Back in the day when I was doing theatre, I was in a play called “Day of Absence,” by Douglas Turner Ward. It was produced by the Wilkinsburg Arts Theatre and is typically done with another one act play called “Happy Endings.” The play takes place on a particular day in the early 1960s, in a small Southern town that is left with only the White residents. All the Blacks have disappeared. Using caustic humor, the playwright shows all the unappreciated work that was done by “coloreds” in the town. The town’s businesses are in trouble because “the absence of handymen, porters, sweepers, stock-movers, deliverers and miscellaneous dirty-work doers is disrupting the smooth harmony of marketing!” The factories are paralyzed because “men are waiting for machines to be cleaned, floors to be swept, crates lifted, equipment delivered and bathrooms to be deodorized.” The young White mothers don’t know how to change their babies’ diapers or calm them when they cry, since all the “mammies” have disappeared. The irony of the play is that all the characters are African Americans in white face. I loved that play and my picture appeared on the cover of “In Pittsburgh,” in white face, in the August 1990 issue.
Fast forward to Feb. 2017 and the National Day Without Immigrants. It took place last week and, according to news organizations around the United States, thousands of construction companies, restaurants and other businesses conducted A Day Without Immigrants with a combination boycott/strike that highlights the contributions of immigrants to U.S. businesses and culture. The movement was a response to President Trump’s immigration agenda, which includes a pledge to seal the U.S. border with Mexico and a travel ban on citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries. Right now, the ban is on hold. Locally, I heard about a few businesses that were going to be closed for the day, but the new ‘day of absence’ didn’t have any effect on me.
I read some follow up stories and it seemed like some people lost their jobs. The day was organized mainly via social media and immigrants undocumented and otherwise were encouraged to stay home from school, close businesses, not shop and not go to work. Reportedly, school attendance was down in many cities across the country.
It was reported that 18 people were fired from a Tennessee business after joining the nation-wide protest. The 18 employees at Bradley Coatings, Inc., in Nolensville, Tenn., told their supervisors on Wednesday they’d be taking part in the nationwide movement. Then, on Thursday, they were told they no longer had jobs. Tennessee is an employment-at-will state, which basically means an employer can end your employment at any time without reason or cause. Bradley Coatings, a family-owned business that provides commercial painting to customers on a demanding schedule, allegedly told its employees that they needed to show up for work and if they took the day off, they would be terminated.
I think there will be a lot of protests in the next four years. We better get prepared.
(Email the columnist at debbienorrell@aol.com)
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