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The African man is searching for an apartment and calls a landlady. However, when the landlady picks up, she immediately asks how dark his skin is, making it clear she does not want to rent to him because of his race. The man tries to avoid directly answering about his race, instead providing vague descriptions. The landlady persists, clearly wanting to know if he has dark skin. He finally says his skin is like a "brunette," but the landlady presses him for a clearer answer. The encounter exposes the landlady's racism in her unwillingness to rent to the man because of his race.

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Adee Buniel Huerte
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36 views2 pages

Script

The African man is searching for an apartment and calls a landlady. However, when the landlady picks up, she immediately asks how dark his skin is, making it clear she does not want to rent to him because of his race. The man tries to avoid directly answering about his race, instead providing vague descriptions. The landlady persists, clearly wanting to know if he has dark skin. He finally says his skin is like a "brunette," but the landlady presses him for a clearer answer. The encounter exposes the landlady's racism in her unwillingness to rent to the man because of his race.

Uploaded by

Adee Buniel Huerte
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Script

The African have found a rented


Narrator: space; and called in the telephone.
The price seemed reasonable, location indifferent. The landlady swore she lived
Off premises. Nothing remained
But self-confession.

African:
"Madam,"
"I hate a wasted journey--I am African."

Narrator:
Silence. Silenced transmission of A White American Land lady pick-up
Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when it came, the call with a cigarette on her fingers.
Lipstick coated, long gold-rolled
Cigarette-holder pipped. Caught I was foully.

Land Lady:
"HOW DARK?" . . .

Narrator:
He had not misheard . . .

Land Lady:
"ARE YOU LIGHT OR VERY DARK?"

Narrator:
Button B, Button A.* Stench
Of rancid breath of public hide-and-speak. He described the feature of the
Red booth. Red pillar box. Red double-tiered telephone.
Omnibus squelching tar.
It was real! Shamed The African is hoping for her
By ill-mannered silence, surrender considerations despite of his race.
Pushed dumbfounded to beg simplification.
Considerate she was, varying the emphasis--

Land Lady:
"ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?" Revelation came.

African:
"You mean--like plain or milk chocolate?"

Narrator:
Her assent was clinical, crushing in its light He chose to answer not directly to her
Impersonality. Rapidly, wave-length adjusted, question; to avoid stereotyping due to his
He chose. race/ethnicity.
African:
"West African sepia",
"Down in my passport."

Narrator:
Silence for spectroscopic Starting to get mad because of
Flight of fancy, till truthfulness clanged her accent indirect answers to her questions
Hard on the mouthpiece.

Land Lady:
"WHAT'S THAT?"
"DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS."

African:
"Like brunette."

Land Lady:
"THAT'S DARK, ISN'T IT?"

African:
"Not altogether. Facially, I am brunette, but, madam, you should see the rest of
me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet are a peroxide blond.
Foolishly, madam--by sitting down, has turned
My bottom raven black--One moment, madam!"

Narrator:
--sensing her receiver rearing on the thunderclap about my ears—

African: She slums her phone while on the


"Madam," line.

Narrator:
He pleaded,

African:
"Wouldn’t you rather
See for yourself?"

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