The Odeon Theatre
William Apess and the Eulogy That Rewrote History
You are standing near the site of the Odeon Theatre, once located at the corner of Milk and Federal Streets. On January 8, 1836, something happened here that deserves to be remembered as one of the most radical acts of resistance in American history.
On that day, a Pequot activist, writer, and Methodist minister named William Apess stood on this stage and delivered his Eulogy on King Philip. King Philip was the English name given to Metacom, the Wampanoag leader who united a coalition of Native tribes against English colonial expansion in 1675. That war, known as King Philip’s War, was the bloodiest conflict in colonial American history. When it ended, Metacom was killed, his body dismembered, and his head displayed on a pike in Plymouth for twenty years.
Speaking 160 years later, Apess revindicated Metacom as a patriot who had defended his homeland against invasion, deserving the same honor Americans gave their own Revolutionary heroes. He was also speaking during the forced removal of the Cherokee under the Indian Removal Act, watching the United States repeat what Massachusetts had done to the Wampanoag a century and a half before. He did not spare his audience:
“We say, therefore, let every man of color wrap himself in mourning, for the 22d of December and the 4th of July are days of mourning and not of joy.”
FEATURED AT THIS STOP
"METACOMET"
Mwalim DaPhunkee Professor
VIEW LYRICS
Through the trees the whispers carry far
Stories of courage etched in every scar
Through fire and struggle, through shadow and sunset
The land remembers Metacomet
Rivers hold echoes of each step he made
Mountains keep the silence where his people prayed
They still tried to call him King Philip and not by his old name yet
The wind speaks clearly Metacomet
Fields that once fed families now speak in size
Skies that watched in sorrow and the people’s cries
Though the time may try to soften the pain and regret
The earth keeps calling Metacomet
Graves unmarked, voices unheard
The strong still hung the memory of each word
Through every gust, through every mournful jet
The wind holds steady, Metacomet
READ BIO
Coming from long family lines of West Indian/Bajan (Barbados) and Mashpee Wampanoag oral traditionalists, it was of little surprise that Mwalim would tell stories to his classmates in nursery school and kindergarten, or that he began winning awards for storytelling in the 7th grade, and city-wide short-story contests in high school. While in college, he began his career as a storyteller and spoken-word artist; interweaving storytelling with a life long love of music as a violist, pianist, percussionist, and singer. Playing Carnegie Hall before the age of 14 and -at 16 -becoming one of the youngest session players in EMI history- Mwalim’s story is a rich and multi-dimensional one. After completing his MS in Film Boston University he studied theater arts education and playwriting at New African Company in Boston. His plays began getting productions in Boston and after a reading at the 1999 National Black Theatre Festival, his plays and performances pieces began receiving productions throughout the USA and Canada as well as the UK and Caribbean.
For over 30 years as a performer, teaching artist and curriculum development consultant, Mwalim has taught theater and language arts as well as music for private and public schools, community programs, arts academies, colleges, and conferences throughout the United States and Canada. His stages and classrooms have included theaters, arenas, nightclubs, schools, libraries, museums, community centers, festivals, street corners, powwows, colleges, temples, jails, and churches. Mwalim is a recipient of numerous awards, fellowships and grants for theater, music, and media arts; including the Ira Aldridge Fellowship, New York Theatre Forum, Osborne Trust Fellowship, Yen Fellowship, and the Healey Grant, He has been the Playwright-In-Residence at New African Company in Boston since 2004. He is the keyboardist and resident songwriter for the 6-time Grammy nominated band The GroovaLottos. Mwalim is a tenured professor of English and the former Director of Black Studies at UMass Dartmouth.