August Wilsons Legacy

                August Wilson was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He had passed away in Seattle, Washington after living there for 15 years and ended with 10 plays under his belt. August Wilson was a poet turned play writer. Wilson had written plays that were set in each decade, which gave an insight on how the African American life was and how racism influenced it at each decade. He often had characters and main themes recur in each play which connected them together, creating a bigger overall message. His most famous play, Fences, “which takes place in the 1950s and 1960s, is what Arthur Miller referred to in 1947 as “‘the tragedy of the common man’” (Shteir). The main conflict with this story is between Troy and his son. His son is a high school athlete that has the potential to make it, but he has to face racism and his father’s disapproval. This play is just one of many that shows how Wilson uses his characters to show different sides of racism and how it affected them, which may different for every character. Rachel Shteir on Slate writes about Wilson’s plays, “they are at their best not history lessons but lyric explorations of the universal particulars of their characters” (Shteir). His legacy is to show the different sides of racism throughout each decade, and to influence. Wilson influenced many in that, during his time, he was one of very few African American play writers. Today, there is a noticeable climb in numbers. He won numerous awards including a fellowship at the Minneapolis Playwright Center and a majority of his plays were on Broadway.

         His legacy reveals a larger message about how race, power, and language intersect in the US by showing the audience and readers how each of those factors played a part in everyday life for African Americans in each decade. With each play, you can see changes within the plot, characters and the overall feel towards African Americans.