Representation of identity and Racial tensions in Nwandu’s Pass Over

Abstract

Antoinette Nwandu’s Pass Over (2019) is an African American drama comments on contemporary issues of racism faced by the African Americans set in a minimalistic setting and characters. The play is similar to the places where most Black people live and it revolves around two young Black men, Moses and Kitch, who pass their time in the city street corner amidst the constant waits and doubts. The present paper explores the representation of identity and racial tensions in Nwandu’s Pass Over through our study of the relations of systems of oppression and marginalization. The paper covers how racial identity is constructed among large historical forces such as systemic racism that has limited life opportunities. For example, Moses speaks of “deez red white and blues” to tie identity to the social and political institutions responsible for his oppression over generations. Furthermore, the paper frames Black masculinity against the threatening dehumanizing stereotypes used to justify disproportionate force against communities of color. These stereotypes, though dehumanizing, become empowering through the acts of resistance. In the play the rejection of labels used to belittle Moses reappropriates the stereotypes on their terms. The paper, then, discusses that using minimalistic storytelling and Biblical analogies; Pass Over provides important social commentary on persisting in the face of oppression. The paper will further give nuanced information about identity as intersected by the larger racial tensions.