Sounding social justice in American opera: race and gender in Stinney: an American execution

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn 1944, George Stinney Jr., an African American boy, aged fourteen, was falsely accused of rape and murder; he became the youngest person to be executed in the United States. Seventy years later, Frances Pollock’s opera, Stinney: an American Execution, premiered in Baltimore, Maryland. This article explores how Stinney exposes ongoing issues of race and gender inequality in the United States. Drawing upon ethnographic interviews, I investigate the opera’s collaborative creation process, complex reception, and collective impact. I argue that Stinney serves as a work of musical activism by bringing the marginalized cultural experiences of African Americans, and women of colour specifically, to the fore. Ultimately, Stinney provides an opportunity for diverse audiences to engage in discussions about how we as a society can address injustice and enact social change.