Event: The John L. Warfield Center for African and African American Studies at The University of Texas at Austin presents a reading of “Sweet Tea, Black Gay Men of the South” by performance artist and scholar E. Patrick Johnson.
When: Thursday, Sept. 9 at 8 p.m., Friday, Sept. 10 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 12 at 2 p.m.
Where: F. Loren Winship Drama Building, Oscar G. Brockett Theater. A campus map is available online.
Background: Based on excerpts from his book, “Sweet Tea, Black Gay Men of the South,” Johnson will perform the oral histories of black gay men, ages 19 to 93, who were born and raised in the American South. The performance will address an array of topics, including love, sex, death, family, the church and HIV/AIDS. Johnson is professor and chair of graduate studies in the Department of Performance Studies, and professor of African American Studies at Northwestern University. A part of the John L. Warfield Center for African and African American Studies’ Performing Blackness Series, the performances will include a QandA forum on Thursday, Sept. 9, a post-performance reception on Friday, Sept. 10, and a matinee on Sunday, Sept. 12. The Performing Blackness Series is dedicated to the production of new theatrical forms that stimulate dialogue around race, identity and the role of art in fostering social change. This special production is presented in partnership with the Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media, Columbia College, Chicago and ALLGO, a statewide queer people of color organization.
