The Roundup: How a Black Classic Resonates Through the Ages
From the Editor
What's up, South End?
We finally made it to the weekend. This week has been a doozy.
Juneteenth was Thursday, and there were plenty of options for events floating around, but in all honesty … I needed rest.
This year, Juneteenth arrived in the wake of nationwide protests against immigration and fascism, the shooting and killing of multiple politicians, talks of impending war with Iran, and, of course, all of the inevitable social media doomscrolling that occurs when the news looks the way it did.
So, as a person who literally works in news and is inundated with everything everywhere all the time — I used my day off as an actual day off. In a way, taking that rest felt radical in itself.
But, I am still in need of a nice slice of culture. Juneteenth is a celebration of Black liberation — or an acknowledgment that Black folks in Texas (where my people are from) didn’t get word they were free until two years later. Either way, I grew up in a family that celebrated Juneteenth for generations before it became a national holiday, so for all of y’all who missed the festivities like I did … don’t worry. I have a way we can make it up.
The Color Purple musical is currently on stage at the Village Theatre in Issaquah.
Originally written as a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel in 1982 by Alice Walker, The Color Purple has resonated with fans for generations.
The story follows Celie, an impoverished Black woman living in rural Jim Crow-era Georgia. Celie faces physical and emotional abuse for the majority of her life. But, over a span of 40 years, she learns to love and be loved, she loses and regains her faith in God, she reunites with long-lost family members, and she makes a much-needed friend in an unlikely place.
I don’t want to spoil it for those of you who have lived under a rock and missed the novel, the Steven Spielberg- and Oprah Winfrey-helmed film, the Tony Award-winning Broadway show, the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival, or the 2023 film adaptation of the musical…
However, I will say — this show checks so many boxes. It’s a queer Black story, an exploration of faith and relationships with God, and, in the end, we get Black joy.
I spoke with Timothy McCuen Piggee, director of Village Theatre’s production of The Color Purple. Here are three questions from the interview, edited for length and clarity.
This musical is about a novel from the 1980s. What is it about this story that has resonated with fans for all this time?
I always say that the hallmark of a good work of art is something that can consistently reveal itself through time. We are drawn to stories with very specific characters that have universal appeal. We all love a homespun hero. I think we all connect viscerally with that, because none of us make it through life unscathed and without facing myriads of challenges. Some of them we think may destroy us. But how do we persevere? How do we overcome, and how do we survive those things? There's something very cathartic in witnessing other people traverse things that seem insurmountable, and that resonates with all of us.
What is the significance of this story right now?
We stand in 2025 in the first six months of this new administration where they systematically want to dismantle and reorganize and, dare I say, rewrite history. The defense that we have, and the success that we have had for 300 years on this continent, is that we’ve always held on to our stories. Those are our artifacts. They're not going to go anywhere. So, I think that in a story like The Color Purple, while it is fictional, that we find this community of women that find strength in each other. They support Celie to discover all of her potential. And I think that’s why it's so resonant today. … Because we have to lean on each other. We have to be accountable to each other. We have to be willing to hold on to our narratives and our stories, because they're under threat.
What do you hope audiences take away after coming to watch this play?
I hope they leave with an appreciation of the abundance of our lives that we seemingly take for granted. I hope they take away a more informed notion of God. Celie learns that God isn't some picture of a gloomy old man that you sort of have in your mind. God isn't a man at all. Celie says, "God is inside you, and everyone else that was or will ever be. We come into this world with God and only those who look inside find it." That's what I want audiences to hear.
The Color Purple is playing at Village Theatre until July 27.
The Roundup Rundown
New data shows eviction notices in Washington are skyrocketing.
Here in King County, landlords filed over 7,000 evictions in 2024 — the highest in state history. In the South End, over half of tenants struggled to make rent.
Michele Thomas, policy director at the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, told Emerald contributing reporter Maya Tizon that last year, 16,868 people in King County experienced homelessness. That number is a 28% increase from 2022.
For the full breakdown of the new eviction data, and to get the scoop on what lawmakers are doing to address the growing housing crisis, read Maya's full report.
If you haven't heard, South Seattle Emerald contributing editor Yuko Kodama has been making her way through the neighborhood penning stories about all the movers and shakers that make the South End special.
This week, Yuko takes us on a tour of a South End school that specializes in working with dyslexia and language-learning differences. Hamlin Robinson School is right off Rainier and Massachusetts, and Yuko spoke with the folks working every day to impact the lives of students who need — and get — a unique approach to learning.
For an inside view of Hamlin Robinson, and a South End bulletin board with vital community resources, read Yuko's latest column.
Ask Lola is back!
This week, Emerald contributing columnist Lola E. Peters dives into nonprofits.
A reader who is new to the South End asked Lola about local organizations they can donate to, and in true Lola style, she broke down everything the reader, and the rest of us, needs to know.
Lola starts by reminding us that protests are not "parades," but acknowledges they are a first step in supporting communities. A lot of people marched recently, or watched people march on social media and television, but so many of us are asking … Now what?
No spoilers here! To find out what to do next, read the latest edition of Ask Lola.
Mike Davis is the newsletter editor and Voices editor at the South Seattle Emerald. Born and raised in Seattle's South End, Mike is a longtime journalist who's covered everything from arts and culture to sports to politics.
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