book, the Best Picture Oscar winner of 2019, along with Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. 

As with classically trained musicians such as Hazel Scott, in the video above, and Nina Simone, born Eunice Waymon, the segregationists did succeed in barring them from participating in the world of classical music, which they were determined to keep all white. And so we saw the same frustrating fate befall the classically trained — and brilliant — Don Shirley in the movie.

The irony that was lost on the segregationists: Don Shirley was not even African American. His parents were from Jamaica. Same thing with Hazel Scott. Her roots were in Trinidad and Tobago. But those were just pesky details for the segregationists!

Those are some of the things the movie had me thinking about. How about you?

Ali

What are your thoughts on the person of Don Shirley, as portrayed by Mahershala Ali? Did his character change through the course of the movie? Did he learn anything from the white man driving him through the segregated South? What did you make of his line, "If I'm not black enough, if I'm not white enough, if I'm not normal enough, then what am I?"

What are your thoughts on the person of Tony Lip, as portrayed by Viggo Mortensen? Did his character change through the course of the movie? Did he learn anything from the "colored" man sitting in the back seat? Did his character point to the future?

Mortensen

What would you have done if you had been a talented Black musician or artist or dancer or writer faced with a society that tries to keep you from contributing to its culture? Boycott and be silent? Only perform or write for other Black people? Flee America to find success in Europe, as Hazel Scott and Nina Simone were forced to do — along with many others?

And to return to my original question: What would American arts and culture be like today if the segregationists had succeeded and prevented African Americans — and other people of color — from contributing to our cultural heritage? No black singers or musicians, writers or actors, dancers or comedians? 

What would American culture today even look like without their contributions?

It's hard to imagine, isn't it? What do you think?

In a particularly poignant moment in the film, a group of poor, Black
sharecroppers working in a field are dazed and confused by the sight
of a fancy-dressed Black man being driven by a White chauffeur.