Since I update the all MECA calendar, I frequently peek at our web site to make sure I'm not missing anything. So, last month, I was delighted to see the posting on our web site, under News/Events, about The Black Factory, "artist William Pope.L's interactive performance art installation on wheels." There was a good bit of information on the installation, and it was enough to provide me with a framework, and more than enough to pique my interest. So, on May 26th, I headed down to Monument Square on my lunch break.

I would prefer not to have to admit that I was nervous, but the truth I noticed was that I was indeed nervous. Perhaps it was fear of the unknown (after all, I had never visited a Black Factory before). I tried to think up an excuse of why I couldn't go, but apparently
I wanted to go more than I wanted to excuse myself, because I actually did walk down to see The Black factory and participate. I had read that people would be bringing objects that represented blackness to them, and I didn't have an object. I had tried to write a poem, but couldn't make it come out right.

The thing I had wanted to write the poem about was my wondering for years if I have some "blackness" in me; if somewhere in my ancestry, there is a black family member. One of the reasons I have wondered this is because my skin color is pretty dark for a white person (I have an "olive" complexion) and I have dark hair and eyes. Also, it just seems to me that it must be ubiquitous in America for white people to have black ancestors and not know about it. Also, one time when I had a perm, two people (that I know of) thought that I was a black woman. People have also sometimes asked me if I'm Jewish or Native American. So, I wonder sometimes about what my "non-wasp" ancestry is. My grandmother always said it was "an Italian Count". Hmmm.

So, I went to The Black Factory without an object or a poem. I saw several people from the ICA there, as well as William Pope.L, and saw that the main activity at that rainy point of the afternoon was "fortune telling" card readings. I watched the person in line before me get the end of his reading, and noticed that it was an invented card deck (as opposed to the usual sorts of fortune telling decks). Unsurprisingly, the very last card of his reading, was the prediction, or proclamation really, that the next morning he would wake up and be a person of a different gender and race. I also noticed that the person doing the reading, whose name I can't remember, was very kind.

So, my turn came next, and I posed my question about black ancestry to the reader, and she rephrased it by saying something like "So, you want to see if you have blackness in you, Shazamm!!! (with a flourish), we shall see." The card I remember getting was a mirror card. Always a good card to get. I can't remember all my other cards, but do remember that we had some discussion about my question and the issue. She also gave me information about legislation regarding blackness, which is a very interesting way to look at it. For example, she told me the year (which I can't remember) that the "one drop" law was passed, saying basically that if someone had one drop of black blood, then they were black. She also told me about the legislation that was passed about a particular immigrant group (which I also can't remember) saying that they were legislated to be not black. As you can see, my memory serves better for concept than detail. My last card was brown, leading to the proclamation (with Shazamm! of course) that in the morning I would wake up in Puerto Rico, as a Puerto Rican man. We discussed that since my sister was in Puerto Rico at the moment, it was certainly an accurate proclamation for me. She asked me what I felt or would feel about that when I woke up. I was embarrassed that the first thing I said was that I was afraid it would be harder for me to make sure I could provide myself with food in that situation. And again the card reader was kind and gentle with my embarrassment and reaction, and we discussed generally that the ability to provide for oneself is different for different groups and individuals and how many factors can affect that.

Perhaps it was the mirror card I drew, or perhaps the insight and humor (I've already established that she is kind) of the reader, but I left wondering more about my question. Not so much about if I have blackness in my ancestry, but wondering why I want to know, why I have wondered about it so much. I have some ideas, and will keep thinking about it. I guess the thing I want to say now is that I liked the experience of going to The Black Factory, and I like the perspectives that I received. The legislation I learned about and also, one of the most important things she said to me and I almost forgot to include, was about race and how it has been perceived as being in the past, and that now we (we that includes me) can make it be whatever we want. I like that. She was actually very good. The experience was a little hypnotic.

I'm sure the experience at The Black Factory will be different at different times. I just wanted to write a little bit about my experience on the afternoon I went. I'm glad I went. And, I'm glad I can be part of making history.