Post Gazette: In the old Colonial college town of Chestertown in rural Maryland, under a spot of light by an old metal typewriter stand, stood Ray Sprigle, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's star reporter of the 1930s and '40s. Mr. Sprigle was reading a powerful passage from "I was a Negro in the South for 30 Days," the blockbuster series he wrote in 1948 that detailed his experiences when, at age 61, he disguised himself as a black man and went on a dangerous undercover mission through the Jim Crow South.
Sunday, October 02, 2011
Ray Sprigle's story of the Jim Crow South hits the stage
Post Gazette: In the old Colonial college town of Chestertown in rural Maryland, under a spot of light by an old metal typewriter stand, stood Ray Sprigle, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's star reporter of the 1930s and '40s. Mr. Sprigle was reading a powerful passage from "I was a Negro in the South for 30 Days," the blockbuster series he wrote in 1948 that detailed his experiences when, at age 61, he disguised himself as a black man and went on a dangerous undercover mission through the Jim Crow South.
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5 comments:
Well I think that the most intriguing part about this article is the way that disguising oneself can reveal the truth. Like many things, there are certain practices and societal values in the south that are a little hushed and swept behind the curtain. So the way that the play was researched goes further in depth and really reveals some of the truths. Maybe some things that others don't necessarily want revealed. There is also something to be said about a writer caring so much about the topic that he/she is writing about that they go undercover for their cause. In many ways, this is almost like the book, and now movie, "The Help" in the way that civil rights are portrayed and revealed. I
The Jim Crow south is a part of history commonly overlooked as it is a period where world war and worldwide famine took headlines over racial discrimination. the most we hear about the jim crow era is the very end of it as the period merged into what we now know as the Civil rights years. This article is a piece of a larger puzzle in a period we as a nation in many ways have chosen to forget. it is not a proud time in our history so we have a tendency to try and not teach it and in many ways out effort into forgetting it. its good to see someone felt it was important back then and still relevant today.
I think the idea for this play is a phenomenal one. The impact that Ray Sprigle had on society is a story within itself. To portray this story onstage seems like it would be incredible. The power of his actions changed the mentality of so many people.
These are the types of plays that I love to see--A play where someone had an impact on someone else. I would really like to see this.
This play delves into a perspective many people would not happily consider seeing the world from. However, I think that following a character such as Mr. Sprigle through his journey would shed light on what it truly means to walk in another's shoes. The part I find most ironic is that this play originated in Atlanta, a southern city. The refreshing notion about that, however, is that Atlanta, as well as the rest of modern day America, is more open to seeing such a moving piece as this play.
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