Flyin' West

Flyin’ West takes place a mere 33 years after the abolition of slavery. The play creates a dichotomy between characters born into slavery and those born free, demonstrating how the trauma of slavery didn’t simply end with emancipation but continues to reverberate in younger generations, intertwined with new manifestations of racial violence and trauma. Cultural identity and practices evolved over time, passed down through generations. However, slave owners worked to systematically obliterate Black cultural identity, undermine the organization of Black family and community, and deny Black humanity. After emancipation, Jim Crow laws and the legalized racial violence in white-dominated cities became the next mechanism for teaching African Americans that they should feel fear and shame for being Black. Black identity, history, and cultural pride could only be cultivated and passed down within Black-only social spheres.

For Sophie, Miss Leah, and Wil, the trauma of slavery created a need to immerse themselves in an all-Black community. Owning property is a way of triumphing and celebrating the progress from once being treated as property. They have no interest in integrating or assimilating into white society. Miss Leah, who was alone, has chosen Sophie and her sisters as family to inherit her stories, her wisdom, and her land.