Playwright, professor and former editor of The Louisiana Weekly dies

6th May 2019   ·   0 Comments

By Ryan Whirty
Contributing Writer

Decorated playwright, visual artist and former editor of The Louisiana Weekly Norbert Davidson Jr. passed away on Wednesday, April 17, at his home in New Orleans. He was 79.

Mr. Davidson, who was also a long-time professor at Southern University-New Orleans, wrote and performed the internationally-recognized “El Hajj Malik,” a groundbreaking play about the life and impact of Malcolm X.

With different actors portraying the civil rights leader during the different phases of Malcolm’s life, Mr. Davidson had said “El Hajj Malik” centered on the idea that Malcolm was “The Everyman” who personified the daily struggles and successes of the people around him. Mr. Davidson wanted his masterwork to portray the rhythms and idiosyncrasies of the Black experience, stated a press release from the Anthony Bean Community Theater in New Orleans.

Mr. Davidson authored “El Hajj Malik” in the 1960s when he was co-founder and resident playwright at New Orleans’ Dashiki Project Theater. Davidson first mounted his work at the Dashiki Project Theater at Dillard University, when he was a student at the college, in 1968. “El Hajj Malik” was eventually performed at colleges and universities across the United States, as well as globally in Latin America, the Caribbean, West Africa and Europe.

Anthony Bean, the director of the Anthony Bean Community Theater and Acting School in New Orleans, was a close friend of Mr. Davidson and often staged “El Hajj Malik” locally. Bean told The Louisiana Weekly that the drama employed a series of monologues to express its themes, which gave the play one of its biggest strengths – the ability to be adapted differently and from fresh angles over time.

“It’s such a masterpiece,” Bean said, “and it’s been performed all over the world. But [Mr. Davidson] never got the recognition for it, because his personality never allowed himself to be brought to the forefront.”

Bean added that Davidson was so modest and unassuming that he didn’t fully realize how much of an impact “El Hajj Malik” – titled after Malcolm X’s Muslim name, el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz – had made locally, nationally and globally.

“He was a terrific writer,” Bean said, “but he didn’t even know how brilliant he was.” That humility in a way inhibited word of “El Hajj Malik” from spreading more than it did. As a result, Bean said, “not enough people appreciate it.”

Mr. Davidson also enjoyed a successful journalism career, including a lengthy tenure at The Louisiana Weekly, where he rose through the ranks from writer to assistant editor to editor.

“Norbert was a very talented and gifted individual. He was a rare individual in that he was able to do only those things that he wanted to do and loved to do. And everything he did, he did well,” said Renette Dejoie Hall, publisher of The Louisiana Weekly.

In addition to expressing his vision and art through drama and journalism, Mr. Davidson spent much of his life teaching younger generations of scholars and artists how to explore their own voices and achieve artistic and life success.

Mr. Davidson, who earned his bachelor of arts from Dillard University in New Orleans and his master’s in fine arts at Stanford University, became a tenured associate professor and chair of the Arts and Humanities Department at SUNO.

He also served as the director of SUNO’s Center for Comprehen-sive Communication, and as chair of the Department of English and Print Journalism at the university as well.

SUNO released a statement which read, “Mr. Norbert Davidson was a tremendous asset to Southern University at New Orleans, and the College of Arts and Sciences, in particular. As an associate professor of English and chair of Arts & Humanities, he created journalists and literary scholars in the fields of English, print journalism and communication. Professor Davidson was a dear colleague, mentor and friend. He truly will be missed by his students and the entire SUNO community.”

Often, Mr. Davidson’s art and educational message merged. In 1992, for example, soon after the release of Spike Lee’s acclaimed biopic about Malcolm X, Davidson told The Times-Picayune younger generations needed to learn about the whole of history, including a more complete picture of the slain civil rights leader.

“One of the things that bothered me was I saw young black students who were not investigating their history, and if they did investigate, they were not identifying with people like Martin Luther King or Malcolm,” Davidson told The Times-Picayune. “They knew the name but little else. I was trying to inform them about this fiery figure that passed through.

“I fear the young people are not putting Malcolm in a proper context,” he then added. “They are latching onto his fiery speeches, things that were outrageous and intemperate and provocative without adding to it a fuller context.”

Mr. Davidson was preceded in death by his father, Dr. Norbert R. Davidson Sr.; and his mother, Gloria B. Neal. He is survived by his sister, Lennie Locklear; his aunt, Genevieve Walker; and several nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, May 8 at Majestic Mortuary, located at 1833 Oretha Castle Blvd. in New Orleans. Visitation begins at 10 a.m., with memorial service at 11 a.m. Interment will be private.

Following the service, SUNO will host a repast at the Conference Center on campus.

This article originally published in the May 6, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.