Identifying the Endgame

This essay begins by outlining the forces of assimilation and dissent within the history of black American performance artistry since the 1960s. DeFrantz proposes a shift in curators' priorities away from representing multiculturalism in national presenting organizations in favor of a dynamic engagement with existing communities and publics. He calls for a recentering on minoritarian forms, a shift that would embody a new ethics and reflect new American demographic and cultural realities.