By Alexandra Wilson
The historyof the Africa American woman in this country is one of sadness and triumph. Theheights they have reached and the darkness that many had to overcome is oftenoverlooked. Morgan Avery McCoy, in her show Fromthe Slave House to the White House, portrayed in costume 12 AfricanAmerican women, showing their evolution throughout history.
McCoy beganwith a depiction of an African American woman in Africa, pleading with theWhite Europeans not to take her from her home land. They brought her to Americaand called her a slave, selling her because she was their property. They calledher a slave long before she called herself one. After this, viewers are takeninto the life of a slave nanny, who has to take care of her own slave children,and husband, all the while nursing the master’s children and cleaning his home.
The firstfamous woman she portrayed was Phyllis Wheatley, who knew how to read and writeas a slave. She became famous while she was a slave from her books, howeveronce freed she became very poor because no one was buying her books anymore.She lost several children due to being poor and stressed, and her husband evenwent to jail.
Anothercharacter that McCoy portrayed was Madame CJ Walker, who was the first AfricanAmerican self-made millionaire. She was also a teenage mother, orphaned at 7, marriedat 14 and widowed at 17. Then came Maggie Lena Walker, who was the firstAfrican American President of a bank before women even had the right to vote.She graduated high school at 16 and became a teacher. She had to quit teachingafter she got married because of the law, and faced many hardships after herteaching career. Her son killed his own father on accident because he thoughtthat he was a burglar.
McCoyportrayed Bessie Smith, who was an African American female blues singer. Smithknew she wanted to be in show business at a young age, and went on to becomewell-known for her voice. It wasn’t easy for her being an African Americansinger, being escorted out of cafeterias that she could pay for. There weretimes when people would sing along to her music but wouldn’t even shake herhand. Then came Rosa Parks, who wouldn’t give up her seat on the bus to a Whiteman. She helped to start the bus boycott with Dr. King, marching for 381 daysto change the bus rules. Eventually, all of her hard work paid off. However,when she and her husband both lost their jobs for fighting for the cause, RosaParks had to leave Alabama.
Many arefamiliar with Martin Luther King Jr. however his wife has a story as well.Coretta Scott King proclaimed that she would be a Queen at a young age. Sheplayed multiple instruments as a youth. In college, she was discriminatedagainst which led her to become involved in rallies and boycotts. She metMartin Luther King Jr. in 1953, later becoming his wife and giving him 4children.
McCoy alsoportrayed a young civil rights activist who went to Hampton Institute. There,she met a man named John Brown and began dating him. One time, John Brown tookher to meet his mother who said she was “too dark” to marry her son. The womanwas so scorned by his mother’s words that she went from marching for the peopleto turning her nose up at her people because she was ashamed. McCoy thentransitioned to a young African American girl stuck in the inner city. Shewanted to grow up and make something of her life but got pregnant at a youngage. She also wanted her children to grow up and make something of themselvesbut her daughter ended up getting pregnant, making her a grandmother at theyoung age of 28.
McCoy endedwith Michelle Obama and Kamala Harris, both representations of how far we havecome as African American woman. Michelle Obama is the wife of Barack Obama, andthe first African American first lady of the United States of America. She wasborn in the inner city of Chicago, growing up in a one-bedroom apartment withher brother, mother, and father. She went from the hoods of Chicago to beingthe first lady, a best-selling author, and having her own Netflix show.
KamalaHarris made history this past November by becoming the first female, AfricanAmerican and Asian American Vice President of the United States. “I had toinclude her in the play so that young girls can see what is possible” McCoystated. These amazing women are proof of how far we have come and how muchfurther we are going to go. McCoy’s play was heartwarming and very muchappropriate with today being Juneteenth. Happy Juneteenth!
