Thursday, April 30, 2015
August Wilson and his legacy
August Wilson was, "an African American playwright whose works helped put Pittsburgh on the literary map" (Panchak). August had a 10-play cycle about African-American life in the 20th century. His plays highlighted the effects that racism has on African-American communities in the United States. August left a legacy that is still with us to this day. Being one of the first African- American playwrights, he has left a great influence. He gave African Americans a voice. "As long as people are reading, they will be reading about Pittsburg , and that's what August Wilson did for us, he said. "We owe him" (Panchak). He created famous work and achieved so much in his life time. He also set a high bar for other African-American playwrights.
August' legacy reveals a larger message about how race, power, and language intersect in the United States. In the article I read by Steve Bogira, Bernard Brown, a teacher, found it extremely important that he enhanced his students understanding of their own African American roots. August' plays put these roots to life with his plays. Race, power, and language all intertwine when talking about August Wilson. He gave himself and other African-Americans power by standing up and highlighting the effects racism has on African Americans in his works, and the language he used. People to this day still can learn from August Wilson and his works. You can still find any of it today, and that just shows how much power he and other African-Americans gained from his works.
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I liked reading your post , the part that stuck out to me was the fact that Wilson was the first African American playwrights. this stuck to me because that is such a distinguishing title to have!
ReplyDelete"As long as people are reading, they will be reading about Pittsburg , and that's what August Wilson did for us, he said. "We owe him" (Panchak). He created famous work and achieved so much in his life time. He also set a high bar for other African-American playwrights" this stuck out to me because he had a great influence on a lot of other artists and you lament that fact. To complement that is a list of other African American artists that embodied his talent, "vivid black-and-white- archival photo images of the black America Wilson knew, loved and wrote of"
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