THE TALK: Instructions for Black Children When They Interact with the Police (Damien Geter)

CONCERT: Intensive Care
LOCATION: Cerimon House, Portland, OR
DATE: June 2019
VIDEO BY: Alan Niven, Wolftracks
WORLD PREMIERE

Cecily Keister, Mezzo-Soprano
S. Renee Mitchell, spoken word
Emmanuel Henreid, spoken word

THE COMPOSER WRITES: There comes a time in every child’s life when they will have “the talk” with a trusted adult. That talk is usually centered around topics relating to sexual maturation – the birds and the bees. However, in the life of a black child, there’s an additional talk that needs to happen: what to do if they are pulled over or have an encounter with the police. It boils down to four basic principles with the fourth being the ultimate goal: 1. Pull over. Don’t run. Keep calm; 2. Keep your hands where they can see them; 3. Be polite. Save your rage; 4. Get home safely. (The phrase “save your rage” is credited to Resonance board member, Jasmine Love.) The instructions and the music are succinct. A narrator speaks instruction before the singer begins each section. Starting in C minor, the piece wanders through a myriad of tonal centers until it arrives “home” in the end in C major.

1. Pull over. Don’t run. Keep calm.

2. Keep your hands where they can see them.

3. Be polite. Save your rage. (Yes, sir. No, ma’am. Please. Thank you.)

4. Get home safely.

Even when I held you as a baby, I knew we would have this talk, to keep you alive.

So get home safely.

Geter)