Published in The Crisis, April 1918
SUMMARY
Dan, Chris, and Lucy are siblings who live in a tenement. The family once lived in a nicer neighborhood with their parents, but were driven out by white neighbors. Their house was burned down and it is implied that their father was lynched. Their mother later died from an illness, leaving the children to fend for themselves. Dan was injured in a factory accident and is permanently disabled. Chris is drafted into the military and the family have a debate as to whether he should go. Chris begrudgingly agrees to go, despite all the terrible things that have happened to their family because of racism in the U.S.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS PLAY
- The play ends by “the Battle Hymn of the Republic” getting louder and louder until it overwhelms the scene.
- Each of the siblings are distinct and the way they cope with their situation contrasts with each other. Lucy is always reflecting on the “good old days,” whereas Dan reminds her of how everything was taken away as a result of systemic racism. Chris is the only one with a life outside the family, spending time with various women. It is an example of how trauma can affect people in different ways.
- The play features immigrants and people of color, including Irish and Jewish neighbors and a settlement worker. It places the characters’ experiences in the context of other oppressions.
MEMORABLE LINES
CHRIS: Yes, of course, you’re afraid, Little Sister, why shouldn’t you be? Haven’t you had your soul shriveled with fear since we were driven like dogs from our home? And for what? Because we were living like Christians. Must I go and fight for the nation that let my father’s murder go unpunished? That killed my mother–that took away my chances for making a man out of myself? Look at us–you–Dan, a shell of a man–
* * *
CHRIS: He went to fight for his own. What do they do for my people? They don’t want us, except in extremity. They treat us like–like–like–
JAKE: Like Jews in Russia, eh? [He slouches forward, then his frame straightens itself electrically.] Like Jews in Russia, eh? Denied the right of honor in men, eh? Or the right of virtue in women, eh? There isn’t a wrong you can name that your race has endured that mine has not suffered, too. But there’s a future, Chris–a big one. We younger ones must be in that future–ready for it, ready for it– [His voice trails off, and he sinks despondently into a chair.]
* * *
CHRIS: I’m not going, Julia.
MRS. O’NEILL: Not going!
DAN: Our men have always gone, Chris. They went in 1776.
CHRIS: Yes, as slaves. Promised a freedom they never got.
HISTORICAL NOTES
- The play references the Settlement House Movement, the Anti-Lynching Movement, and the World War I Selective Service Act.
- Dunbar-Nelson graduated from Straight College in 1892.
- Mine Eyes Have Scene was published in The Crisis, the official journal of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
- The play was performed at Howard High School where Dunbar-Nelson was an English teacher.
- Dunbar-Nelson also wrote poetry and fiction.
Read the play HERE
Photo Credit: Jarmoluk, “Architecture,” 2017