Diandra Reviews It All- Scraps Shows Police Brutality Marks Black Youth

Playing at The Flea Theater till September 24, Scraps shows the raw, unabashed hurt of black youth struggling to accept that their deaths are made valid through white discomfort. From Trayvon Martin to Eric Garner and Jordan Edwards, many young, black men have been savagely killed by the badges meant to protect them from such a fate. Yet, the worst part, is that their killings have been argued as justified.

Written by Geraldine Inoa and directed by Niegel Smith, Scraps is not an easy watch, especially in these politicized times. Nowadays, to say, “Black Lives Matter,” can cause an uproar of “reverse-racism” accusations. Yet, it is in that believed exchange, the idea that to say my community matters means yours cannot, where Scraps finds its disgruntled home. When Aisha loses her man/ her baby’s father, Forest Wintrhop, to a police killing, she does not know how to embrace the cruelty of his fate and his still needed presence in her life. Tanyamaria plays Adriana like a moving volcano. She is funny, sweet, tender, but angry, volatile, and cryingover a world that cannot accept black people have always been on it. Knowing her son’s father was shot dead by a cop, despite having no weapon, is enraging. He is, literally, unjustifiably killed on a “pamper run,” and knowing he died getting diapers feels “so less” and unbearably undignified. Yet, all is justified by The Cop (Andrew Baldwin) who claims he was “aggressively” running.

As Adriana’s spirit boils like water Jean-Baptise (Roland Lane), her sister Aisha (Alana Raquel Bowers), and Calvin (Michael Oleyede) try to comfort her while feeling lost. It is fascinating to see how they themselves “guilt” Forest for being “there” at the wrong time, wrong place, and with the wrongly interpreted actions. They feel frustrated with him for not going out during the day for diapers or for running, at all. In essence, how could Forest forget he was a black man in Bed-stuy while buying diapers? He let his guard down to get something for his kid, and now he will never be there for him again. Still, they are angrier and hateful towards the cops, and seeing their loathing build for whites is devastating and makes peace feel more impossible. It is like watching a victim lose his/heart and prep to become a victimizer. Their justifiable rage turns into an inexcusable hatred for the “other” that proves hate crimes and acts of violence against minorities leave indelible marks on the spirit, especially with The Cop/ cops roaming around in their jobs and perceived dignity. Yet, there is humor spread throughout the darkness of this play.

Jean-Baptise feels like “the sage” of Scraps. The one-man, Greek Chorus that adds insightful and irreverent commentary to the character’s lives. Yet, Lane uses Baptiste’s bond with Aisha to add tenderness to a character that could have been entrapped by the “deranged drunkard” role. Both him and Aisha are too smart and sad because they know the day of “black and equality” is is more distant than ever after Forest’s death. Bowers’ Aisha is gut-wrenching. She is the brightest woman in darkness, and she has one of the most powerful, graphic scenes that will leave your stomach churning with devastation. Still, it is Michael Oleyede’s Calvin that breaks heart.

Oleyede gives Calvin a nobility and precociousness that fuels his eventual tragedy. He is an intelligent, empathetic man with a bright future that gets crushed because, as the ending will show: life is a wheel of fortune for young, black men, and all they need is one bad move to lose all they have won. Through Calvin we see there is never stability for black skin; with all gains feeling open to earthquakes of “bad luck/ systemic oppression”. Such a notion is culminated with a very weird, surreal ending that has Forest and Aisha’s child, Sebastian (Bryn Carter), confronting cops in pig masks and demons that ask him strange questions about his father. Ultimately, the nightmarish scenario is meant to conclude that, like his father, Sebastian will have to fight the same fate of police brutality. To buy tickets fro Scraps Click Here. The Flea Theater Is Located On 20 Thomas Street -New York, NY 10007