Hamilton
By Jerome Pearson
December 23, 2022
Nearly six years after its release in 2016, Cecelia and I finally saw the extraordinary musical Hamilton in New York last night. And what a splendid and exciting musical it is!
First, I am astounded by the creativity of its creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, in taking a historical story about one of our country’s founding fathers and making it accessible to everyone, regardless of age, race, religion, or creed. It is the type of story we should be creating that captures the imagination and interest of those living today. He blended hip-hop and rap as their primary form of communication. I am not sure if there is another medium that could have done it as well.
From the first beat, my attention was captured, and I only exhaled after the final beat nearly 3 hours later.
Alexander Hamilton was born on the Caribbean Island of Nevis to an unwed mother. He was finally placed in an orphanage. “Hamilton gained wider attention after he published an eloquent letter describing a hurricane that hit the island in 1772. Locals helped raise money to send him to America to study, and he arrived in New York in late 1772, just as the colonies were gearing up for a war for independence from Great Britain.”
After graduating from Kings College (now Columbia University) in NYC, he became a commissioned officer in the US Army. His unit did so well in the battle of Trenton and Princeton that he captured President George Washington’s attention. Hamilton would later become the first US Secretary of the Treasury. He was considered the most unique and intellectual among the founding fathers. He was also the lone founding father who was openly anti-slavery, largely due to his Caribbean Heritage, even though he was not Black. He would eventually be killed in a duel with a political rival, Aaron Burr. Hamilton’s son had been killed earlier, also in a duel with an opponent of his father.
But what is unique about the musical is that the play is that its cast is predominantly minorities. Therefore, in the cast, last night, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Aaron Burr were all African Americans. Despite this, the musical spoke openly about the institution of slavery.
Seeing Hamilton reminded me that we must continually search for new ways of learning. Our traditional platforms are not working. I think that many young kids would gain a greater understanding of history by seeing Hamilton than they would through many of our current platforms. If nothing else, they will certainly be glued to the story from start to finish.
And that is how we learn.
Jerome Pearson