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Juanita Harmon
Lorenzo Shannon is a Black college student studying history who collaborates with Meridian Henry, Juanita Harmon, Pete Spivey, and others to protest for African-American civil rights. Shortly before the play begins, he has been violently attacked and thrown in jail for protesting. Though the protestors organize in Meridian Henry’s church, Lorenzo thinks of Christianity as an oppressive white religion; he is also openly skeptical of Meridian’s insistence on nonviolent protest, thinking that perhaps Black protestors should get guns for self-defense. When Richard Henry returns home after eight years in New York City, Lorenzo admires Richard’s boldness and self-respect. Lorenzo witnesses Richard’s altercation with racist white store owner Lyle Britten. After Lyle murders Richard, and Lyle’s wife Jo lies at Lyle’s murder trial that Richard sexually assaulted her during the altercation at the store, Lorenzo explicitly states that he was present during the altercation—and Richard never touched Jo.
Lorenzo Shannon Quotes in Blues for Mister Charlie
The Blues for Mister Charlie quotes below are all either spoken by Lorenzo Shannon or refer to Lorenzo Shannon . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Act 1
Quotes
Lorenzo: Mother Henry, I got a lot of respect for you and all that, and for Meridian too, but that white man’s God is white. It’s that damn white God that’s been lynching us and burning us and castrating us and raping our women and robbing us of everything that makes a man a man for all these hundreds of years. Now, why we sitting around here, in His house?
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Juanita: And then you wouldn’t be any better than they are.
Lorenzo: I don’t want to be better than they are, why should I be better than they are? And better at what? Better at being a doormat, better at being a corpse?
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Act 3
Quotes
Lorenzo: They been asking me about photographs they say he was carrying and they been asking me about a gun I never saw. No. It wasn’t like that. He was a beautiful cat, and they killed him.
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Lorenzo Shannon Quotes in Blues for Mister Charlie
The Blues for Mister Charlie quotes below are all either spoken by Lorenzo Shannon or refer to Lorenzo Shannon . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 1
Quotes
Lorenzo: Mother Henry, I got a lot of respect for you and all that, and for Meridian too, but that white man’s God is white. It’s that damn white God that’s been lynching us and burning us and castrating us and raping our women and robbing us of everything that makes a man a man for all these hundreds of years. Now, why we sitting around here, in His house?
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Juanita: And then you wouldn’t be any better than they are.
Lorenzo: I don’t want to be better than they are, why should I be better than they are? And better at what? Better at being a doormat, better at being a corpse?
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Act 3
Quotes
Lorenzo: They been asking me about photographs they say he was carrying and they been asking me about a gun I never saw. No. It wasn’t like that. He was a beautiful cat, and they killed him.
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