Tony Award-nominated playwright and Detroit-born Dominique Morisseau tells the complex story of the experience of being a Black woman in America in “Confederates.”
The play weaves plot threads from the past and present to explore how institutional racism and gender bias continue to shape society.
BridgeDetroit reporter Micah Walker and One Detroit’s Chris Jordan recently visited the Detroit Public Theatre for a performance, and Walker spoke with Morisseau, director and Detroit-based playwright, poet, and professor Goldie Patrick and cast members.
“Let’s not be subtle. Let’s be real, in your face, about it and let’s be real overt about what has and has not changed between the past and the present,” Morisseau tells Walker. “Being in a Black woman’s skin all my life, I know what kind of stuff comes at me in my real life, so it’s the same kind of stuff that’s gonna come in my play that centers Black women.”
Set more than 160 years apart, Sarah, played by Rebecca Rose Mims, is an enslaved woman on a plantation pursuing a path to liberation during the Civil War. In the present day, Sandra, played by Whitney Johnson, is a political science professor at a university where she is one of the only Black women on the faculty of a predominantly white campus. The two women’s stories intertwine and parallel each other following a racist incident targeting Sandra on campus.
“There are people in our lives that when they ask, you say ‘yes,’ because you trust their integrity, you trust their mission and Dominique is that person,” Patrick said.
Morisseau’s play premiered off-Broadway in 2022 and has since gained critical acclaim for its bold storytelling. The show runs through March 16.