Military Experience as A Black Man

“My daddy used to tell me… boy you got to be twice as good to come up even.”

Introducing Ron

Taylor had the pleasure of interviewing her grandfather, Ronald Harris Sr. He was born in Jacksonville, Florida on December 14, 1948. His father, Junia Harris, was in the Navy and at the time of his birth was stationed in Jacksonville. His mother, Margie Harris, was a lifelong educator. She opened one of the first daycare centers in Virginia Beach after Junia was stationed in Virginia when Ron was only 6 years old. Because of his mothers educational background and love for teaching, he was able to skip the 1st grade. Ron says, “She [Margie] had me so well trained… that she went to the school, she and dad, and they gave me some little test and just put me in the 2nd grade, so I never went to the 1st grade.”

Ron also had two sisters, Joan and Adrienne. Joan was 2 years older than Ron, and Adrienne is 10 years younger than Ron. He says, “At that time, that was considered to be a very small family… especially in the black community.” Most families he knew at the time had 6 or more children. However, in the neighborhood he grew up in, many of those families only had 2-3 children. He says, “...most only had 2, maybe 3. And they were executives, teachers…”

When discussing his high school experience, he says the best part had to be chorus class. Not necessarily because of his deep love for the music, but he says it is because that's where all of the girls were.

Military & Career

After graduating high school in 1966, Ron then attended the Norfolk Division of Virginia State University. At this time, it was a requirement in many state schools to take ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) for two years. So, he joined the Army ROTC, despite being raised by a Navy man. He says, “I did my 2 years in the Army ROTC and I didn’t want anything else to do with the military. The Navy had already raised me…”

Ron talked about how in the midst of the Vietnam War and the death of Dr. King, his draft notice was fueled. The civil unrest within the country played a drastic role in how the nation reacted to global crises. He talked about how the riots in Washington, DC and various places across the country led to the Army drafting as many young black men before the summer as possible. Though he didn’t know it at the time, the Army wanted to draft as many young black men before the summer in order to occupy their time while they weren’t in school. These men were being drafted in an effort to prevent more riots across the country.

In 1968, he was drafted and immediately stationed in Germany, but after a year, he came back to the states on leave and married his high school sweetheart, Carolyn Walker in August of 1969. Ron didn’t have a honeymoon, but he did return to Germany with a wife.

From 1968-1971, he was on active duty in the Army but continued to serve as an Army reservist for an additional 13 years. When asked what it meant to serve this country as a black man during this time period, he says, “It turned my whole entire life around. But it also gave me direction, because you really didn’t know what you wanted to do and back at that time, especially as a black man, it was hard to get direction because you were up against so much.” He talked about how serving his country was

honorable to his family and his father specifically. His grandfather was a WWI veteran, so continuing the legacy meant a lot to Ron, especially as the only son. Ron’s father always instilled in him the lesson of “defending what was yours.” With this lesson in mind, he talked about the importance of assuring young black people that they are fully entitled to the things of this world, just as much as any white woman or man.

After his time in the Army, Ron became a full time civilian federal employee. Between Ron and his wife, Carolyn, they have a combined 70 years of service working for the United States Government.

Looking Up

When asked about the most significant changes he has seen for individuals of color in this country over the course of his lifetime, he said, “The biggest changes I’ve seen have been in regards to the ability for better education.” We discussed the importance of access to education and how it has truly changed the game for black people and African American’s in this country.

Furthermore, we asked Ron to reflect on the world he hopes to see. He said, “I hope that we have instilled some old values that we know work.” We discussed the importance of having a foundational hold that our generation will continue to learn from and add onto as time goes on.

“Legislation doesn't change the mind of man.”

Being A Minority in the Performing Arts

Introducing Jaiden

We had the pleasure of speaking with Jaiden Casey, a local performing arts student. As a junior in high school, Jaiden is an active member of the theatre, show choir, chorus, and beauty shop quartet at Godwin High School in Henrico County. On top of these endeavors, she has also been a part of over 20 musicals with local theatre companies. Being that we are performing arts students as well, we were excited to interview Jaiden on her experience and perspective as a minority in the performing arts.

Jaiden was 6 years old when she was first exposed to the world of performing arts through a theatre camp. She then went on to do her first show, Mulan Jr., at the age of 8 years old. Throughout her 11 years and 20+ musical performances, Jaiden says, “I have found a great community of people and found a place that I consider home. No performer does it for the money but for how much they love it, and that makes the people involved that much greater.” From a young age, she knew that she not only enjoyed being onstage, but she also has what she refers to as

a “director’s brain.” In some capacity, she has always wanted to make the performing arts a career for herself, but the recent circumstances of the performing arts world with respect to COVID-19 have made her reflect on this choice. She says that “My time away from musical theatre has made me realize how much I truly love and miss it.”

Facing the Issues

During our interview, we asked Jaiden to speak on her experience being a minority in the performing arts. Jaiden told us that she has seen a shift in the casting and judgment in theatre from a young age. She says that “although ‘color blind casting’ is something attempted more often, type casting is still a struggle that minorities face.” To exemplify, she told us that she has only ever been given bigger roles of characters that are of Asian descent. In regards to our question about diversity in the companies she is involved with, she says that there is definitely not a “sea of color” onstage like she would hope to see. She then introduced us to a Broadway term called a “token performer.” Jaiden has not only seen this terminology put into action as an audience member, but she has also considered herself to be one of these performers. She best explained this concept as a “check the box situation” where casting directors will look for at least one or a few performer(s) of various ethnic and cultural backgrounds to consider their imaginary diversity quota to be fulfilled.

She said that feeling like this “token performer” has oftentimes not discouraged her because it instead makes her distinguishable from the rest of the performers. In her experience, the arts has not necessarily been a discriminatory place; however, there is definitely some level of exclusivity. Jaiden says that she sometimes feels this lack of inclusivity in casting and callbacks when she gets the feeling that “they want to see me, but they know they aren’t going to cast me.” She expressed a personal struggle she deals with, one that other minorities in the arts often deal with as well. It is the struggle in thinking that “this show or role isn't for me and was not written to represent me.”

Looking Up

After discussing the issues facing minorities in the arts, we then posed Jaiden with the question of how minorities could be better represented in the arts. She started by saying that more people and directors need to be comfortable with the fact that things are not the way they were 30+ years ago-- “the ways of the world are changing, so theatre needs to too.” And not only should this be the case, but more opportunities should be presented and made for people of color. This could include more storylines featuring people of color, truly color blind casting, or characters made to represent different communities. Jaiden then said, “what is traditional anyways?”; she refers to the theatre standards as something that is and should be evolving along with the rest of the world. Rather than even singling out actors for their specific look, casting should be based on the embodiment of the character and the best fit talent for that particular role. She said that “it is refreshing when people of color are not put in the stereotypical roles that they would normally be type casted for.”

Following this discussion, we asked Jaiden if there was anything she has learned or gained from being a person of color in the performing arts. Immediately she referred to her toughened skin because of the industry. Unfortunately, she expressed that she has been conditioned over the years to expect less out of the performing arts world. However, this growing feeling has allowed her an experience that has given her other important lessons and qualities. For one, she said, “I have learned that I need to embrace the way that I look.” She now looks to the advantages of looking different rather than their degrading desire based on the way that she looks. Second, Jaiden says that she has definitely been given tougher skin and learned a lot about resilience. She feels that every rejection or underlying feeling that she has, whether it comes from the theatre process in general or is heightened by being a minority, allows her to become stronger and more determined to hone her craft and improve herself. She reflected on a quote from one of her favorite theatre podcasts, The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales, that rings especially true for minority experiences in the performing arts: “You are needed in a craft that doesn’t want you.” This, often true, reality is why Jaiden believes that knowing your personal worth will get you farther than any certain opportunity. She believes that anyone can succeed eventually if they stay kind, flexible, and understand their value.

Finally, we asked Jaiden if she has any particularly proud or positive moments related to being a person of color in the arts. She then went on to tell us about her proudest moment as a performer. In the summer of 2017, Jaiden played the role of Mulan. She said that this was a very full circle moment for her because the first show she was a part of was as a young ensemble member in Mulan Jr. all those years ago. She felt that the hard work had finally paid off, and she was finally able to play her dream role. She felt humbled and proud that she was able to represent the Asian community and pull off such an iconic and powerful role. Specifically, she remembers going out into the lobby after the show and having an Asian little girl run up and hug her tight. She had an overwhelming feeling of “this is important” while reflecting on what this moment meant to that little girl. Similar to what that little girl was feeling, Jaiden told us another very happy moment as an Asian in musical theatre. In 2019, Jaiden saw Roger and

Hamerstein’s Cinderella at Virginia Repertory Theatre. She was elated to see an Asian woman playing the role of Cinderella. It meant so much to her to see that she was being represented in a stereotypically white character. After the show, Jaiden got to meet the actress playing Cinderella, telling her “thank you for representing me.” The actress responded saying, “thank you, but also thank you to the casting team.” Jaiden said she felt a sense of excitement knowing that this was the direction that even regional theatres are going.

"I am excited that people are starting to/get to look up to the media and theatre and see their representation -- it gives me and others hope for the future." - Jaiden Casey