A play that looks back to the past to inform the present

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Desegregation of public schools in the United States in the 1950s, highlighted by Dorothy Counts as one of the first Black students at Harding High School, is part of the arc of U.S. history in "Trouble So Hard: Songs and Stories of Slavery, Freedom and Civil Rights."

“Trouble So Hard” is more than a performance.

It’s a statement.

“Trouble So Hard: Songs and Stories of Slavery, Freedom and Civil Rights” opened Feb. 7, at Greater Vision United Methodist Church in Huntersville and continues Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. at Matthews Playhouse’s Fullwood Theater (100 McDowell St., Matthews) and June 18, at 8 a.m. at Tyvola Senior Citizen Center.

The musical narrative starts in 1526 with the arrival of the first enslaved Africans, through the Civil Rights Movement and to the present, covering police brutality and racial violence.

Harry Taylor, the creator and activist behind the performance, is committed to making sure history is not erased. The cast is Saundra Thomas, Kel Williams and Nick Tutwiler.

During COVID-19, Taylor was working on a project when the murder of George Floyd took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which shifted the focus to something greater. 

“The outrage across the country was just extraordinary and right then and there I changed this, I said I’m going to do this, but I’m going to do this in a different fashion,” he said. “It’s not going to be really for fun.” 
The production taps into history to show the past always reflects in the present. Taylor said that’s why it’s important to see how history is repetitive.

“The same kind of people that we have in the world, people that think they’re better than everybody else, and they have the God-given right to put their thumb on people, and do whatever they want, enslave them, kill them, throw them in the water,” he said. “Then there’s other people that think that we’re all created equal and we are brought here for an opportunity to have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and I’m on that second side.” 

Taylor would like “Trouble so Hard” to reach schools and universities but admitted to having a hard time getting the narrative picked up. 

“I have to find ways to make this bigger than it is right now,” he said. “I can’t be the only person that’s out shouting in the neighborhood. I can't be the only crier.” 

In the current climate of removing history in schools, museums and libraries, Taylor thinks now is the time for people to start educating themselves on history so Americans can better understand the now.

“That’s how you indoctrinate people into living in an authoritarian regime, into the dictatorship, by taking their history, their access to history, and don’t let them be educated,” he said. “That’s what I’m trying to do with this, whether I like it or not. I’m in the twilight of my life and the good thing is that I hope that with Nick and Kelly, early 20s people that are passionate about history and music, we’re going to keep marching with that banner. We’re going to keep going.”

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