Scene Three: Breaking the Barricade

Sweet Pea sits in a baby carriage center stage. Black hole and Neutron Star enter one from each side. Black Hole wears something indicative of youth and carries a picket sign with Uranus and question marks on it. Neutron Star is wrapped in a quilt and carries a sign the exact size and shape as Black Hole’s but it is a reproduction of Art Spiegelman’s February 15, 1993 cover of the New Yorker. The message should be unity, not strife, so the sign can be modified so that the people are touching a dove of peace rather than each other if necessary.

This magazine cover shows a Hasidic Jewish man and a black woman kissing. It was aired near Valentine's Day at the height of the Crown Heights strife.

Black Hole and Neutron Star mirror each others’ movements (walking, sign holding) and stand one on each side of Sweet Pea.

Black Hole: A misty, musty dusty smell, secrets we may no longer tell

Neutron Star: Unanswered questions of if God died. Who is standing by my side?

Black Hole: A rainbow I was searching for while among the first to stop the war

Neutron Star: A newborn nation’s hopeful pride. Who is standing by my side?

Black Hole: (faces Neutron Star,Urgency of speech increases) In innocence, in shattered youth I walked the forest and found the truth!

Neutron Star: Questions burn-we cannot hide. (Faces Black Hole. Urgency of speech increases) Who is standing by my side?!

Black Hole: Questions burn, remain unknown. WHY ARE THOSE OF YOURS MY OWN??

Black Hole and Neutron Star (together, facing audience) No matter what’s concealed, denied (Cross lights up) MAY ALL NOW STAND UP BY OUR SIDE!

Sweet Honey’s “Patchwork Quilt” plays softly as the quilt scene proceeds slowly, thoughtfully, tentatively.

Black Hole: Your quilt…it reminds me of something…

Neutron Star: You have a quilt like mine…but it’s lost on Neptune.

Black Hole: That makes sense…but it’s crazy. Anyhow I can’t ever get back to Neptune.

Neutron Star: As you are so fond of saying, the answer exists in the act of questioning. In memory of the one you lost on Neptune, make another. (Hands of the Forgotten are seen waving through the Nothing) Look for the Forgotten you find here on Earth. Bring them together and let them speak out. (Points to where the Forgotten are concealed)

Sound effects, Cross blinks, strobe light inside the Nothing. SuperNova comes running from behind audience with barricade tape and tries to wrap up Black Hole. Neutron Star helps Black Hole resist, and they prevail. SuperNova runs off stage, laughing demonically.

SuperNova’s (Oshun’s?) role here is paradoxical: to trigger resistance through the threat of assimilation and continued concealment. The action draws Neutron Star (Ancestors) into resistance. She thus creatively manipulates the situation to allow the liberation of the Forgotten by drawing Neutron Star into cooperation with Black Hole. I believe this is flat out prophetic of what happened as a result of my experiences with the Missing Yemenite Children’s Affair, which led to my return from Israel and investigation of my family history.

Sweet Honey’s “I Be your Water” begins. Black Hole and Neutron Star bring out the Forgotten, (ideally seven, six with candles and one with a globe, representing the Forgotten in society) and wash them off. The Forgotten sit in front of Sweet Pea. The music stops and Neutron Star reaches inside of Sweet Pea.

Black Hole: What…what are you doing?

Neutron Star: Creating a new world. I need you to join me.

Supernova tries to grab a Forgotten. Black Hole prevents it. SuperNova dwindles down. Blackout.

At the time of the play, I knew nothing of the concealed history on my father's side of the family. Since I believed the Forgotten to be Jews on my mother's side, this portends my actions against the assimilation of Jews. SuperNova;s action is intended to elicit Black Hole's reaction.

The Forgotten move into the audience, six in and around audience, one center with globe.

Forgotten and Cast: The end-or the beginning-the answer exists in the act of questioning!

Sweet Honey’s “Babethandaza” begins loudly. Everybody dances and throws confetti out of Sweet Pea.