Deborah Wood Holton

For years the world believed that the descendants of African slaves in the
United States were culture-less, stripped during that grim period in historical
servitude of their original artifacts, namely languages and religious systems.
For years American history texts denied and diminished the heroic efforts and
contributions of this diverse group of people, while stereotypes confirming the
already-held perceptions of African American inferiority and ignorance
abounded. By the measuring tapes of many not much has happened to change
these perceptions, despite the efforts of a few--we have only to observe
American popular culture to see how lucratively seductive stereotypic
projections can be. The deeply-rooted black cultural values, such as spirituality
and storytelling, that have impacted upon the lives of many African Americans
in the past and continue to conflict with those of the dominant culture remain
obscure, unappreciated These values are nonetheless useful in comprehending
the intricacies of the African American experience, thus informing all aspects
of performance. Since storytelling is one component of black cultural values,
I will begin this discussion with a true one, for I am rooted in the culture about
which I speak and find stories instructive.

A few years ago I shared coffee with a new colleague met at a conference panel
discussion earlier that day. Our conversation was lively and engaging. We
talked about many things, discovering that we had a great deal in common. I
had been researching the plays of Lorraine Hansberry at the time and found
comfort in discussing the challenges of inquiry with a new friend. We must
have talked for what seemed like hours. And then I mentioned Africa. I told her
that one of my goals, my dreams, was to experience Africa as Hansberry had
not, to shift all of the abstract knowledge I had acquired about the continent
to the back of my mind and move my taste for experiential learning to the
forefront. I was going to Africa to study the comparisons and contrasts
between Hansberry's dramatic vision and my own understanding of the
cultural experience, and I was going to observe an important piece of my own
identity puzzle. In short, I was going home. Imagine my surprise,

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