Darius Daughtry Champions Creatives Amid Florida's Arts Budget Cuts

The appreciation of art is constantly dwindling. In our education system, the value placed on art is undervalued and underfunded with a perceived notion that art is only a painting you admire. 

Especially in the Black community, art serves as a way to tell our stories that might otherwise go unheard. Despite the recent $32 million cut from the arts budget in Florida, Darius Daughtry, an esteemed poet, playwright and educator, continues to make a profound impact telling our stories for his communities. 

Although funding is limited, Daughtry continues to work with his organization, the Art Prevails Project. This performing arts organization is dedicated to expanding cultural conversation through theatrical performance, arts education, and community engagement, aiming to bring art to his community. His efforts have not gone unnoticed; he was recently named a Saltwater Fellow by The Miami Foundation. This initiative boldly invests in leaders addressing critical issues in Greater Miami, including racial inequities and community development.

This July, Darius debuted his play, Seeking, at the Amaturo Theatre at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts on July 26th and 27th. The play blended music and magic to tell the story of a young musician's journey of self-discovery and the influence of his family's past on his future. 

We had the pleasure of interviewing Daughtry to discuss his journey, insights and the impact of his work.

Our conversation began with a discussion on why is the arts so important in our community?

Sometimes, the arts are all we have. In times of turmoil, despair, what have we always used to get through? Song. Music. Dance. Also, the arts are a pure expression of joy and excellence. The arts can heal us. The arts educate us. The arts give us a sense of self. When our history is maligned and our well-being threatened, we have art and creative expression to turn to. And we are so damn good at it. We have some much power and flair. We are a beautiful people and the beauty is exhibited in so many artistic offerings. 

Can you share what inspired you to write Seeking? What personal experiences or observations influenced this play?

As a writer, there is a great degree of personal experience in most of what I write. Seeking, however, is the most personal thing I've written. The main character, Terrence, is a bit of an avatar for me. It took me nearly a decade to write this script. When I started writing it, I was exploring my own non-existent relationship with my father. It was short after my last ditch effort to forge some sort of relationship with him that I began writing what would become Seeking. I was hurting, even though I thought I was masking it well.  So, I began working through what I was feeling and what I know many others were experiencing. As a Black male artist, I take it as one of my charges to explore and illuminate the complexities of Black men. To bring the experiences and the mental and emotional health of Black men centerstage is of vital importance to me. Seeking does that, and it illuminates the strength and beauty of the Black woman at the same time. 

The play Seeking deals with the themes of self-discovery and legacy, why are these themes relevant to Black people today?

I am a poet, and I am inspired by poets. One of my favorites is June Jordan who espouses that "poetry is a political act because it involves telling the truth." She goes on to talk about how America doesn't fully allow for that practice, truth-telling, to occur easily. If we are ever to be free, we must really practice vulnerability and understanding in a way that begins with self-discovery.  It is important to know who we are as individuals and as a people.  Seeking explores the act of being open enough to dig deep and see who you really are. A theme and a line in the play is, "all the goodness I see is already inside of me." If we are diligent in exploring what's inside, wading through the pain and mess, we will find that goodness. 

 An African proverb says, "Until the lion tells the story, the hunter will always be the hero." For Black people throughout the Diaspora, our story has constantly been told by so many others. And we have been socialized to believe so many of the lies. However, art allows us the chance to really connect to our familial and cultural legacy. And once that happens, you recognize the lies and understand your own greatness. 

If someone sits in the audience and watches one of my shows, I would love for them to walk away with a renewed sense of self. At the very least, I hope to spark their curiosity.

You've been a vocal advocate for using the arts as a tool for social change. Could you elaborate on how Seeking addresses current social issues or contributes to community conversations about racial inequities?

One of the ways Seeking addresses racial equity is the fact that we worked hard to have it on the stage at the Broward Center's Amaturo Theatre. Not many productions with an all Black cast, Black writer/director and Black designers have graced that stage. We made sure we provided tickets to community organizations for free or greatly discounted prices. That is creating equity for our people. Having a group of Black children sitting in that theater and seeing what is possible is a tool for social change. Providing opportunities for Black actors, musicians and designers to produce impactful and beautiful work is social change. Telling an unapologetically Black but universal story on the stage of one of the premier venues in the country is social change. 

As far as the story goes, it is important that we note how we are affected by trauma. The story is about so many things, one of which is working through the trauma of growing up without a father. This isn't a new phenomenon, and it affects so many. Having that conversation through art is a powerful opportunity to confront an issue that we often talk about but don't work through...until therapy. 

With the recent $32 million cut in the arts budget in Florida, how do you foresee this impacting local artists and arts organizations?

This extremely shortsighted budget cut has a profoundly negative effect on artists and organizations. This especially impacts individual artists and smaller, grassroots arts organizations, because the funds from the State represent a larger proportion of their overall budget. This means an entire part-time position, after-school arts program or production doesn't happen due to lack of funds. Moments like this are part of the reason that I am such an advocate for Black philanthropy. We need more of our community to support organizations so that it doesn't matter who is in office or which way the pendulum swings, we can continue to provide programming that represents our community with excellence. 

Being named a Saltwater Fellow by The Miami Foundation is a significant honor. How has this fellowship influenced your work or expanded your opportunities to make a difference in the community?

I am extremely honored to have been selected as an initial part of the Saltwater Fellowship cohort. This groundbreaking initiative brings together 10 local leaders who address racial inequity in diverse ways. I am excited to bring my perspective on the power and impact of arts and culture to the conversation. The leaders in this cohort are doing some amazing things in the community, and I believe that this fellowship will provide opportunities for us to come together to make a more seismic impact throughout our region. Kinda like the Avengers. 

With there being less and less funding for art every year, why is it so important to be kept around?

The wonderful thing about art is that you can do it with no money. You don't need a dime to write a poem or create a dance. So, they can never take it from us. However, we need to be more diligent, as a community, in supporting arts and artists. It's never a good idea to depend on the government to do things that are truly for the good of the people. The arts heal, inspire and set us free. Because we know that, we should invest in making sure our children and community have access to them at all times. The arts have a direct impact on mental health and emotional well-being for us all, so, we should make sure that we are doing what we can to create those opportunities for our community. What would the world be without the arts? What would the world be without Black art?

How do you motivate the youth to care about the arts?

I spent 10 years as a public school educator, and the most important lesson I learned while teaching was that you have to make the student the center of the experience. Especially, with all of the distractions that exist today, you have to make the experience relevant enough to keep them engaged. Initially, poetry doesn't elicit excitement from young people. That's mainly because their experience is in an academic setting which prioritizes the writing of white men that were around a century ago. But when you make connections to the music they listen to, the people they know and their experiences, young people are prone to connect in astounding ways. 

Also, representation is important. We see thousands of Black athletes on a daily basis, but how many Black writers, actors and jazz musicians are our young people exposed to? That exposure and relevance can make all the difference in the world. 

What advice would you give to aspiring playwrights and directors, especially those who wish to tackle significant cultural or social issues through their work?

The first thing I'll say is to do the thing you want to do. You have to put the work in. If you want to be a writer, WRITE. And write some more. Have a daily practice that is connected to the thing you want to be. Go to plays. Read plays. Write plays. And find a mentor and a community. Theatre is a team sport.Regarding creating work that explores cultural and social issues: that is our job. That's how I see it. If you're not creating and making an impact, then, what are you doing? Artists have to be unafraid to be honest. If there is something you want to explore, explore it. You can't be overly concerned about what people may feel or who may be offended, especially, if you are creating and standing on your convictions. We need more truth-tellers, more artists willing to shine light on the dark places.  And, honestly, that probably won't be the most lucrative road to take, but it is fulfilling. You will find your audience. 

Are there any other projects or initiatives you're currently developing? How do they build on the themes or successes of "Seeking"?

My organization, Art Prevails Project, produces an annual multidisciplinary production, The Happening: A Theatrical Mixtape. Volume 6 will hit stages in November, and the theme is Power to the People. Additionally, we are continually doing our work in bringing arts education to under-resourced schools and communities. All of the work I do is connected to the themes of Seeking in that I create work with an eye on truth-telling and elevating our stories. Personally, I have a second collection of poetry and a children's book on the way. And I am working on a couple of film projects as well.