Razom for Ukraine is proud to join Americans around the country to commemorate #Juneteenth. This Juneteenth, we remember the friendship between Ira Aldridge, an African American free man and Ukraine’s poet laureate Taras Shevchenko, born a serf. 🧵
Aldridge was born in NYC and dreamed of becoming a Shakespearean actor. He moved to the UK, where his casting in Othello was met with racist derision. But he was not the type to quit. He embarked on a tour of Europe and his performances started drawing crowds and awards.
In St. Petersburg, Aldridge was introduced to Taras Shevchenko, poet, writer, artist, and folklorist who would go on to be renowned as a father-figure of modern Ukrainian literature. The men bonded instantly over their shared legacy of suffering and discrimination.
Shevchenko was born a serf, owned by the Engelhardt family, and was brought by them to St. Petersburg in the 1830s. He showed great promise as an artist and, eventually, his friends raised enough money to buy his freedom. A Shevchenko painting of the Vydubychi Monastery in Kyiv:
Meanwhile, Aldridge was becoming recognized as a premier stage actor of his era. In preparation for his appearances, European audiences would learn English phrases to better follow his performance. Aldridge in Titus Andronicus:
The two men met in November of 1858, during a performance of Othello in St. Petersburg. They remained close friends for the rest of their lives. While Shevchenko painted this portrait of Aldridge, Shevchenko sang Ukrainian folk songs and Aldridge sang Black spirituals.
As artists, Shevchenko and Aldridge only flourished in exile. Both died before returning home or seeing their people live freely. Shevchenko spent 10 years in prison for his activism, and Aldridge died in Łódź in 1867 en route to perform for liberated slaves in the American South
The two men’s friendship continues to inspire great art today. Virlana Tkacz’s play about their relationship, Dark Night Bright Stars, toured Odesa, Lviv, and Kyiv in 2014.
lamama.org/shows/dark-nig…
Ira Aldridge and Taras Shevchenko’s friendship reminds us that freedom can never be taken for granted, but that a lot of work remains to keep our peoples free.
Razom for Ukraine wishes all a Happy #Juneteenth.
Learn more about the two men here: umacleveland.org/museum/taras-s…
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