A children’s show featuring a black puppet, which purports to be a caricature of storyteller Franck Sylvestre, is causing controversy in the West Island of Montreal, where a group representing black people canceled a performance, by comparing the puppet to one blackface (makeup in Black).
Beaconsfield City Council decided last Monday to withdraw the coin Blackbeard’s Incredible Secret municipal programming following complaints from citizens, including the West Island Black Community Association (WIBCA). The show was due to premiere next Monday night.
While the WIBCA tries to have another performance canceled in Pointe-Claire on Sunday, author and storyteller Franck Sylvestre is devastated and cries out for censorship, he who has presented his play dozens of times in several places, notably to audiences blacks, as at the Maison d’Haiti in Montreal, without arousing complaints.
“This is a very serious precedent for creation, the freedom of artists and freedom of expression,” he denounced. The puppet is impressive, it is made like a mask. It’s me exaggerated, I caricatured myself. »
“Memories of blackface »
But according to Joan Lee, president of the WIBCA, there is nothing funny about the character created by Mr. Sylvestre.
The puppet triggers many old memories of blackface, which is traumatic for many adults. We’ve come a long way over the years and we don’t want to go back to the past.
Joan Lee, WIBCA President
She feels that her group’s position well represents the opinion of the West Island community, “and not just the black community,” she said. “Maybe the play was considered acceptable in other communities, but not in the West Island. People don’t want their tax dollars used to present this play. »
Mme Lee especially fears the impact on children who would see a black character portrayed this way, with exaggerated features.
She notes that this controversy comes in the midst of Black History Month, a time that serves to celebrate excellence in the black community. “We don’t want our history to be tarnished at this time of year,” she said.
According to Franck Sylvestre, even if some people may be offended by the appearance of his puppet, this is not a reason to ban his show.
“I understand that it can raise old ghosts, but you have to live with it,” he said. We cannot change the whole landscape around us because it does not correspond to our personal sensibility. »
“Political interference”
The storyteller is especially indignant at the fact that the Beaconsfield City Council has decided to ban the performance of the play. “It’s political interference in cultural programming. I am amazed that elected officials made such a quick decision,” he observed.
Beaconsfield Mayor Georges Bourelle says council wanted to avoid controversy following the complaints. The decision to withdraw the piece was made after a discussion by the elected caucus on Monday evening.
The West Island Black Community Association is considered credible, and they believe that this kind of presentation is not representative of their culture.
The Mayor of Beaconsfield, Georges Bourelle
The City of Pointe-Claire has for its part decided to maintain the presentation of the play, Sunday, at the municipal library, after a vote of the elected officials. “We took the complaints into consideration, but we also took into account the history of the play and the actor, and the fact that he is endorsed by the Conseil des arts de Montréal,” said Lucie Lamoureux, door- word of the municipality.
Franck Sylvestre, who has Martinican origins, first created his piece in 2009 and reworked it to start presenting it again two years ago. The show tells the story of the curse of Moctezuma, leader of the Aztecs of Mexico, the conquistador Cortés and the unfortunate Blackbeard, can we read on the Ratatouille Productions website.
As part of a tour organized by the Conseil des arts de Montréal, Blackbeard’s Incredible Secret was recently presented to children aged 4 to 10 in Rosemont, Villeray, Anjou, Saint-Léonard, Côte-des-Neiges, LaSalle and Rivière-des-Prairies, among others.