BARBARA EARL THOMAS WINS A GENIUS AWARD
When you, Barbara Earl Thomas, won the Stranger Genius Award in art last Saturday night at the Moore Theatre, the audience went wild with applause. Crazy. They wouldn’t stop. You had to soothe them. “Calm yourselves,” you said, laughing—three times before you were heeded. But there was something that you wanted to say, something you wanted heard. “We are in a very critical point in our history as human beings,” you began, “in a place where we are at the rip of the human heart.” You landed hard on the “t” sound. “Our history, our place on this planet, the things that are each and every one of our responsibilities, are coming to bear right at this moment. And what I’d like to say to each and every one of you is if you can’t be kind, at least be civil.” You paused and looked around at the audience. You have lived in this community your entire life. You have felt its racism. You have felt its love. You have been kind, and you have been civil. Louder conversations about bigotry don’t necessarily mean better ones, you have observed time and again on social networks. So what you wanted to say had to do with being right in front of people, or acting like you are even when you aren’t. “When I see you and relate to you, please say hello. Please smile,” you implored. “It doesn’t cost you a damn thing. That is what is at stake. Each and every one of us has this responsibility. Everything we do matters. I will leave the stage now. And like I said: Behave.”