REACTIVATING MEMORY – Shuffle Along and the Tulsa Race Massacre: A Centennial Symposium

Scene from the 1921 stage production of “Shuffle Along.” Image courtesy of New York Public Library.

One hundred years ago, the dazzling all-Black Broadway musical Shuffle Along ushered in the Jazz Age with a syncopated score and tap dancing chorus. One week later, white residents of Tulsa, Oklahoma, murdered hundreds of Black residents and burned down the vibrant Black neighborhood of Greenwood.

Looking back at these seemingly disparate events, what can we learn about Black success, racial capitalism, and white violence? What can we learn about how journalists and historians document, neglect, or erase certain events? And, how can we now redress the past by “REACTIVATING MEMORY”?

On September 10, join a remarkable group of artists, journalists, and scholars for a free and accessible day marking the centennial of these two neglected but pivotal events in U.S. history. The “REACTIVATING MEMORY” virtual symposium, a Princeton Humanities Council Magic Project, traces the legacies of both Shuffle Along and the Tulsa Race Massacre in the contemporary United States, examining gaps and silences in historical archives and the work currently being done to fill those gaps.

This centennial symposium includes three panel discussions, and performances by tap dancers, singers, and musicians examining how we “reactivate” cultural memory through performance, journalism, scholarly research, and programs such as HBO’s Watchmen.

SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE

9:30-9:45 AM (EDT) — WELCOME
Michael Dinwiddie and Awoye Timpo

9:45-10:15 AM — Performance: Masi Asare

10:15-11:30 AM — Panel 1: Reactivating Memories of Shuffle Along
With Jayna Brown, Caseen Gaines, Eric M. Glover, Kinohi Nishikawa, and Tina Post

11:30-11:45 AM — Performance: Lisa LaTouche

11:45 AM – 12:00 PM (EDT) — Break

12:00-12:15 PM — Performance: Alicia Hall Moran

12:15-1:30 PM — Panel 2: Reactivating Memories of Greenwood and the Tulsa Race Massacre
With Jack D. Baker, Crystal Z Campbell, Meta Carstarphen, Hannibal B. Johnson, KalaLea and Quraysh Ali Lansana

1:30-2:30 PM — Lunch

2:30-2:45 PM — Performance: Tyehimba Jess

2:45-4:00 PM — Panel 3: REACTIVATING MEMORY Now: Artistry, Journalism, Scholarship
With DeNeen Brown, Nathan Alan Davis, Koritha Mitchell, Autumn Womack, and Isaiah M. Wooden

4:00-4:15 PM — Performance: Michael J. Love

4:15-4:30 PM — CLOSING

View the list of panelists and guest artists.

All symposium events are free and open to the public and will take place via Zoom Webinar. Registration is required here.