By: Oumou Sy
Photos by Oumou Sy
On the Eve of Valentine’s Day, One York Brotherhood hosted an event with Carl Clay, the founder of The Black Spectrum Theatre, where he spoke on the topic of Black Love.
He lectured students on campus about the importance of Black love in contemporary times. The Black Spectrum Theatre Company was founded in 1970 by Clay and since then the organization has modernized into a multimedia company and performing arts center, as stated on their website.
The theatre company is located in Roy Wilkins Park at 177-1 Baisley Boulevard. Doubling as a playwright, you can see various plays written by Clay here. Showtimes and ticket availability can be viewed on Eventbrite.
The first showing of Clay’s play “Black Love” took place at the Storefront Museum, a museum established to enrich Black culture through the arts in the 1980s, but has since closed due to the expansion of CUNY York College.
Speakers of the event included Dean George White, Professor Emily Bovino, Pittershawn Palmer and Professor Andrew Sekou Johnson. The faculty of York College shared stories of their early knowledge of Carl Clay and The Black Spectrum Theatre, while other speakers elaborated on how black love is practiced in real life.
Dean White recited the poem “won’t you celebrate with me” by Lucille Clifton.
Bovino reflected on her discovery of the Black Spectrum Theatre. Reminiscing on her new position at York College’s Art History department, she shared
how that inspired a deep-dive into art spaces within the Queens area.
Palmer recited a poem of hers titled “Black Love on Stone,” a poem inspired by her marriage to her husband. While Palmer’s poem was inspired by her partner, she also implied how self-love creates a vessel for your capacity to love those around you.
“It’s not just about self-love,” Palmer said. “It is about self love and then loving everything around you.”
Professor Johnson reminisced on his relationship with Carl Clay.
“He is a storyteller,” said Johnson. “Through all the forms, he tells stories about who we are and what we are, where we can be…and his work is committed to reflecting the presence and the culture of what the African-American community and Africana community is all about.”
Afterward a brief screening of Carl Clay’s play “Black Love” was shown to students. The play embodied themes of intimacy, conflict and outsourcing support when love starts to exit the relationship. This play has been altered to adapt to modern times throughout the years, with the debut premiering more than 50 years ago.
The event concluded with a Q&A by Dr. Patricia Haggler and Carl Clay, where the floor was opened up to students as a chance to connect with the screening. The creator of the play then showed a preview of part two, which has not yet begun production.
The event was coordinated by One York Brotherhood highlighting Black History and the arts.
“We took black love as a theme, because of where we are in the state of this country and we really need to be intentional about people of color, our culture and the things that we have been doing forever,” said the event’s coordinator Roosevelt Smith.
“We give honor to people like Carl Clay and the work that they’ve done,” he added. “Also, we set a beautiful example for our students on the work that has been done all these years and how we can move it forward.”
Photos by Oumou Sy
One York Brotherhood is a Black Male Initiative program held at York College. This program intends to boost the socio-emotional learning in students of York and is open to all students.
