Darkening Mirrors: Imperial Representation in Depression-Era African American Performance

(Duke University Press) This book examines African-Americans during the Great Depression. Batiste looks at how, even though they were treated as second-class citizens, they empowered themselves through artistic performance, specifically through reenactment of United States’ imperialism in westerns, dramas, dances, songs, jokes, and comedy sketches. Batiste is a performance artist and associate professor of English and Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.