Harlem Duet

The sounds of strings play against a barrage of sound bites and media images on a repetitive loop, all having to do with racial conflicts: the Clarence Thomas / Anita Hill Hearings, the OJ, Simpson trial, Malcolm X, the Los Angeles riots and Martin Luther King, Jr. Alone in her apartment, Billie is carefully preparing Othello’s handkerchief with one of her concoctions. Wearing rubber gloves, she gently folds the handkerchief into the gift box in which Canada brought her mother’s ring. She then starts pacing and hyperventilating. She sits, body rocking, and throws her head in her hands. It occurs to her that she has the remnants of the potion on her gloves and has exposed herself. She throws them off and begins wiping her face with her clothing. In a panic, she runs to the kitchen sink to wash her face and hands.