Revisiting August Wilson in the 21st Century: Blackness qua Queerness
August Wilson, born Frederick August Kittel, was a Black poet and playwright raised in the predominantly African American Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Born to a German immigrant baker and Black housemaid, Wilson, one of five children, experienced racial harassment endemic of 1940s Jim Crow America. Inspired by Harlem Renaissance writers Arna Bontemps, Langston Hughes, and Ralph Ellison, Wilson sought to expand the theatrical literary canon to include the lived experiences of Black Americans – both the spectacular and mundane. His plays have been performed all over the world, garnering two Pulitzer prizes. Although Wilson has been widely studied, we believe that a more in-depth analysis of his plays enables a clearer understanding of the black condition. In particular, Wilson’s plays illustrate the tension between black people and society’s institutional interchanges. Wilson’s plays represent black people attempting to have businesses and create prospects, yet their efforts are continually thwarted. In support of our study of Wilson, we have also examined the racial makeup, history and crime statistics of Pittsburgh from 1950 to 2018. This data aids our contextualizing of Wilson’s portrayals of Pittsburgh during the times in which the plays are set, as well as that of actual black Pittsburgh residents today. While Pittsburgh is the focus of Wilson’s plays, they address and represent a condition that is vast, this study continues to reveal the black condition across “amerikkka” and the world as dire.