Reporting. On stage and in reality, the United States appears more divided than ever

“Let’s go”says Valéry Rodriguez to his troop. After taking on the roles of actor and singer in successful musicals like The Lion King or even West Side Storyit is under the role of director that he presents himself in a dance studio nestled in Rungis (Val-de-Marne). He directs the rehearsals for the musical Black Legendswhich he imagined ten years earlier.

The show pays tribute to the music and history of African-Americans, marked by a struggle for their emancipation, throughout the ages. This tribute is also a way for him to convey a message of tolerance and hope.

Glasses screwed on his nose, he observes the actors rehearsing a scene inspired by the title Hit The Road Jackby Ray Charles. The staging shows Jack caught in the act of infidelity, being invited to “hit the road” by his partner and friends.

A light scene, compared to some repeated ones, like the one which returns on the murder of Emmett Tilla 14-year-old African-American, lynched in Mississippi for allegedly flirting with a white woman in 1955. The acquittal of the culprits shocked the country.

In the role of the unmasked infidel, we find Barry Johnson, 66 years old, the dean of the troupe. Arriving in France in the 80s, the singer is originally from Oakland, California. “Like Kamala Harris. I learned that not long ago”he emphasizes, smiling.

For the African-American singer, this show about the emancipation of African-Americans has a particular resonance with his life. “At the time Martin Luther King, Malcolm era. The people I mentioned were murdered. We saw the images, I heard these stories all my childhood…Besides, Bobby Kennedy, I saw him in real life! In my neighborhood, in Oakland”he remembers.

For the rest of the troupe, Barry appears as this bridge between this past and the present “He is always available to answer any questions we might have.”reacts singer and actress Anandha Seethanen.

Barry Johnson and Anandha Seethanen

If the show takes Barry back to his past, it does not forget the current news: that of the American election. For him, the country is more polarized than ever, especially in terms of political orientation. He is worried about the results of Tuesday November 5.

“We lived with pure and harsh racism, almost open”speaking about his childhood and youth. If he believes that things had started to change, the arrival of Donald Trump in power in 2016 made racist speeches more uninhibited. “People don’t even hide anymore”regrets the singer.

Rather than giving a prediction, Barry prefers to remain on guard. “A lot of Democrats are convinced that Kamala Harris will win, but I was convinced that Donald Trump was going to lose last time and he still passed”he recalls.