benjamin lundberg torres sánchez

Mic Check After the Zimmerman Verdict
Performance. (2013)

An improvised performance of/about power as the beneficiary of white supremacy and anti-Black racism.

In a performance directly inspired by the writing of El Jones, I dress in Zimmerman drag and use the human microphone technique, re-popularized by Occupy Wall Street, to amplify messages about white and light-skinned privilege, in response to the “I am Trayvon Martin” meme. Though largely improvised, the performance includes the full text of El Jones’ writing beginning “Instead of saying ‘I am Trayvon Martin’…” and also briefly references 2050 Legacy‘s performance, How It Ends.

The retroactively named Mic Check After the Zimmerman Verdict begins with the supposition that the BIPAF organizers, “relative strangers”, trusted me with 10-minutes of uninterrupted performance time because my body does not “pose a threat.” It next identifies the space of performance art as a space of privileged voice. Next, El Jones’ writing is spoken, before concluding with a personal account recounting racist neighborhood watch-doggery in the performer’s home suburb of Plano, Texas.

Performance History:

Performed 15 July 2013
at Goodbye Blue Monday
as part of BIPAF’s 10-Minute Marathon
during the Brooklyn International Performance Art Festival
Acrhival photos by Hrag Vartanian
Archival video by Alex Berry & Rae Goodwin
Another performance remnant captured on Hrag Vartanian’s Instagram.

Note: I am incredibly indebted to El Jones, 2050 Legacy, my then partner, Marika Kent, and many other friends, colleagues, and fellow artists for their challenging work, questions, and provocations that have allowed me to expand self-reflections on my own privilege and power as a beneficiary of white supremacy and anti-Black racism as a light skinned Latinx. This performance represents a moment in time in this ongoing process.