By Darlene Donloe
Contributing Writer
HOLLYWOOD — Marc Bamuthi Joseph and Daniel Bernard Roumain are two accomplished artists who have joined forces to present a multimedia performance called “The Just and the Blind.”
The show, set for 8 p.m. Aug. 2, at the Ford Theatre, includes poetry, music, movement, a short film series and projections that guide a journey through the eyes of Black and brown fathers. It is comprised of a series of vignettes that are linked by themes of mass incarceration, systemic racism and police brutality.
Joseph, a New York native, who is a spoken-word artist and arts activist, conceived and wrote the thought-provoking show, while his longtime friend and co-creator, Roumain, a composer, violinist and pianist, composed the music.
“The Just and the Blind,” directed by Michael John Garcés, illuminates the unseen and under-heard experiences of incarcerated youth and their families, and features flexin’ dance by Drew Dollaz and vocals by Nia Andrews.
As the father of Black and brown children, Joseph, the father of a 22-year-old son, and Roumain, who has a 15-year-old son, have a lot to say about racial profiling, sentencing and the prison-industrial complex.
Centered on the humanity of those who are historically marginalized, “The Just and the Blind,” first conceived in 2019, provides a framework for the unique voices of the community and strives to humanize the Black and brown children caught in the cycle of incarceration.
I recently spoke to Joseph, an internationally renowned cultural strategist, and Roumain, whose collaboration with New York City Ballet Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan “Carnival of the Animals” will premiere and tour in 2024 and 2025.
They were eager to talk about “The Just and the Blind.”
DD: How long have you two known each other?
DBR: It’s been 15 years. We were both successful artists touring the same circuit. I was doing it with music. He was doing it with words. We met for the first time at the Atlanta Ballet. It was an original ballet called “Home in 7.” Marc and I are first-generation Haitian men.
DD: Talk about how you two came together to do this show.
MBJ: There were life events that prompted the show and then a process of doing the show. The life events were specifically when my son turned 16 and wanted to get his driver’s license in California. As a parent, I knew it meant he was about to enter “prime suspect” years. Being behind the wheel created a different potential of interface with law enforcement and all the danger that lies therein.
The prompt was to make a show that honors what it means to be a father and what it means to raise a young Black male. He is privileged and hunted. We wanted to integrate the voices of the system involving young people in a show that gave us a 360 [degree] look at the industrial prison complex. I was living the thing.
We started working together formally for Opera Philadelphia, and Chautauqua Symphony. We were in a rhythm of collaborating. We respect and love each other a lot. That’s my dude, my brother.
DBR: With Marc, it’s the kind of collaboration where every conversation is effortless and inspirational. With Marc, we have never rehearsed or practiced or said, “You sit down and do this.” Our process and performance flow.
DD: Where did your passion for youth advocacy come from?
MBJ: My master’s degree from Morehouse is in education. My first gig was teaching at a private school in Marin County in the Bay area. That’s when I first started getting the sense of how important it was to function in the role of mentor.
DBR: My passion and responsibility are synced through my Haitian household. My parents saw my ability as a gift. In our Catholic, Voodoo, Haitian household, a gift like that came from God and had a responsibility to share with others and do good in the world with it. Be selfless.
DD: Describe the show. What will the audience see/hear?
MBJ: The show is a series of moments dedicated to different chapters of the experience of raising a son. It’s a real ass conversation that is happening. It’s an under-documented see and hear conversation being heard. Nia Andrews plays the part of a woman voicing the words of civil rights activist and Black Panther Assata Shakur (political activist) and Martin Luther King Jr. We also address the prison industrial complex in different ways.
DBR: I have found L.A. to be a spiritual place. I have found the people of L.A. to be a potent mix of diversity and finding overlapping ways to go through the city. The show has a razor focus with Marc’s words. I wish I could somehow astro project into the audience and watch it. It’s about coming together. This is a living fresco.
DD: Why should people come to see this show?
MBJ: A live performance is healing. It’s necessary after the pandemic to heal together in public. This is a ritual for healing.
DBR: So many of us talked about a real yearning to be together and returning to theater and concert halls. Live performances are something we all wanted to get back to. Live performances are precious. Magic exists — often on the stage. The honor and privilege of being on stage is in service to an audience. The Ford is uniquely constructed to do that.
DD: Why should people care about the voices of incarcerated youth?
MBJ: We have an empathy problem in America. We have a kind of tribalist, binary way of looking at one another where immediately if you believe this we strip each other of humanity. How do we make ourselves and this country better if we’re not actively working on empathy? This show launches a conversation inherent in all of us.
DD: Have either of you been incarcerated?
DBR: I’ve been incarcerated more than once. Each time was a different experience.
DD: Have you been racially profiled?
DBR: Hell yeah!
MBJ: Yes, it’s part of the rites of passage.
DD: Daniel, how do you know when the music is right?
DBR: When I’m not getting in the way. Marc’s libretto is entirely written out word for word — very little improvisation. It’s so musical. I’m listening with my whole body. That’s when I know I’m doing my job. It’s like accompanying a dancer. Marc and I have developed a loving rhythm. The silence in between that informs me as to whether or not it’s right.
DD: How do you know when the words are right, Marc? Do you bounce them off of someone?
MBJ: I don’t bounce them off of someone. The people I bounce the words off of are the audience. You hear and feel the energy from the audience.
“The Just and the Blind” was commissioned by Carnegie Hall and produced by Rika Lino and Melissa Higgins of Sozo Artists Inc., Annie March, touring producer, in partnership with the Sozo Impact, with support from the Ford Foundation. The program is a collaboration with the LA Philharmonic Insight initiative. For information or to purchase tickets, visit https://www.theford.com or call Audience Services at 323-850-2000.
Darlene Donloe is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers who covers South Los Angeles. She can be reached at ddonloe@gmail.com.
Photo by Robert Torres
