The superintendent of the Cherry Hill (New Jersey) Public Schools has decided to permit one of his high schools to use the N-word in its musical production of Ragtime.
Joseph Meloche yesterday reversed an earlier decision disallowing theater students of Cherry Hill High School East from using the term.
The local NAACP was not happy with the district’s one-eighty.
Philly.com reports that Camden County East NAACP President Lloyd Henderson said “The administration flip-flopped due to a small group of majority white theater students and their supporters.
“Using the excuse of literary or artistic freedom and/or censorship, the N-word is back as the topic of entertainment.”
Ragtime takes place at the turn of the 19th century and “includes themes of racism, intolerance, and injustice.” One of the characters uses the N-word several times.
Before the production hits the stage, Meloche said, students at Cherry Hill East, one of two high schools in the district of 11,350 students, will discuss some of the themes from Ragtime in English and history classes. All East students will see the play during school, the superintendent said.
Meloche said signs will be displayed at the performances to alert the audience about the themes and language. The cast will also make a brief statement before the curtain goes up at each performance, he said. A talk-back session will be held with the audience after the two Sunday matinees, he said.
“We will make it abundantly clear that we loathe the N-word, that we despise this most vile of words in our language,” Meloche said in a statement.
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The controversy brought national attention from Broadway stars, people affiliated with the arts, and civic groups. They argued that the play should be presented with the historical context and language to accurately reflect the bigotry and racism of that time.
At a heated school board meeting Tuesday, appeals were made by both sides. An online petition started by students asking the district to allow the show to proceed with the slur has received nearly 2,000 signatures.
Among those protesting any changes in the script was Brian Stokes Mitchell, who was nominated for a Tony for his role as Coalhouse Walker Jr. in Ragtime.
The NAACP’s Henderson asked “How many people go to the theater for education? It’s entertainment first. Then anything else is what they call ‘a teachable moment’ because that’s all it is, a moment.”
Twenty-one years ago, the district yanked from the curriculum the Mark Twain classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn after black parents had complained.
Cherry Hill East HS’s black student population is approximately 6.5%. White students make up roughly 70% of the school, and Asians 19%.
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