GOLDEN

GOLDEN

Welcome to your dramaturgy site for Golden by Andrew Lee Creech at ACT!

My name is Martine Kei Green-Rogers and I am your neighborhood friendly dramaturg!

This site will be updated as needed during the process. If you have questions, feel free to reach out to me via the form at the bottom of the page or my email on the contact sheet.

Prince George’s County, Maryland

(Right outside of D.C.)

Prince George's County was formed from land in Calvert and Charles Counties by an act of the General Assembly on Saint George's Day, April 23, 1696. The County was named after Prince George of Denmark, the husband of Princess Anne, and the heir to the throne of England.

Free Black families living in the county prior to the Civil War were not able to acquire titles to land until the 1870s or later. However, over decades and multiple generations, Black families began to prosper.

For over 300 years, African Americans have raised families and built communities that have been vital to the growth and development of Prince George’s County and its history. Men and women have established neighborhoods, established businesses, infused the cultural landscape through arts and technology, and built structures, which have survived through years of change.

Laundry & Black Entrepreneurship

Thomas Jennings is believed to be the first African-American to receive a patent. Born free in New York City at the end of the 18th century, he became a tailor and patented “dry scouring” in 1821. This was the predecessor of modern dry cleaning. He had a profitable career and spent his time and money as an activist. He was active against slavery, segregation, and colonization of Africa, and he supported immigration and suffrage.

Clara Brown opened the first laundromat in Colorado in the mid-1800s. Born enslaved in Virginia, she made her way west after her slaveowner’s children freed her. After opening her laundry business, she also sold meals to settlers and invested in real estate and minds. She earned $10,000 by the end of the Civil War in 1865. She is known for her charity and civic involvement, being the first woman in the Colorado Pioneers’ Association.

The Great Recession

The Great Recession was a global period of economic decline from late 2007 to mid-2009, though its effects were felt for years after. The causes are still debated today, but it was generally caused by risky financial policy, housing bubbles, shadow banking, and rising debt. The effects were the housing crisis, rising unemployment, plummeting net worth, and American distrust of financial and government institutions.

In October 2008, President Bush and Congress passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (also known as the Wall Street Bailout). This act created the Troubled Assets Relief Program, which allocated $700 billion to purchase toxic assets from financial institutions. About half of that money was used to purchase bank stock.

In February 2009, President Obama passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This allocated $700-$800 billion to protecting existing jobs and creating new ones, creating relief for Americans most affected, and investing in infrastructure, education, public health, and renewable energy.

Reflect: How do you remember the recession? How did it affect you personally? In what specific ways did your life change? How did it feel? What about in the years afterwards?

The 2010 Haiti Earthquake

The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest, approximately 16 miles west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital.

By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater had been recorded. An estimated three million people were affected by the quake. Death toll estimates range from 100,000-160,000 to Haitian government figures from 220,000-316,000, although these latter figures are a matter of some dispute. Along with the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, it is a contender for the deadliest natural disaster of the decade. The government of Haiti estimated that 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged. Haiti's history of national debt, prejudicial trade policies by other countries, and foreign intervention into national affairs contributed to the existing poverty and poor housing conditions that increased the death toll from the disaster.

Just one day after the earthquake, the U.S. Red Cross released a statement that it had run out of medical supplies. A mass appeal for donations began.

Glossary

  • A disdainful reference to Bush’s Wall Street Bailout.

  • As far as I can tell, this doesn’t reference a historical plantation.

  • Land development programs that address so-called “urban decay” by clearing existing communities and building new.

Contact me

Questions? Feel free to leave them for me here!