What is the answer to injustice – vengeance or seeking
Common Ground
COMMON GROUND shows how Frederick Douglass turns Abraham Lincoln away from his own racism and towards a belief in political and social equality for Black people.
Despite issuing the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, Lincoln is convinced that separating the two races is the only answer to the slavery question because, as he tellingly declares: “I have never met a black man who is equal to a white.” In his three meetings with Douglass, he will meet such a man.
The conflict centers around the South’s decision to kill captured Black soldiers at the battle of Fort Pillow. Lincoln vows retaliation, but never acts. Douglass challenges Lincoln at the White House to show Douglass he understands that “the destiny of America is the destiny of its Black people.”
When Douglass crashes the Inaugural Ball, Lincoln introduces him to everyone as “my friend, Douglass,” dramatically answering Douglass’ challenge.
Lincoln’s assassination ends this remarkable friendship between a president and a former slave. At the dedication of the Emancipation Monument in 1876, Douglass honors Lincoln by exhorting us all to reach across the fear and meanness that divide us to find common ground by simply saying welcome, “friend – one of the most powerful words in the world.”
Synopsis With Song Descriptions
Escaping from slavery in 1836, eighteen-year-old Frederick Douglass vows to his wife-to-be, Anna, that he will be a “Moses” to his people. He gets his chance when Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. Lincoln struggles to answer “What Do We Do With The Negro?” and decides that separating the two races is the only answer because, as he says, he has “never met a black man who is equal to a white”. Douglass tries to placate those Black men who wish to leave America for good, convincing them that “This Is Our Moment” to join the Union army and fight for our freedom. Complicating both men’s lives are the relationships with their wives: Lincoln is no longer sexually interested in Mary, and Douglass has a white mistress. Hovering in the background is John Wilkes Booth, obsessed with Lincoln and with “Playing Brutus to His Caesar.”
The crux of the conflict centers around the South’s decision to kill captured Negro soldiers. Lincoln answers that he will retaliate by executing captured Rebel soldiers if they do. Douglass comes to the White House to demand equal pay for Negro soldiers and to crucially ask: will Lincoln uphold his Retaliation Order? At the battle of Fort Pillow, Nathan Bedford Forrest slaughters captured Negro soldiers. Lincoln’s response: do nothing. Fed up, Douglass vows that waiting time is through: “Wait! Wait! Wait!”
In Act II, Douglass fights against Lincoln’s re-election in 1864 – NO MORE, LAWD, NO MORE. Bone-weary from war, Lincoln despairs that “What If?” he can’t succeed and all his dreams for his country are shattered? Douglass visits the White House a second time and demands retaliation. Thrusting a letter opener into his hands, Lincoln dares Douglass to retaliate then and there. When Douglass cannot, Lincoln pleads with him to find “Common Ground.” Douglass challenges Lincoln: show me you understand that the destiny of America is the destiny of its black people. Alone, Douglass agonizes over Lincoln’s offer of friendship, but finally decides “Let Me Begin.” And he has a plan how.
On the eve of inauguration, the Lincolns and the Douglasses sing a quartet reprising a hopeful answer to “Where Are The Dreams We Dreamed?” Then Douglass crashes the Inaugural Ball, attempting to be the first African-American to ever attend. Soldiers fight him off, but Lincoln demands his admittance, then further shocks the crowd by introducing him as “my friend Douglass”: he has met a black man he considers equal to a white. Lincoln and Mary waltz, the stage is filled with dance, and the air is filled with hope: if a former slave and a president can become friends, maybe the ideals of the Declaration of Independence can be achieved. Booth appears in a spotlight, points a gun at the audience – at our future – and fires. The remarkable friendship between the radical and the republican is not to be. But, at the dedication of the Emancipation Monument in 1876, Frederick Douglass urges everyone not to let Lincoln’s legacy remain incomplete, but to struggle every day until we have finally found “Common Ground.”