Amma Y. Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin: A musical that examines black identity in the 1901 World's Fair | TED

翻译人员: Yanyan Hong

The archive.

档案馆，

One may envision rooms and shelves

让我们想象到很多房间和架子，

stocked with boxes and cartons of old stuff.

摆满了装着老物件的盒子和纸箱，

And yet, for those who are patient enough to dig through it,

但对于那些 想好好在其中挖掘的人，

the archive provides the precious opportunity

档案馆有个难得的机会

to touch the past,

去接触过去，

to feel and learn from the experiences

在那些曾活过、现已逝去，

of once-living people who now seem dead and buried deeply in the archive.

且被深埋档案中的人物 的经历中，去感受，去学习。

But what if there was a way to bring the archive to life?

但，如果有办法让档案活过来呢？

Jon Michael Reese: "The world is thinking wrong about race."

乔恩·迈克尔·里斯（乔）： “这个世界对种族的想法是错误的。”

Melissa Joyner: "This country insists upon judging the Negro."

梅丽莎·乔伊纳（梅）： “这个国家坚持要去评判黑人。”

JMR: "Because it does not know."

乔：“因为它不知道。”

讲者：如果它能够呼吸呢？

AYGTK: What if one could make it breathe?

梅：“用它最卑鄙和最恶劣的代表。”

MJ: "By his lowest and most vicious representatives."

AYGTK: Speak.

讲者：说吧。

乔：“一种真诚、直接的展示。”

JMR: "An honest, straightforward exhibit."

AYGTK: And even sing to us,

讲者：甚至对我们歌唱，

从而人人都能获取档案。

so that the archive becomes accessible to everyone.

把档案表演出来会是怎样？

What would performing the archive look like?

A performance that is not simply based on a true story

这是一场不只是基于 真实故事的表演，

but one that allows us to come face-to-face

它还能让我们与那些已经

with things we thought were once dead and buried.

逝去和被埋葬的人面对面。

(Piano music)

（钢琴配乐）

This is what "At Buffalo," a new musical we're developing,

这就是我们即将上演的音乐剧，

is all about.

《在水牛城》要呈现的。

Using collections from over 30 archival institutions,

使用了来自超过 30 个档案馆的藏品，

"At Buffalo" performs the massive archive of the 1901 Pan-American Exposition,

《在水牛城》演绎了 1901 年 泛美博览会的大量档案，

the first World's Fair of the 20th century,

它是二十世纪的 第一届世界博览会，

held in Buffalo, New York.

在纽约水牛城举办。

Now, if you've heard of this fair,

如果你听说过这届博览会，

it might be because this is where then-US president, William McKinley,

或许是因为当时的 美国总统威廉·麦金利，

was assassinated.

就是在这届博览会遭遇刺杀。

For nearly 17 years,

近 17 年来，

I've stayed inside the gates and the archive of this fair,

我们都一直在这场博览会 和它的档案里摸索，

not only because of that story

不仅是因为那个故事，

but because of a real life-and-death racial drama

也是因为真实的生死种族剧，

that played out on the fairgrounds.

就在博览会的举办地上演。

Here, in a place that was like Disney World, the Olympics,

这个地方犹如结合迪士尼，奥运村，

carnivals, museums, all in one,

嘉年华和博物馆为一体，

there were three conflicting displays of what it meant to be black

在这里有三大极具冲突的展出， 旨在表现在美国

in the United States.

身为黑人的含义。

The archive says white showmen presented

档案告诉我， 白人表演家为我们展示了

a savage black origin

野蛮的黑人血统，

in the form of 98 West and Central Africans,

由 98 位西非和中非人的参演，

living and performing war dances

在一个被称为“最黑暗的非洲”的

in a recreated village called Darkest Africa.

重建村庄里现场表演战舞。

And across the street,

而街对面则展现了

a happy slave life,

幸福的奴隶生活，

in the form of 150 Southern black performers,

150 名南方黑人表演者在

picking cotton,

采摘棉花，

singing and dancing minstrel shows

进行歌舞表演，

in a recreated antebellum attraction called Old Plantation.

这一切都发生一个重建的 被称为“旧种植园” 的战前景点。

As a response,

作为回应，

the black Buffalo community championed the third display of blackness:

黑水牛社区支援了第三届 关于黑人的展出：

the Negro Exhibit.

黑人展览。

Codesigned by African American scholar W.E.B. Du Bois,

由非裔美国学者 W.E.B.杜波伊斯共同签署，

it curated photographs, charts, books and more,

策展内容包含 照片、图表、书籍等，

to show black Americans as a high-achieving race,

为了向人们展示美国黑人 是一个了不起的种族，

capable of education and progress.

他们同样有接受教育 和获得进步的能力。

When I first encountered this story,

当我第一次听说这个故事时，

I understood from my own life experience

自己的生活经历让我明白了，

what was at stake to have members of the African diaspora

让非洲侨民能像这样看待彼此关系

see each other like this.

事关重大。

For me, as the child of immigrant parents from Ghana, West Africa,

我的父母是西非加纳移民，

born in the American South,

我出生于美国南部，

raised in Manhattan, Kansas,

在堪萨斯州曼哈顿长大，

(Laughter)

（笑声）

and having attended the same elite school as Du Bois,

和杜波伊斯一样上过精英学校，

I could see that the Buffalo fair effectively pitted

我能看出，水牛城博览会 实际上有效地导致了

the black Northerner against the Southerner,

北方黑人对抗南方黑人，

the educated against the uneducated,

受教育者反对未受教育者，

and the African American against the African.

以及非洲美国裔对抗非洲人。

And I wanted to know:

而且我想要知道：

How did these three distinct groups of black folk navigate this experience?

这三个不同类别的黑人群体 是如何在这样的体验中探寻自我的？

Unfortunately, the archive had answers to questions like this

遗憾的是，档案对这些问题的答案

underneath racial caricature,

都包含是种族讽刺、相互矛盾的信息，

conflicting information and worse -- silence.

更糟糕的是——沉默。

(Piano music)

（钢琴伴奏）

Still, I could hear musical melodies

不过，我还能听到 旧报纸中的音乐旋律，

and see dance numbers

望见跳跃的数字，

感受语言的律动，

and the rhythms of the words

coming off the pages of old newspaper articles.

一切都跃然纸上。

And learning that this World's Fair

得知在这届世界博览会上，

had music playing everywhere on its fairgrounds,

音乐回荡在整个会场，

I knew that live, immersive, spectacular musical theater,

我知道那叹为观止的音乐剧现场，

with the latest technologies of our time,

有了我们这个时代的最新技术，

is the closest experience that can bring the archival story of the 1901 fair

能够将 1901 年世博会的档案故事 从箱子里搬出来，带给我们

out of boxes and into life.

最身临其境的体验。

Stories, like Tannie and Henrietta,

其中有像丹妮和亨丽埃塔 这样的故事。

a husband and wife vaudeville duo in love

他们是一对相爱的歌舞杂耍夫妻，

who become at odds over performing these "coon" minstrel shows

为了在老种植园的景点 实现他们每周五赚美元的梦想，

while striving for their five-dollar-a-week dream

在进行这些“黑人”吟游歌手

in the Old Plantation attraction.

的表演时发生了争执。

Like African businessman John Tevi,

有非洲商人约翰·特维的故事，

from present-day Togo,

他来自今天的多哥，

who must outwit the savage rules of the human zoo

他必须战胜让自己深陷其中的

in which he has become trapped.

人类动物园的野蛮规则。

And stories like Mary Talbert,

还有像玛丽·塔尔伯特这样的故事，

a wealthy leader of the black Buffalo elite,

黑水牛团体中一个富有的精英领袖，

who must come to terms

她必须选择接受

with the racial realities of her home town.

家乡的种族现实。

MJ: "The dominant race in this country

梅：“在这个国家， 占统治地位的种族

insists upon judging the Negro

坚持让那些最卑鄙、

by his lowest and most vicious representatives."

最恶毒的代表来评判黑人。”

AYGTK: Like Old Plantation and Darkest Africa.

讲者：就像“旧种植园” 和“最黑暗的非洲”。

MJ: "... instead of by the more intelligent and worthy classes."

梅：“……而不是更有智慧、 更具有价值的阶层。”

AYGTK: When fair directors ignored Mary Talbert

讲者：当博览会的理事会 无视玛丽·塔尔伯特，以及

and the local black Buffalo community's request to participate in the fair,

当地的黑水牛社区 对参加博览会的请求，

newspapers say that Mary Talbert

报纸上说，玛丽·塔尔伯特

and her club of educated African American women

和她受过教育的美国 非裔女性俱乐部成员

held a rousing protest meeting.

一同举行了一场 鼓舞人心的抗议集会。

But the details of that meeting,

但会议的细节，

even down to the fiery speech she gave,

甚至是她激烈的说辞，

were not fully captured in the archive.

都未能被档案完整记载。

So, "At Buffalo" takes the essence of Mary's speech

因此，《在水牛城》 重现了玛丽演说的精髓，

and turns it into song.

并将它以歌曲的形式展现。

(All singing) We must, we are unanimous.

（齐唱）我们必须， 我们必须团结一心。

We must, we are unanimous.

我们必须，我们必须团结一心。

MJ: We've got something to show --

梅：我们有东西要展示——

we're going to teach a lesson in Buffalo.

我们要在水牛城上一课。

It would benefit the nation

见证我们解放以来的发展，

to see our growth since emancipation.

国家会因此受益。

Colored people should be represented in this Pan-American exposition,

有色人种应该在本次 泛美博览会上被听见，

it would benefit the nation

见证我们解放以来的发展，

to see our growth since emancipation.

国家会因此受益。

(All singing) They made a great mistake

（齐唱）他们犯了大错，

not to appoint someone from the race.

未曾任命有色人种的代表。

We must, we are unanimous.

我们必须，我们必须团结一心。

We must, we are unanimous.

我们必须，我们必须团结一心。

We must, we are unanimous.

我们必须团结一心。

AYGTK: Mary Talbert successfully demands that the Negro Exhibit come to the fair.

讲者：玛丽·塔尔伯特成功的 把黑人展带进了世博会。

And to have the Negro Exhibit in Buffalo

让黑人展来到水牛城，

means that the musical must tell the story behind why Du Bois cocreated it ...

意味着这部音乐剧必须讲述 杜波依斯为什么要合作创作它的故事……

and why Mary and the black elite felt it was urgently needed.

以及为什么玛丽和黑人精英们 认为这已迫在眉睫。

JMR: "The world is thinking wrong about race.

乔：“这个世界对种族的 想法是错误的。”

They killed Sam Hose for who they thought he was.

他们因为自己所认定的 萨姆·霍斯的身份而杀了他。

And more men like him, every day,

每天，还有许许多多像他的人，

more Negro men, like him, taken apart.

许许多多像他的黑人，被处决。

And after that -- that red ray ...

而自那以后——那道红线……

we can never be the same.

我们永远不会再是一样。

(Singing) A red ray

（唱）那道红线

【一个在乔治亚州打猎的人】

[A man hunt in Georgia]

cut across my desk

划分了我的桌台，

[Mob after Hose; he will be lynched if caught]

【暴徒追捕霍斯； 若抓住他，将处以私刑]】

the very day

就在那天，

Sam's hands were laid to rest.

萨姆终于撒手离去。

Can words alone withstand the laws unjust?

光靠言辞就能抵挡 不公正的法律吗？

[Escape seems impossible]

【逃离似乎不可能】

Can words alone withstand the violence?

光靠语言的力量 就能反抗暴力吗？

Oh, no, oh.

噢，不，噢。

[Burned alive]

【被活活烧死】

[Sam Hose is lynched]

【萨姆·霍斯被私刑处死】

Oh, no, oh.

噢，不，噢。

[His body cut in many pieces]

【他的身体被四分五裂】

Oh, no, oh.

噢，不，噢。

[Burned at the Stake]

【被烧死在火刑柱上】

[Ten Cents Slice Cooked Liver.]

【10美分】 【切片】 【煮熟】 【肝脏】

[Fight for souvenirs.]

【为战利品而战】

(Both singing) Who has read the books?

（同唱）谁曾读过这些书？

Our numbers and statistics look small

我们的数字和统计与页数

against the page.

比起来太过渺小。

The crisis has multiplied.

我们面对的危机却已成倍增加，

Our people are lynched and died.

我们的人民被私刑处死。

Oh, Lord.

噢，神啊。

Something must change.

有些东西必须改变。

AYGTK: Something must change.

讲者：有些东西必须改变。

"At Buffalo" reveals how the United States today

《在水牛城》揭示了现今的美国

stands at similar crossroads as 1901 America.

与 1901 年的美国处于 怎样相似的十字路口。

Just as the name of Sam Hose filled newspapers back then,

就像当时满报纸都是 萨姆·霍斯的名字一样，

today's media carries the names of:

今天的媒体会有这样的名字：

JMR: Oscar Grant.

乔：奥斯卡 ·格兰特。 (2009 年被警察枪杀的黑人男性)

MJ: Jacqueline Culp.

梅：杰奎琳·卡尔普。 (2012 年被警车撞死的黑人女性)

Pianist: Trayvon Martin.

钢琴家：特拉伊冯·马丁。 （2012 年被枪杀的黑人男性）

AYGTK: Sandra Bland.

讲者：桑德拉·布兰德。 （2015 年莫名死于狱中的黑人女性）

And too many others.

还有很多其他人。

The 1901 fair's legacies persist

1901 年博览会的 遗留问题依然存在，

in more ways than we can imagine.

在很多方面超越我们的想象。

MJ: Mary Talbert

梅：玛莉·塔尔伯特

and the National Association of Colored Women

和国家有色人种妇女协会

started movements against lynching

发起了一系列运动，以反对私刑

and the myth of black criminality

和无故对黑人定罪的荒谬想法。

just as black women today started Black Lives Matter.

就像今天的黑人妇女开启的“黑人的命也是命 （Black Lives Matter）”运动。

JMR: And some of the same people who fought for

乔：还有同样的一些 为了开办黑人展

and created the Negro Exhibit,

而不停奋斗的人们，

including Du Bois,

包括杜博伊斯在内，

came to Buffalo, four years after the fair,

他们在世博会的四年后来到水牛城，

to start the Niagara Movement,

启动了尼亚加拉运动，

which set the groundwork for the creation of the NAACP.

为国家有色人种 协进会的成立奠定了基础。

AYGTK: It's not just black folks

讲者：不仅仅是那些黑人

who had a peculiar experience at the 1901 fair.

在 1901 年的博览会上 有过非凡的经历。

An official handbook informed fair-goers:

一本官方手册告诉参加博览会的人：

MJ: "Please remember:"

梅：“请铭记：”

JMR: "... once you get inside the gate,"

乔：“当你跨入这扇大门，”

AYGTK: "... you are a part of the show."

讲者：“……你就是演出的一部分。”

Performing the archive in "At Buffalo"

表演关于《在水牛城》的档案，

allows audiences to ask themselves,

使得观众们能够扪心自问，

"Are we still inside the gates,

“我们还在这扇大门里吗？

and are we all still part of the show?"

我们仍是这场演出的一部分吗？”

(Music ends)

（音乐停止）

(Applause and cheers)

（掌声和欢呼）