The house at 1839 Wylie is not for sale.

Or at least, that is what Harmond Wilks’s campaign team wants you to think. Harmond Wilks himself is a bit more conflicted.

The house in question belongs to a woman named Aunt Esther, one of the recurring characters throughout American playwright August Wilson’s ten-part series, “The Century Cycle,” which explores the Hill District of Pittsburgh where he grew up. Wilson’s final play “Radio Golf,” which opened at Everyman Theatre last Friday, tells the story of a black man running for mayor and his struggles to understand the community he wants to connect with.

That man is Harmond Wilks, played by Jamil A. C. Mangan, an Ivy League-educated man and the inheritor of his father’s successful real estate business. Wilks has big dreams of reinvigorating the Hill District with high-rise apartment buildings, a Whole Foods and Starbucks. His wife, Mame, played by Resident Company member Dawn Ursula, and friend and business partner, Roosevelt Hicks, played by Jason B. McIntosh, make up Wilks’s campaign team. They hold that same dream of redevelopment and will stop at nothing to see it happen, including lying about the ownership of 1839 Wylie in order to see it demolished for the redevelopment project to take place.

The entire play takes place inside Wilks’s campaign office, and over the course of the show’s two hour and ten minute run time, characters pop in and out of the office. Rounding out the cast are Elder Joseph Barlow (Charles Dumas) and Sterling Johnson (Anton Floyd), residents of the Hill District in opposition to the demolition of the house. They believe that redevelopment would diminish the community aspect of the district rather than reinvigorate it.

Floyd, who acts as the voice of the people of the Hill District throughout the play, is a standout among the small cast. He provides the play’s voice of reason and, sometimes, comic relief. But the way he listens to the other actors on stage with him is what really sets him apart: He is attentive without being fake. 

This authenticity is not achieved by all actors, however. McIntosh’s portrayal of Hicks was great when he was feeling the role, but fell flat just as often. Additionally, actors consistently stumbled over lines, interrupting the flow of conversation. At times, it felt as if I was watching a dress rehearsal, and I hope these mistakes can be ironed out further in the run. 

The play explores the topics of assimilation and gentrification, and is eerily reminiscent of modern-day Baltimore despite having been written about Pittsburgh in the late 90s. The play’s opening night performance was dedicated to Elijah Cummings, a Maryland representative who recently passed away. The dedication was fitting for a man who had emphasized social justice issues and worked to make sure every voice was heard during his career in public service.

“Radio Golf” is running through Nov. 17 at the Everyman Theatre. Everyman features a $10 student rush for B location seating 30 minutes before every scheduled performance and is offered to those with a valid student ID. Additionally, all Sunday evening performances are $10 for students in B location seating with a valid ID. Full price tickets can be purchased for $43-$52.

Photo Credit: (left to right) Anton Floyd and Jamil A.C. Mangan perform in “Radio Golf.” Photo by Teresa Castracane Photography.

Are you a dedicated UMBC student who is interested in becoming an entrepreneur and wants to be awarded $2,000? Then this scholarship is for you! Please read the information below for further information about the PNC Scholars/Fellows Program Scholarship.

PNC SCHOLARS/FELLOWS PROGRAM

The PNC Scholars/Fellows Program provides awards up to $2,000 to outstanding UMBC students interested in becoming an entrepreneur. The scholarship will be awarded for the 2019 - 2020 academic year. The awards will be used as academic scholarships (up to $1,000), or as “seed funding” (up to $2,000) to launch new ventures or community based social entrepreneurship projects.  

CRITERIA:

• Submit a 1-2 page of a personal statement about their interest in entrepreneurship.  The statement should:

• Describe the impact an academic scholarship will have on their future as an entrepreneur or social innovator or

• Describe how the award money will be used as “seed funding” to launch a new venture, or “seed funding” to launch a community based social entrepreneurship project.  Submit a preliminary budget outlining anticipated expenses.

• Submit an updated resume

• Have a minimum GPA of 3.0 

Apply via email by October 24, 2019 to:

Vivian Armor, Director

UMBC Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship

armor@umbc.edu

Sherman Bldg, Room 477

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Currently, the National Basketball Association (NBA) is in the midst of an international crisis, dealing with freedom of expression and speech. Houston Rockets executive Daryl Morey came under fire for tweeting in support of the protests in Hong Kong. On Oct. 8, Morey tweeted, “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong,” referencing the massive pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

Since the incident, the NBA published a statement walking in the middle of the issue. The organization refuses to fire Morey, but that is not enough. The NBA must support the protestors in Hong Kong.

Weirdly enough, this international episode garnered bipartisan support for both Morey and the protests in Hong Kong from the United States Congress. A joint statement from an unlikely group of lawmakers — including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Senators Ben Sasse and Ted Cruz — advises the NBA to suspend all activities in China and reexamine its relationship with the superpower.

This is hard to say, but Cruz is right. The NBA’s defense of China is hypocritical, greedy and pathetic.

The company held progressive stances on issues like social justice in the past. Players and coaches have spoken up against injustice on one occasion or another. LeBron James, Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr have criticized President Donald Trump in post-game conferences. In 2016, the league moved its All-Star Weekend from Charlotte, NC, in response to the state’s new anti-transgender legislation. Two years later, the Commissioner of the NBA, Adam Silver praised the players’ support of the Black Lives Matter movement. In an interview with CNN, he said, “I think in this day and age, you really do have to stand for something.”

The league’s past stance on progressive issues makes their response — or lack thereof — much more staggering. Morey did absolutely nothing wrong. He advocated for those who couldn’t speak out. He exercised his right to freedom of speech and used it to bring light to a critical issue. Punishing Morey would show the world that nothing stands in the way of the NBA’s profit margins, not even the future and freedoms of Hong Kong citizens.

Defending democracy and the freedoms of speech and expression are the basis of the American ethos. But equality, freedom and liberty should not be exclusive to the United States. What’s right is not always easy. It is always profitable to do the right thing when the right thing is profitable. But it takes courage and risk to go against your own interest to advocate for others. Fighting for freedom is not always convenient. Freedom is not free.

Mutual interests should not be the deciding factor in situations where human lives are at stake. China is currently suppressing the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. There comes a time where profit margins and future growth is not the main priority. The livelihoods of millions of Hong Kong citizens are at risk. The question is, “Should the freedoms we use each and every day be accessible to the people of Hong Kong?” The answer should be a resounding and unfaltering “yes.” The right thing to do is stand with Hong Kong.

R&B singer-songwriter Summer Walker has humble beginnings. Only last year she was working her own cleaning business; since then her life has shifted into superstardom. Her latest record-breaking release, “Over It” is a testimony to the state of her heart amidst these changes. It is her first studio album, produced by London on Da Track, where she has most recognizably collaborated with rappers Young Thug and Drake on tracks such as “Lifestyle” and “Sneakin.”

The album begins with a song of the same title, “Over It.” Its emotional overtones set the stage for Walker’s angsty, heartfelt way of communicating through sound. “Am I really that much to handle?” she asks herself as the album opens.

This is the attitude the singer maintains for the rest of her 18-track album, which is full of star-studded features from more mainstage artists such as Usher, Jhené Aiko and fellow Atlantean 6LACK. Preceding the album’s Oct. 4 release, Walker released a handful of summer hits such as “Girls Need Love” featuring Drake, and “Playing Games,” which sampled the Destiny’s Child classic, “Say My Name.” The album’s version of this song features Bryson Tiller, who lends his voice to the singer’s dramatic plea for her lover to “stop playing games.”

According to Genius.com and the Billboard 200 album charts, Summer Walker’s first studio album has earned “the largest streaming week ever for an R&B album by a woman in terms of on-demand audio streams.” This beats that of Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” album by about 20 million units.

Walker’s soulful singing voice collides with her disheartened lyrics, the unsure footing of her place in life and whether there is room for romance in changing times. On the song “Just Might” featuring Canadian artist PARTYNEXTDOOR, Walker deliberates on her relationship status and the true meaning of love: “Just might be a ho/ What am I missin’?/ Seems like you gain more from a sugar daddy or a drug dealer.”

Summer Walker has a diverse portfolio of R&B music, moving from the more bluesy end of the spectrum on her earlier 2019 EP “Clear,” to the more modern beats she croons over in “Stretch You Out,” which features New York rapper A Boogie Wit da Hoodie. However, her album fails to represent the variability of her artistry. The singer arguably loses authenticity from the autotune and other filters that cover up her voice throughout the album. This could be because of choices made by her label, Interscope Records, or production preferences made by the artist herself.

The most genuine sound comes from “Fun Girl,” which is backed up by Walker’s raw lyrics and the sound of her unplugged electric guitar. “I remember what you told me/ Said I wasn’t made right/ Said I wasn’t cut right/ That’s why I’m so lonely.” Her words give the impression that she is in emotional limbo, trapped between wanting to be herself and her lover’s expectations of being unable to turn “a ho into a housewife.”

Despite her album’s ups and downs, it is clear that no one can stop Summer Walker from speaking her mind and making history. Walker is set to appear at Silver Spring’s The Fillmore on Dec. 11 as part of her tour, “The First and Last Tour.”

Photo Credit: Natalie Murray listens to Summer Walker’s “Over It.” Art by Maxi Wardcantori.

The Senate has failed to overturn President Donald Trump’s National Emergency declaration, which he enacted in February to appropriate funds for building his now-infamous border wall. A wall that, let’s not forget, he promised Mexico would pay for during his presidential campaign.

This ruse should have been easy to see through, since the idea that Mexico would be paying for such a wall was the kind of outlandish joke that even “The Onion” wouldn’t think to print. However, many of Trump’s supporters rallied around him and his supposed show of “decisive leadership.” Now, after years of empty promises and Mexico’s reasonable refusal to even entertain the idea of paying for a border wall, Trump has turned his efforts to using the United States government’s money to make his wall a reality.

President Trump decides to pursue this goal to no end, despite the bipartisan agreement that a border wall is not a practical solution — let alone the “best” solution — to immigration problems in the US. Of all the problems for which the President could have chosen to declare a national emergency, it is disappointing, but not surprising, that he chose to use that particular. Never mind the dropping literacy rate, or that millions of people in the US live in food deserts. Forget the problem of educational disparity and inequity in different racial communities, or millions of people in debt for their college education. Ignore the broken healthcare system that charges American high premiums. There are a whole host of other important challenges facing people every day that deserve more funding than the border wall.

Some said that the wall is to prevent issues of national security.  But, if we build the border wall, we secure the legacy of the United States as a xenophobic nation with a leader who wields tyrannical power. We undermine the very image we portray as a nation that claims freedom, liberty and justice are among its founding principles.

As I sit here in another country and write about the politics of the United States, I think it’s a shame that the image of the nation is on the precipice of being driven into the ground. It can be difficult to separate what a country does from who it’s people are. As we move further away from empathy, understanding and just generally conscionable actions, we must take responsibility for those developments.

Discussing Costa Rican politics in my courses, I’ve watched the other students from the US as they learn of the ways that the government has invested in the well-being of its citizens. That’s not to say that people necessarily think every potential challenge has been addressed. But there’s a clear difference in priorities. Here, people try harder to identify the challenges that affect society at large and address those issues. Meanwhile in the US, contrary to what some rhetoric would have you believe, immigrants are not destabilizing our country, but our willingness to ignore internal threats and the plights of everyday citizens might.