Jackie is an African American woman in her late thirties, and she is a police officer. She loves her job and takes it very seriously. A strong woman debating on taking her Sargent’s test her career is on the rise and as she shoots at the range her power, expertise and dominance for her position is clear. She speaks about the experiences she has had not only as a woman but also as a woman of color in the police department. The way that men make jokes about women’s bodies, the way racist comments are dismissed as a joke and people of color are expected to smile it away. The other side to her reality is that “they are who they are and I can’t change them.” This attitude at times comes across as dismissive at times to the things that she sees and hears from her fellow officers. She has an experience where she is shot and the officer that saves her is one of the men that is known to be a racist. It puts her in a position of: on one side of it he’s a racist and on the other side he is good at his job and saved her life. As the scene progresses, she gets a call that changes her life forever, finding out that her son, which she had not spoken about, has been shot. She rushes to the scene and sees her son being worked on my the EMT’s and rushed off to the hospital. In true mother form she goes to their car to follow but then sees one of the racist officers being questioned by the Captain. He shot her son. It is in this moment that her will to fight turns into the blood pulsing through her veins. She goes on a verbal attack asking if he shot her son to get rid of another black man? As she awaits word on her son, she speaks of the changes she is going to make. Someone has to tell the truth of the police force and it is her time to speak. ***Performer needs to be African American.
Black Blue Black
(The scene opens with Jackie, an African American woman in her late thirties stands with a gun focused straight toward the audience. She cleans up her stance, aims for her target and fires off six center mass shots. She smiles, takes off the secure ear gear and pushes the button at the gun range so she can get her shot sheet. She grabs it, smiles at her work)
Well damn. And I mean DAMN (She turns it to the audience)I am a solid shot if I do say so myself. (She looks at it again) And I absolutely do. I love, and I mean love the power of having a job where I carry a gun every day. I’ve been a police officer for almost ten years and my friends keep pushing me to take the sergeant’s exam. “Come on Jackie you know you ‘d be a kick ass sarg. Come on Jackie no one will tell the suits in the cushy upstairs offices to kiss their ass quite like you would. Come on Jackie we need a black woman in charge, all you do is work anyway might as well.” And their right, about all of them: I don’t take shit, I don’t give a shit and I’m never gonna back down from a job because I am black or a woman. Why should I? I don’t have a daughter but if I did, I would make sure that she knew that she is capable…of everything. It’s nice to see that- (Phone rings)hold on one second (looks at it and rolls her eyes)why my cousin Larry always on my phone when I am at work? I know he wants something. Last week he sent me a message “911.” I’m worried about my aunt or someone else in the family. He says, “Hey cousin, for my wedding I was wondering if you would let us ride in the back of your cop car with the lights and sirens on. Oh, and can we paint “just married” on the window? I’ll clean it off when we get back from the honeymoon.” (She laughs hysterically.) My response…no damn response. (Laughs)Being a member of a black family is…an experience. Everybody is always trying to get in touch with me and no one has anything to say, they don’t want anything worth a response and definitely not worth a “911.” But family is all you have, ya know. (She looks back at the shot sheet)Maybe I will take that test. “Sergeant Cooper,” it kind of sings doesn’t it? (Smiles)