By Shellae Mueller, Penumbra Theatre

On September 10, 2014, Over 200 people turned out at Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul, MN for Let’s Talk: Ferguson. This special program was created to invite the community to share in a conversation around the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, the long-standing racial tensions in that community and in the country, and the role the arts can play in explaining and easing those tensions.

Sarah Bellamy, Co-Artistic Director of Penumbra, led a panel discussion which included activist artist Ricardo Levins Morales, theologian Rev. Matthew Johnson, and Penumbra’s Education Director, Dr. SooJin Pate. After the brief panel, audience members were asked to share their thoughts by always leading with statements about how they were feeling in order to create a safe, compassionate, and respectful space. The audience shared personal insights, stories about past experiences, shared suggestions on how we can be a better community, and thanked Penumbra for being brave enough to host the conversation. One woman in the audience noted the next morning, “A couple of times last night, I knew I was in the right place. I knew because I wanted to leave, wanted to check my phone – wanted to turn down the truth a little bit. I stayed because it was a place where I could learn alongside others yearning to understand.”

When asked how the arts can support social justice, Ms. Bellamy had this to say: “Change will require hard work from all sectors of society, but the arts have a vital role to play in racial justice efforts. The power of human empathy is immeasurable. The arts keep us in a space of gratitude, open-mindedness, and inspiration. We must be careful not to become desensitized to these issues and numb to the statistics; every time we hear about the premature and violent death of a child by gun violence, I want people to picture a child they know and care about so that we’re all compelled to do something to make our communities safer for everyone. Theater is a powerful vehicle to encourage empathy, to model responsible action, and to promote equity.”

You can watch the conversation by clicking here.