1964, A Year in African American Performance History

This book examines the Civil Rights Movement from the perspective of a single year, 1964.The book analyses specific events that occurred in 1964 as benchmarks of the Civil Right Movement, making the case that 1964 was a watershed year. Each chapter considers individually politics, rhetoric, sports, dramatic literature, film, art, and music, breaking down the events and illustrating their importance to the social and political life in the United States in 1964. This study emphasizes 1964 as a nodal point in the history of the Civil Rights Movement, arguing that it was within this single year that the tide against racism and injustice turned markedly.This book will be of great interest to the scholars and students of civil rights, theatre and performance, art history, and drama literature.Table of ContentAcknowledgementList of Illustrations1. Introduction: Why 19642. Words of Fire: Malcolm X, Fannie Lou Hamer, Martin Luther King, and the Rhetoric of African American Performance3. Performing Manhood: Muhammad Ali and the 1964 Heavyweight Championship4. Expectation, Melancholy, and Loss: Intellectualism in Dutchman & Funnyhouse of a Negro5. Neorealism and Love: Nothing but a Man, One Potato, Two Potato, and the Working Class6. Romare Bearden, the 1964 Photomontage Projections, and the Art of “Making Strange”7. Dancing in the Streets: Feminism, Jazz, and Motown in African American Music8. Conclusion: Change is a Long Time Comin’IndexBiographical NoteDavid Krasner has taught acting, directing, and theatre history for 40 years. He is currently Chair of Theatre at Five Towns College in Long Island, New York, where he oversees the BFA Program in Musical Theatre, Acting, and Design/Tech.