A New York City college is facing backlash after it was revealed that an opera based on Emmett Till’s life and murder was set to hit the stage.
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John Jay College student Mya Bishop launched a petition and protest to have the opera based on Till’s tragic death to be removed immediately from the college theatre roster. The production was created by Clare Coss and composed by Mary D. Watkins and it is set to premiere at the college’s Gerald W. Lynch Theatre on Wednesday and Thursday. It is also open to the public despite the outcry from college students.
On Change.org, Bishop wrote that the opera will be centered on a fictional white school teacher named Roanne Taylor, an “ally” who was against Jim Crow and racial inequality. “Clare Coss is out of line for taking it upon herself to turn Black trauma into entertainment and for exploiting a Black tragedy to propel her career and relieve her of her guilt about her whiteness,” she added.
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A spokesperson said in a statement that Bishop’s claims are inaccurate since she stated that Cross was the sole creator of the opera. “The petition completely minimizes Ms. Watkins’ role. In fact, it is common practice when referencing operas for the work to be attributed to the composer, for example, Bizet’s ‘Carmen,’ Mozart’s ‘Don Giovanni,’ and Puccini’s ‘La Boheme.’ Both Ms. Coss and Ms. Watkins have worked tirelessly to develop this work together for the last several years and it is such a disservice to her hard work, contributions, and input in this piece to suggest otherwise,” the spokesperson told the New York Daily News.
So far the petition has over 10,000 signatures but it is unclear if the CUNY college will postpone production.