Click here for free, downloadable Mourning in America flyer.
It is difficult to know how to respond to current events in America. As a child in the 1950s I was obsessed with the question of how the Germans - the nice, neighborhood, non-combatant, civilized, friendly Germans - could have let the Holocaust happen without doing anything to stop it. And now I find myself in the same situation, facing the same question. I am 77 years old, my lungs are too weak to allow me to participate in protest marches. So what does one do? One does what one can. Thus this participatory theater piece, which anyone from a toddler to an octogenarian ought to be able to pull off.
Wear black. That's it.
This idea was inspired by a friend, Pam O'Connell, who came up with the phrase, "mourning in America."
And we are in mourning — for the loss of our universities, our civil rights, our best and brightest immigrants, our constitution, our rule of law, our basic human decency.
Trump, among other misdeeds, is dismantling library and museum services, squelching any exhibits dealing with diversity or human rights, and demanding that cultural institutions in America focus on the anniversary of the founding of America on July 4, 2026. The celebration of America's 250th anniversary under the Trump regime looks likely to rival Hitler's most rabid, goose-stepping celebration of humanity at its absolute worst. What can one do?
Wear black. That's it.
Originally this piece was going to focus on wearing black on the dates of all key U.S. historical markers leading up to the grand debacle in 2026. The kickoff date, as shown above, is Paul Revere's ride on April 19. Other proposed dates included ratification of the Bill of Rights, the Emancipation Proclomation, the Civil Rights Act, the 19th Amendment, and so on. In the brief few weeks I've been working on this I've adapted the original idea to simply wearing black whenever the occasion warrants.
Wear black. That's it.
This is a nationwide, participatory theater piece. A clear signal to the rest of the world that not only are we against everything Trump is doing, we are deeply grieved about the state of our nation. We are in mourning.
Click here for generic Mourning in America flyer.
Note the addition of the idea of wearing an armband. This is potentially even more effective than simply wearing black, because mourning armbands have become an anachronism. They are an oddity in current times, and more likely to provoke questions and comments. Happily, they are available very cheaply and in bulk from your favorite online shopping sites.
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| Mourning armbands |
My plan, when not wearing black, is to wear an armband and keep several spares with me to give away to others. So what can one do?
Wear black, that's it.
