On February 26, 2012, Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black man, was killed by a member of the local neighborhood watch. And since then, numbers and numbers of unarmed black men have been killed too. What HOODED depicts is the state that a young black male and the issues he continues to face in America’s society. The performance did a great job at portraying racism, xenophobia, and how one’s culture can be neglected through societal standards.

The story of HOODED followed a young black male, Marquis, who was adopted into a privileged white family. Because of this, Marquis struggled with his identity as a black man in a white household, along with attending a prestigious school where there wasn’t much diversity. One evening, Marquis was out with his friends, but was caught by the police for trespassing, while his white friends got away. While in a holding cell, Marquis meets Tru, a young black male from Baltimore, where he was exposed to many aspects of racial oppression. Following the storyline, the audience observed how Tru helped Marquis find his identity as a black male, and what that label entails in society.

Throughout the show, I couldn’t stop thinking about J. Cole’s album, For Your Eyez Only. J. Cole works as a vessel of truth for the young black male community, as he depicts himself as an old friend who was murdered through gun violence. He speaks in the point of view of his passed friend, and explains the pain of his young daughter who was left behind. 

I believe this album is relevant to the story told within HOODED, as within both artworks, the audience experiences the prejudices that the creator faces. In both, I was able to observe controversial topics of incarceration, police brutality, toxic masculinity, and other miseries that plague the black community. Through these performances, I feel truly humbled and I am very glad I attended the performance of HOODED. It gave a spotlight to the issues that societies face everyday, yet aren’t talked about as much as they should be.