Black Theatre USA: Plays by African Americans from 1847 to Today (Revised and Expanded Edition)

By: James V. Hatch and Ted Shine

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Synopsis: The plays in this book represent authentic voices that address the complexities of African American life in the United States, from chattel slavery of pre-Emancipation days to the economic slavery of the Depression and beyond. Alongside these works stand the few that made it to the professional stage, but are nevertheless rooted in the rich soil of Black life and thought from the first decades of this century. Most of the volume is organized chronologically up to the Great Depression of the 1930s, with each section pursuing a theme and opening with an enlightening discussion of the period and the plays. In this volume, the plays represent only a small portion of the great body of Black dramatic literature. Each is a microcosm of reflections, perspectives, and ideas growing out of Black life and culture, and each represents hundreds of other equally challenging works.