Dear Ms. Waters,
His Eye is On the Sparrow was a fantastic show that did a great job honoring you, until the last five minutes.
It went through every stage of your life from your childhood to your “epiphany” with Billy Graham in the later years of your life. The reason why I put quotes around the word epiphany is because I simply cannot believe you had such an epiphany. It was basically you realizing that you’ve been a racist thanks to a conversation you had with Pastor Graham on the color of God.
The problem that I had with that is the incorrect use of the word racist. The definition of a racist is someone who believes that one particular race is superior to other races. In no way did the performance ever show evidence of you saying anything to the extent of black people are superior to white people. The only thing that the show portrayed you to be guilty of was making generalizations about all white people based off experiences you had with some of them. These were not out of prejudice; they were founded upon actual experiences. Also, these were not said in an effort to make black people superior to white people. From my perspective, they were said out of self-preservation. You were afraid of what happened with the nasty club owner happening again, which is totally rational.
So, for the playwright to have your character say that you're a racist in the finishing remarks of this show was completely uncalled for and incorrect. For this, he should make a public apology.
Sincerely,
Ruthie Lewis
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