Photo by Chaz D. Photography
Racism, patriarchy, and a wash tub in 1881 combine to create a dramatic yet comical play at The Studio@620. Don’t miss it. The show runs through Sunday, Oct. 11.
This production of The Wash draws on a real event: the 1881 strike by Atlanta’s washerwomen. It opens in an Atlanta, Georgia, house, where five women work together doing laundry for neighborhood residents. The problem is that the pay for this job is the bare minimum, and many of their clients are refusing to pay. This highlights the basic problem of women not being paid for their work and thus being unable to meet their economic responsibilities, such as paying for food and property taxes.
In a more subtle fashion, the city of Atlanta is trying to force an African American neighborhood off its land. The city wants to reclaim the land for the upcoming Cotton Conference.
Washerwomen Take a Stand
To combat this struggle involving economics and patriarchy, the women go on strike for a decent wage. Of course, not all of them agree with this action, which leads to a very real conflict in the house. However, the business owner prevails. The women decide to form an “organization” of washerwomen to call for a strike in response to their economic issues.
The strike starts very small in a local church basement. But it soon gains traction among washerwomen across Atlanta’s neighborhoods, most of them African American women. Within a couple of weeks, they organize 200 striking washerwomen demanding higher pay for their work. The strike spreads across the city until it reaches the richer, white neighborhoods. There, the white washerwoman decides to join the strike.
Photo by Chaz D. Photography
Now, this play takes place just 16 years after the end of the Civil War. Racism hasn’t died, and the white power structure can’t tolerate strikers who refuse to follow orders. Violence breaks out. As Anna, the strike’s leader, walks through the city streets, a local policeman beats and kicks her. The attack blinds her in one eye, and she becomes a rallying point for the movement. In just two months, the organization grows to more than 2,500 members and spreads to other cities in the country.
The big question is whether these women can survive without an income and withstand physical attacks by Atlanta’s local citizens.
Humor Amid the Struggle
This play is not just about the drama of the strike. It also offers plenty of humor and empathy for the problems these women face. The individual women’s stories are full of humor and strife. Each woman struggles to overcome her own personal problems, as well as conflicts with family and neighbors.
Unfortunately, 145 years later, this country still hasn’t fully resolved these problems. The real, everyday problems of these women will move the audience to reflect. We still have room to improve how we treat our neighbors who are just trying to make a living.
See The Wash at The Studio@620
The Studio@620, 620 1st Ave. S., St. Petersburg. Thurs.-Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 3 p.m. thestudioat620.org, 727-895-6620.
Keep Your Community Local: Donate Now To Support Us
Donate now to support The Gabber Newspaper. The owners of the paper take no income from the paper. Every penny donated helps keep your community news hyperlocal. And everyone who earns their living working at The Gabber Newspaper lives in Gulfport and St. Petersburg. Most of our freelancers live here, too. We support our community; please support us.
The Gabber Newspaper? Yeah, We Go There.
Did you know: In 1968, our founder, George Brann, started The Gabber Newspaper, then called the Gulfport Gabber, to hold Gulfport City Council accountable. Read more of our city council coverage, and learn about our policies on reporting, fact-checking, and funding.
Get all your Gulfport and Tampa Bay beaches news and things to do at thegabber.com.
