August Wilson

and His Connection to Today

August Wilson was a playwright who by according to the August Wilson Center for African American Culture “Wilson is best known for his 10-play cycle covering every decade of the 20^th century….the plays chronicle the African American experience in the 20^th century America”.  This was an incredible feet for both the Black society in America and for the theatre society, according to his biography nearly every one of his plays won a NYDCC honor for best American Play and each one enlightened the world about what the African American people went through during these times.  He wanted to show the world about the culture of African Americans and he will always be remembered for his plays, they even named a theater on Broadway after him.  He will be remembered as an important figure in African American history and in the world of the theatre and playwrights.  But I also feel that his legacy will leave behind a sense of power for the rest of society as well, because in a time when race was still a hard viewed issue and we viewed race based on how a person looks like on the outside, their speech, and their social class, all these things led to stereotypes that we as a society can still not really shake even with August Wilson breaking from his stereotype.  There has always been an uneven balance of power in the United States, and even now, with huge jumps in social awareness we still catch flak about problems with racism and stereotyping.  The way we speak may seem important on showing others what you feel, but I believe that what we actually say is equally if not more important on determining where we sit, something that August Wilson had no issue in showing in his plays that speak from the heart and touch all of ours.