Damita Miller-Shanklin
An African proverb says:
As long as only the hunter records history, the lion’s story will never be told
Black history month brings a sense of pride and belonging. It’s a special time for the Black community to reflect and share all that is good and positive. However, it also takes us back to a time where we struggled for our rights and to be equal in this world. We have made some strong strides but we have a long way to go. But we always need to celebrate.
This Black History month’s theme is focused on Blacks and the Arts. Austin is full of great artists, actors and creatives. Our feature story introduces you to the talented and Austin’s own Jeanette Hill of JW Hill Productions, LLC. She is a playwright. You may have had the opportunity to attend one of her stage plays or table reads before. We are catching up with her to see what she has been doing and talk about the award she won recently.
Hill’s stories are deeply rooted in the collective histories of the African American communities whose stories often go untold, our contributions unrecognized, and our lives not valued. She tells of the resilience of our deeply rooted culture, from the ticketless ‘voyages’ from the West Coast of Africa to the auction blocks of South America to Savannah and beyond, the inhumane bondage called slavery, which morphed into Jim Crow, from Civil Rights to Black Lives Matter in this new millennium. Her calling as a woman and an artist of color is that our stories be told, recorded, and preserved for future generations and to enlighten all of society about our worth.
It is in this community, this village, where Hill’s stories are born. Birthed by those midwives and mid-husbands teaching the soul skills that have transitioned into strategic survival techniques for our families, communities, and race. Stories about people with similar faces and familiar experiences, whose joys and pains, trials and triumphs continue to braid their lives together.
When she thinks of ‘Why do I do what I do the way that I do it?’ she trace it directly to her memories of discussions at the dinner table, where it was understood that nothing was to be repeated. Sitting on porch steps eavesdropping on grown folks conversations, debates, and observations about the plight of the Negro. People watching at neighborhood gatherings of births, homegoings and other events that provided a lot of everything…that included food, support, love, and of course…gossip. Spirit-filled church services where religion and activism inextricably flowed into our community, whether you marched, signed petitions, voted, babysat, cooked, or sold chicken dinners, just about everyone found their road to activism.
Hill collaborates with social and community institutions like the SAFE/domestic violence awareness (5 Women of Color), Black Art Matters ATX (Don’t Call Me Brother!) , National Association on Mental Illness(No Ordinary Days), and Central Texas Family Services and Support (Clean Sheets). It truly takes a village…
Hill has won a very prestigious and coveted award the AUDELCO (The Audience Development Committee Award). The award was created to promote recognition, understanding, and awareness of the arts in the African-American community. The AUDELCO awards recognize the productions written and/or directed by African-Americans companies. Ujima congratulates her on this achievement with love and support. She is grateful to the Austin arts community for its support over the years, particularly the Office of Economic Development/Cultural Arts Division for their years of funding support, the Austin Creative Alliance, and the Carver Museum/Boyd Vance Theatre. A special heartfelt thank you to Pastor A.W. Mays and the Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church which was her training ground in her early years.
Hill’s passion and her purpose is to shine a light on the strength, determination, and resilience that our ancestors instilled in us as a people. We must pass these survival skills from soul to soul, spirit to spirit and heart to heart, from generation to generation.
Hill stands as the lion. She uses her voice to tell our stories, our truths unapologetically, with courage, hope and love. The richness of our people anchored by their faith in God, their hope for the future, and their commitment to one another created a connection deeper than our numerous shades of brown, various hair textures, broken dialect, and socioeconomic status.
Jeanette has received numerous awards and recognition from the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival to the Black Pearls Magazine Literary Excellence Award and Urban Playwrights United Soaring Eagle Award and many in between. Even with her extensive catalog of plays (over 100), Jeanette continues to tell our stories. She is developing a new series, The Front Porch Divas, which chronicles the lives of several sassy,seasoned, sexy, and soulful Black women over forty! So make sure you look for that body of work.
You can connect with Jeanette at:
jeanette@jwhillprod.com
Instagram: jwhillplaywright
Facebook: jwhillproductions
Again we congratulate Jeanette on making her dreams come true and doing it well!
UJIMA MAGAZINE 