I thought our little liberal college town would fight it longer, hold out. One month since the president of the United States gave a televised speech to Congress declaring that “Muslims are a threat to America.” Two months since a virulent Islamophobe was sworn in as secretary of war-a cabinet position that hasn’t existed since World War II. Three months since they started firing Muslims from public-sector jobs. United States established precedent for relocation of citizens during times of war. Six months since the Exclusion Laws were enacted.įive months since the attorney general argued that Korematsu v. Nine months since the first book burning. One year since our answers on the census landed us on the registry. There is only what we once were and what we have become. I don’t measure time by the old calendar anymore I don’t look at the date. Most of the town is at the book burning, so I should be safe. In the distance, I see a funnel of smoke rising into the air.
But everywhere it’s the same as it’s always been: the perfectly manicured lawn of Center Square, the gazebo’s twinkling fairy lights, the yellow beams from the porch lamps at every door. Only the familiar chirp of the crickets, and the occasional fading rumble of a car in the distance, and a rustle so faint I can’t tell if it’s the wind or the anxious huff of my breath. With subdued, eerie calm, Nankani’s reading of Ahmed’s author’s note presents as informational insight-and as substantive warning of the ongoing consequences of the toxic racism and xenophobia already rampant today.I strain to listen for boots on the pavement. Nankani’s chameleonic range adapts affectingly among desperate prisoners, aggressive soldiers, and concerned strangers.
Nankani, who voiced Ahmed’s debut best-seller, Love Hate & Other Filters (2018), returns here in an enhanced production, complete with amplified PA system and bullhorn announcements.
Determined to fight for justice, Layla finds surprising allies willing to fight for precious freedom. She’s torn from her boyfriend, friends, community, everything familiar. In just 10 minutes, Layla’s family’s civil rights are stripped. Seventeen-year-old Layla and her parents are forcibly removed from their Los Angeles home and transported to Mobius, a desert prison near Manzanar (one of ten Japanese American WWII incarceration camps). following the 2016 presidential election. Much like the 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent imprisoned during WWII by FDR’s Executive Order 9066, Muslim Americans are rounded up and incarcerated in an alternate, albeit all-too-familiar U.S.
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