Johnson performs one-man show

E. Patrick Johnson performed “Pouring Tea: Black Gay Men of the South Tell Their Tales” Monday as part of the Gender and Sexuality Studies Major Week.

The performance took place in Freeman Auditorium to a packed house with an audience of Tulane faculty, students, community members and staff from other universities. Many audience members had to sit on the floor due to the overwhelming turnout.

Johnson acts out a scene during the event last Tuesday.

Johnson’s performance was the inaugural event marking the program’s name change from “women’s studies” to “gender and sexuality studies.”

“We wanted to hold an inaugural event that would introduce the new program to Tulane students, faculty and staff and also to the greater New Orleans community,” said Kate Drabinski of the gender and sexuality studies department. “Johnson’s work on black gay men in the South as well as his work on performance as an artistic, intellectual and political practice made him the perfect choice to show the new face of the program.”

Johnson is a professor and chair in the department of performance studies and a professor of African-American studies at Northwestern University. His performances deal with topics including race, gender and sexuality.

Johnson provided glimpses into the lives of gay men in an black community, performing eight different narratives from his book “Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South — An Oral History.” The narratives were assembled from a series of interviews conducted from 2004 to 2006. Johnson interviewed black gay men who were born, raised and live in the South, ranging in age from 19 to 93-years old.

“Some students could really relate to Johnson’s stories of Southern Black gay identity, even if they didn’t fit all of those categories,” Drabinski said. “Others found the messages about the struggle to be oneself in both friendly and hostile contexts really moving, even if sometimes sad.”

No topic was off-limits for Johnson, who talked about the process of coming out, gay men in the church, AIDS and transgendered individuals.

“It is easier to be loved for something that you’re not than hated for something that you are,” Johnson said in one of his narratives.

Freshman Crosby Fitzgerald, a student in the gender and sexuality studies program, said she admired Johnson’s approach when dealing with the sensitive topics.

“The audience was laughing and crying, and while sometimes I did feel very upset about how difficult life for these men is, Johnson’s performance never evoked pity from me,” Fitzgerald said. “I think that was my favorite part. I could tell in his impersonations of various men that he had a deep respect for these men’s stories, and he wanted these stories to be known.”

Many students and faculty members learned from Johnson’s performance.

“Storytelling is a powerful pedagogical and political practice, and we can learn a lot from centering and universalizing the experiences and viewpoints of people who are often marginalized,” Drabinski said. “And that laughing together is really important and a whole lot of fun.”