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Andrew's brother-in-law, David Lewis, is an angry young black poet and teacher of literature at
Magnolia College who is convinced that only a violent uprising could persuade American society to change. David has recently returned from France where he served during World War I and where the progressive freedoms of French society allowed him to openly have a relationship with a white woman, Luella Verne, who was a fellow American serving in France as a nurse.
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relationship. As the rumors spread, they become more exaggerated and David is falsely accused of raping Luella. A white mob forms with the intent of murdering David on the day of
Magnolia College's graduation ceremony. While the ceremony is taking place and President Morgan is giving a speech about racial equality, David is isolated and cornered by a white mob who lynches him.
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Luella is the daughter of
Senator Verne, and she visits Magnolia College with her father when he comes at the invitation of President Morgan who hopes to win Senator Verne's support. Senator Verne is unaware of Luella's past relationship with David, and is upset when she initiates contact with David.
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Andrew Morgan, the president of
Magnolia College, is bitter over the racial oppression in the United States, but is hopeful that by educating highly skilled black workers he can improve the lives and future opportunities available to his African-American students through peaceful means. In contrast,
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Luella convinces David to go with her to a cabin in some woods nearby and they are spotted by some white students. Rumor spreads among the white community that David has made unwanted sexual advances on Luella, even though it is Luella and not David who is the initiator of their rekindled
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was largely praised for the quality of its acting, but white critics in particular were not complementary of the play itself. However, the work has remained of interest to scholars and was more favorably reviewed by black critics. The play was first published by
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Meyer attempted for several years to get her play staged without success; largely due to the reticence of directors to take on a play with a subject matter difficult to make palatable to the public. Ultimately she succeeded in attracting the director
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Simultaneously, Senator Verne makes advances of his own on Andrew Morgan's wife and David's sister
Phyllis who is also African-American, demonstrating the senator's hypocrisy when it comes to interracial relationships.
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era. The work is one of the first "lynching dramas" written by a white woman, and for this reason the play has remained of interest to theatre scholars. Written in 1924 and first performed in 1932 on
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of an innocent black man at a fictional college somewhere in the southern part of the United States. In crafting her play, Meyer sought the assistance of black writer
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as David Lewis, Guerita
Donneley as Luella Verne, and Alven Dexter as Senator Verne. The original production used sets designed by Morgens Petri.
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in 1924, and is credited as "one of the earliest known 'lynching dramas' written by a white woman". In keeping with Meyer's activism against
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drew particular praise for her portrayal of
Phyllis in the production. Others in the cast included Morris McKenney as Andrew Morgan,
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J. H. (March 31, 1932). "Inscrutable Query; Black Souls A Play In Three Acts".
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342:"Our Bookshelf; Black Souls, a play in six scenes by Annie Nathan Meyer"
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who edited the play's dialogue for the authenticity of the language.
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of an innocent black man on a college campus and concerns themes of
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Stephens, Judith L.; Perkins, JKathy A., eds. (1998).
224:"Annie Nathan Meyer: February 19, 1867–July 14, 1950"
375:Strange Fruit: Plays on Lynching by American Women
161:Strange Fruit: Plays on Lynching by American Women
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83:was written by the Jewish-American playwright
228:The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women
155:in 1933, and was later re-published by the
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171:Setting: Magnolia College, a
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410:Internet Broadway Database
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16:Play by Annie Nathan Meyer
405:Black Souls
380:Indiana University Press
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32:. The play depicts the
450:Plays set in the 1920s
445:Plays set in the 1910s
159:in the 1998 anthology
133:Provincetown Playhouse
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46:Southern United States
346:Journal of Negro Life
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113:James Weldon Johnson
62:James Weldon Johnson
308:The New York Times
109:Zora Neale Hurston
85:Annie Nathan Meyer
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148:Black Souls
125:Black Souls
121:James Light
81:Black Souls
50:World War I
21:Black Souls
425:1924 plays
419:Categories
348:: 155-156.
195:References
101:Deep South
200:Citations
129:Broadway
105:lynching
54:Broadway
34:lynching
408:at the
131:at the
99:in the
97:bigotry
68:History
44:in the
42:bigotry
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246:Souls
24:is a
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167:Plot
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