Hello All,

I'm sending out this update to let you know that the John Jay BSU is not formally involved with this petition at this moment. I wrote the petition and complaint letter to the school by myself with no input from other students. While some BSU members have assisted me by making social media posts, BSU leadership has clearly stated that they are uncomfortable with the petition.

Here are some quotes from BSU leadership speaking on behalf of the board:

"...We intend to reply to the Emmett Till Opera and related controversy after watching it to see if the content is actually triggering and/or objectionable..."

The idea of writing a play about a brutally murdered innocent child that trivializes what happened to him by centering a white main character is triggering and objectionable. He was a human being. He has not and can not receive justice, and this story has no business being used as entertainment to generate clout/profit for anyone- let alone a white playwright and white actors. 

"...We must not get ahead of ourselves and we must be certain that we are sharing accurate information...we don't have much information on the opera right now because we haven't seen it..."

The information I have shared with you all about the opera is from Playbill, a reputable theater magazine that published an article about the play. Their report states the following:

"..the story is approached through the lens of Roanne Taylor, a young white woman who teaches high school science in Drew, Mississippi. Roanne is against Jim Crow laws, segregation, and the racial inequality that she sees around her but remains silent..."

Without seeing the play, I have explained why it is offensive multiple times. I'm not understanding why the BSU wants to allow our school to hold this play BEFORE they make their judgment, which will then be rendered useless because the play will already have generated profit and attention. 

"..As John Jay Students we advise against going to the media with a half baked story that could risk a lot of things in the long-term"

Advise my ass. There is nothing half-baked about this except your willingness to stand for justice for Emmett Till. Nobody will care what you have to say AFTER the play because they don’t care now. “Justice too long delayed is justice denied.” I think Emmett Till’s case exemplifies that perfectly. Why delay your advocacy?

"...Gerald Lynch Theater is a major source of money for the college, and it helps to fund numerous student scholarships..."

It is immoral to generate money from the brutal lynching of a child. I don't care where the money goes, and I personally would not accept a scholarship funded by this play or anything similar. Had there been no brutal lynching of Emmett Till, there would be no play and thus no funds to distribute. While it is unclear how much money the college will make, taking a single cent will prove this institution cares nothing about social justice. Till's family has made no money. 

"...If the Opera is demolished and the complaints' foundations are found to be incorrect, we as students have failed..."

Emmett Till was demolished and the foundations of the complaints against him were found to be incorrect. That cost the life of a child. America failed him, and decades later we are still failing him repeatedly by not defending him when he is not here to defend himself. Again, the issues I have with the play I got from a Playbill article, the most reputable magazine in the theater world. If the foundations of these complaints' were hypothetically incorrect, that would only cause John Jay College to lose out on money it shouldn't be making in the first place because it shouldn’t be presenting this play.

Another student commented "..please direct petitions and protests directly to Playbill and the creator of the play. It is very important that we address the proper channel and when the play leaves John Jay it will be presented at other venues..."

As a John Jay student, my concern is the play being presented at MY school. I don’t have the capacity to prevent this play from showing at other venues. I am neglecting schoolwork to even do this.

John Jay is already uncomfortable for a lot of black students, and putting on this play will exacerbate that. In addition, Playbill has stated that the play is to be "co-presented by John Jay College, Opera Noire International, The Harlem Chamber Players, and Harlem Arts Alliance"

Therefore, John Jay is involved in the presentation of this play, regardless of if Gerald W. Lynch theater is rentable or not. 

"... I only say this because John Jay, CUNY, or BSU isn't promoting it (the opera), and if you are to take protesting measures the BSU is not involved..."

Again, John Jay is hosting and co-presenting the play. I'd expect the BSU to advocate for black people, especially at a school that touts itself as social justice-oriented. However, all skin-folk ain't kinfolk, including the Black people who worked on this opera, many Black leaders at John Jay, and apparently a portion of the student body.

"...Had this been refused it's clearly a stance for a lawsuit to take place which I'm sure the school has no interest in..."

While I'm not sure if refusing the play would constitute grounds for a lawsuit, I'm sure John Jay College of Criminal Justice has excellent lawyers in their network. And if they care about justice they should be willing to fight. 

John Jay College is wrong. The Gerald W. Lynch Theatre is wrong. Clare Coss is wrong. This play is wrong. 

While I respect their decision, I find the reasoning behind the BSU's lack of support to be pusillanimous.

Thank you all for standing with me and standing up for Emmett Till.

-Mya Bishop