*Winner of New York State Council of the Arts Grant ROGER (35) is a Harlem resident, who lives in the world of his comic books at his mother’s house. Reading a history book, he learns a TRUTH about the people of SENECA VILLAGE, the first free African community that existed in New York in the early nineteenth century. By right of eminient domain, the city legally seized the land to build Central Park. Roger is buzzed and this thrusts Roger outside where: He has a paradigm shift, in which he sees Harlem as a SOCIETY IN ITSELF and feels constricted by it. He sees his neighborhood as a maze and all of the people are unaware mice – they follow the route of life that society has imprisoned them to. Roger digs a huge hole in the street to break away the “society-made earth”. He realizes that only God’s nature will break the boundaries of society. He looks to plant a tree that will break through the street and begin to bring the area “back to nature”. At night, Roger, steals a tree “in captivity” – from Central Park: digs it out and brings it back to Harlem, planting it in the hole. As they’re finishing the next day, the neighborhood begins to riot about the tree in the street. The crowd intensifies as the police chase Roger up the tree. Roger tries to get the neighborhood to “understand” what’s happening to them, how the tree will save them..

Forms: Short
Genres: Educational, Coming of Age , Reality, Culture, Spiritual
Niches: African, African American, Black, Student, Mature/Adult