Notes From the Field
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
No options but jail or death; look askance at a cop at your own peril; we’re failing our kids, our young adults, our own humanity. These are but some of the messages Anna Deavere Smith channeled in her indelible show, “Notes From the Field.” Melding journalism, anthropology and performance, Smith stitched a riveting investigation of the political, economic and social forces that have built — too well — the vast school-to-prison pipeline. It brimmed with pathos and bits of hope. When she delivered the speech of the Rev. Jamal Bryant at the funeral of Freddie Gray, the audience was transported to church, grieving alongside Gray’s family. When she assumed the role of the NAACP’s Sherrilyn Ifill, observing the “heaviness” across our land and lamenting our collective decision to invest in prisons, you could not help but take the remark as as prognosis for our near future. Will we redirect our resources? Will a day come when every child gets a fair chance at hope? Smith alone cannot provide answers. But together, her fascinating and tragedy-filled production implies, we may well have a critical shot.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
