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Event
My Name Is Ossian Sweet
AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION
Historians have become increasingly interested in the saga of Ossian
Sweet and his family in Detroit in the 1920's. Sweet, a Negro migrant
from Florida seeking a better life in the North, became a medical
doctor, married Gladys Atkinson from a middle-class black family, and
ultimately bought a "dream house" in a white neighborhood, despite
previous attempts by blacks to integrate neighborhoods in a city rife
with members of the KKK. They moved into their home, then over two
days and nights a mob gathered, screamed and threw stones, attempting
to evict them. The Sweets had secured guns to defend themselves, and
in the ensuing pandemonium Ossian's brother Henry fired shots from an
upstairs window, killing one white man and wounding another. All were
arrested and charged with murder. The bold defense of the Sweets by
the renowned defense attorney Clarence Darrow over two trials marks
one of the most courageous and pivotal moments in the long struggle of
African Americans to secure their civil rights. Indeed, it appears to
be the first time in this country that an African-American was
acquitted of murder by an all-white jury. As such, it predated and
foreshadowed many events and victories that occurred later in the long
struggle for civil rights in America.
This two-act play, through compelling story and dialogue, music and
projected imagery, engages the audience in a profound way. Gladys
Sweet who, in the role of the narrator, opens and closes the play,
also plays an important character as Ossian's wife. Ossian leads us
through his childhood and some of the experiences that formed his
perspective on life then steps into the story "in real time."
Technical effects may include visual projections thrown on the
backdrop, if the producing team desires: these will enhance the story
as it unfolds. Ossian's mother Dora, who loves the old "spirituals,"
plays a major role with her sweet voice: her songs become a commentary
on the action.
ACT I is prologue: the Sweets' family background, the events leading
up to that fateful night of September 9, 1925, the events of that
night, and the NAACP's appeal to Darrow to anchor the Sweets' defense
team. ACT II covers the explosive courtroom action, with an
"Afterward" presented by Gladys Sweet and her mother-in-law Dora, who
continues to sing haunting spirituals that date back to the slavery
era. The term "African-American" will not be found in the dialogue,
despite its common usage today. In the twenties both black and white
races referred to people with darker skins as "Colored" or "Negroes."
With apologies, those terms will be used in this play, with the
exception that Clarence Darrow did occasionally use the term "black."
FINAL OBSERVATION: By definition, My Name is Ossian Sweet is a work of
fiction, yet an epic docu-drama based on well-researched historical
events. Given the strong contingent of both black and white
characters, this drama provides an outstanding opportunity for
colleges or companies consisting predominantly of one race or the
other to work together to produce the play, with positive and
harmonious results both on and off-stage.
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LocationReading Community Players (View)
403 N. 11th Street
Reading, PA 19604
United States
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