“Nigger,” “wetback” and
“chink” are three words which may leave you gasping for
breath, and are surely terms you wouldn’t think any even
mildly socially-minded person would dream of saying.
But for UCLA students Rafael Agustin, Miles Gregley and Allan
Axibal, these controversial words have always been a part of their
lives, and in the past nine months they have turned them into a
play called “Nigger Wetback Chink” that deals head-on
with the stereotypes these words represent.
The production revolves around the genetics research of R.
Spencer Wells who recently published a theory stating that every
person can trace their origins back to a particular race in Africa,
which started 60,000 years ago. The trio wanted to expand upon the
theory and tackle the issue of race and why we struggle with
it.
“We thought to ourselves, how can we reach the community
and help them understand the importance of diversity,” said
third-year theater student Gregley. “I love learning about
different ethnicities, and I just hope people have an open mind
about this theater piece before they judge it by the
title.”
By using shock value in the title, they aim to confront racism
rather than silencing these derogatory terms with political
correctness.
“People may be agitated by the words we use in the title
of the show, but the truth is that we are just as aggravated
because we’ve lived with these words all our lives. They are
very important words that bring up some very important
issues,” said third-year communication studies student
Axibal.
“We need to be able to discuss those words in a mature
form and we should do so without having to tip-toe around them or
said them under our breath. To do otherwise would be
ridiculous,” he added.
Despite winning awards for best script, best costumes and best
performer at the ARTA National Competition, the three said they
have struggled to gain outside backing for their production, mainly
due to its controversial title.
“At first no one wanted to support it, but after a sneak
peek, they not only supported it but they endorsed it,”
fourth-year theater student Agustin said.
“There were no costumes, no nothing; we just let the
performance speak for itself,” he added.
And although the show deals with real issues, they are able to
balance the seriousness of the subject with humor that’s
intended to make you laugh at your own ideas of race.
“There was never any consideration as to whether it would
be a comedy or a drama. Comedy all the way. We love the
funny,” Axibal said.
This proverbial Breakfast Club met at Mt. San Antonio College on
the speech team where each of them were national speech champions.
Then they all transferred to UCLA to pursue different majors and
came up with the idea of collaborating on this production.
In addition to allowing these students to take power over
slighting terms with a sense of humor, the creation of
“Nigger Wetback Chink” continues to open their eyes to
issues of racism that are still prevalent in society.
“We tend to gather into groups when we reach a certain age
and remain ignorant to everything around us. It’s so
important that we share and recognize people of other ethnicities
and cultures,” said Gregley.
“Nigger Wetback Chink” will be playing in the
Northwest Campus Auditorium May 16 and 17 at 8 p.m. Admission is
free.