MICHON BOSTON: PLAYWRIGHT
This post has been updated since its original publication 1/17/23
February 3 - 26, 2023
Iola’s Letter: The Memphis Crusade of Ida B. Wells
a play Michon Boston
Directed by Jennifer Kelly-Cooper
My first full-length play Iola’s Letter inspired by events in Memphis, Tennessee in the late 19th century that became the catalyst for the activism of the newspaper journalist, anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells.
In Norfolk or Hampton Roads Area?
Some of you may not know but “playwright” is another tool in my (Michon’s) engagement toolkit. I was happy to participate in dramaturgy and engagement activities organized by the Little Theatre of Norfolk for the play. I virtually met with the cast where we talked about the history, backdrop, and characters in the play, and gave a presentation on Ida B. Wells’s life and in the arts for Teens with A Purpose, a Norfolk-based creative arts youth group. The teens are creating an exhibit of art, music and poetry inspired by the life of Ida B. Wells for display in the theater lobby during the run of the play.
I gave the young artists the following questions to explore as they create their art:
What 3 words would you use to describe Ida B. Wells?
If you were to have a conversation with Ida B. Wells, what would you talk about?
Is there someone you know or admire who reminds you of Ida B. Wells? Who would you like people to remember and why?
What would Ida B. Wells write about today?
Name a song you think could be a theme song for Ida B. Wells?
What is a cause, concern, or even joy in your life? What is its impact on your community?
Iola’s Letter: The Memphis Crusade of Ida B. Wells is set in 1892, the post-Reconstruction South. The play includes a series of casual and intentional conversations on unresolved issues around injustice, and the hopes and dreams of communities striving to build futures under the hostilities and violence of Jim Crow. Audiences may find many of these post-Reconstruction themes and conversations sadly contemporary.
Iola’s Letter is not a biography of Ida B. Wells. [You can refer to the documentaries and book links below this post.] I wrote the play with the intention of putting a community center stage. Ida’s life and work are thematically woven into this community to explore the ideas and issues of her times and the contrasts and similarities between the past and today. Iola’s Letter was first performed at Howard University’s College of Fine Arts in 1999 and directed by Vera J. Katz.
I was drawn to writing a drama featuring a thriving Black middle class and intellectual community in 19th century America. Much attention is given to the 1950s and 1960s as the pivotal time for movements for civil rights and voting rights. The 1920s is often cited as the birth of the “black intelligentsia” during the Harlem Renaissance which drew much of its intellectual verve from the New Negro movement in Washington, DC. In reality the “movement” for civil rights, self determination, and justice has been on-going since the first Africans stepped on the shores of North America.
There’s no overstating the role of the press in Ida B. Wells’s story and in Iola’s Letter. It’s a topic I give special attention to with posts on my facebook page for Iola’s Letter which can be found here. Follow it!
Take a look at some of the resources included in this post including the WTTW “Chicago Stories” special on Ida B. Wells (available on YouTube - see below); and William Greaves’s 1989 documentary “Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice” narrated by author Toni Morrison (streaming available from williamgreaves.com or check your public library). Ida B. Wells’s Memphis story is told in detail in Stanley Nelson’s 2019 PBS documentary “Boss: The Black Experience in Business.”
The play is always a big opportunity to share Ida B. Wells’s story. It’s been a wonderful journey with the writing, performances, getting to know her family of descendants, and especially those who are learning about Ida B. Wells for the first time.
“Ida B. Wells: A Chicago Stories Special Documentary” produced by WTTW
“Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice” (1989), a film by William Greaves