Candidate: Arthur Sullivan

I recarmmnd acceptance of this eeminar paper to the Graduate College in partial fulfillment of this candidate's requirement8 far the Qgraa of Hastar of Scionee. The eurdidate has cmpleted his or81 seminar report .

L1, 1967 Date $en&nar Paper Advisor

This rcbaainac paper 3.8 approved for the Graduate Collega:

ABSTRACT

ii 'j'

. T h i s paper i s an attempt t o discover how the Negro

has been presented i n the American Threatre from 1920 t o

1965. i

The method of procedure has been t o read and analyze

the plays of nat ional importance wr i t t en about Negroes o r

problems of race r e l a t i ons between white and colored people

and i n add i t ion t o consider the plays of Negro playwrights

on t h i s 8ubject who have gained nat ional recognition.

The conclusion of t h i s study i s t h a t the Negro has

been presented i n an honest and t r u t h f u l manner i n most

of the plays wrikten and produced during the period 1920

but that i n two of the most popular namely

Porgy and The, Green Pastures, the Negro has been presented

i n a most u n r e a l i s t i c manner. The treatment of the Negro

as a person and as a member of our socie ty i n these two

plays i s considered today t o be patronizing and offensively

condescending.

Since Porgy and The Green Pastures have been -- viewed by more people than most i f not a l l of the o ther

plays considered here, the most popular view of the Negro

as he has been presented i n the American Theatre i s an

erroneous one.

THE PRESENTATION O F THE NEGRO IN THE AMERICAN

THEATaE FROF4 1920 TO 1965

A Seminar Paper

Presented to

the Fsculty of the Graduate School

Wisconsin State University, La Crosse

I n Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements f o r the Degree

Master of Science

Arthur Sull ivan

August 1967

TABLE O F CONTENTS

T O P I C

I N T R O D U C T I O N *

R A C E R E L A T I O N S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R E L I G I O N . 4

PAGE

MAN-WONAN RELATIONSHIP . . . . . . . . . 28

A S P I R A T I O N S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

i CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 k,

FOOTNOTES t 45

BIBLIOGRAP~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

A P P E N D I X . . . . . . m . m m . a b 7

INTRODUCTI OW

T h i s paper w i l l consider the presentation of the Negro

i n the American Theatre i n the following categories: race

re la t ions , in te l l igence, a t t i t ude toward re l igion, a t t i t ude

toward crime, man-woman relat ionship, and aspirat ions.

The s t a r t ing point of 1920 w a s chosen beoause i t

marked the introduction t o the Agseri~an Theatre of the f i r s t

mador play about the American Negro, Ehperor Jones, by

Eugene OIMeibl. Ridgely Torranee, a poet and p l a m i g h t ,

had writ ten plays about Negroes before 1920 but they have

not lived. An e a r l i e r play of OtNeil l ls with one Negro

character i n i t s cast and the plays writ ten by Torrenoe do

not appear i n the collections of notable h e x i a n plays.

The c r i t e r ion used f o r the select ion of the plays

w a s t h a t of national recognition of the play o r the playwright.

The e a r l i e r plays t reated here were a l l presented before

audience8 across the nation and a few of them, notably

Porgy and The Green Pastures, had internat ional audienoes. -- A number of the l a t e s t plays considered, especially those

of James Baldwin and LeRoi Jones, were only presented off

Broadway i n Mew York City. But because of the national

recognition given the playwrights, t h e i r plays have been

pub11 shed and dis t r ibuted nationally.

The two musicals ineluded i n t h i s paper, Porgy and

Li Golden Bog, were both writ ten or iginal ly as p l a y s and only

later put i n t o musical form. Clifford Odetsl Golden Bay - was rewrit ten by W i l l i a m Gibson w i t h the hero changed t o a

Negro, thus introducing a race re la t ions theme,

The categories chosen f o r analysis and discussion a re

basic t o t h i s problem area and moat common t o a l l the playa.

The primary a i m of t h i s investigation w a s t o gain

an ins ight i n t o the Negro as he is presented and made known

t o the seudent of d r m a an4 t o the h e r l o a n Theatre laudienoe,

which i n the case of Porgy, The Greers Pastures, am3 A -. .... Raisin i n the Sun, includes movie an& te levis ion audiences ---7

as well.

Tke order of the plays presented i n t h i s paper wars

determined by the treatment of the spae l f ie category

considered. The order nas one sf ascending importance of

the Negro aa a aocial being.

The date i n parentheses a f t e r each play indicates the

year i t w a s performed on the stage. This date i s repeated so

%hat the reader may observe the absenae of r chranologiearl

order i n the maeure presentation of the American Negro.

Two obvious examples are evident i n t h i s regard. The p l a y s

Porgy and The Green Pastures a r e moat notable f o r their -- superf ic ia l view of the Negro while Eugene OtMeill'a two

playg, Emperor Jones and All God's Chillun Got Wings, - 7- 7

written years e a r l i e r , portray the Negro much more r ea l i s t i ca l ly .

RACE REZATIONS

This i s the one category t h a t encompasses most of

the general a t t i t udes and actions of the colore& and white

people toward one another. It i s , therefore, the most

inclusive and broadest area considered i n t h i s paper.

In this area of parameunt i n t e r e s t the play,=

Green Pastures (1930) has nothing t o say since it contains no - ,

reference t o white people. The Old Testament these Negroes

portray i s peopled only by Negroes.

Dorothy and DuBoae Heyward's Porgy (1928) does have

white people i n it and therefore has social in teract ion

between the races, but most of it is negative, I n a l l the

meetings between white and colored people, except one, the

white people are off icera of the l a w who have come t o

investigate s mime o r t o a r r e s t someone, The a t t i t u d e of

the Negro toward these white people i s one of resentment

and f e a r of t h e i r authority.

The one incident tha t indloates any understanding

at a l l ex i s t s between the two race8 oceurs when M r . Archdale,

a white lawyer, has Frazier , a Negro quaak lawyer, t e l l

Porgy not t o beg outside Archdale1s office. The reason

given i s tha t Pargy's goat s t inks up the place, Frazier

has given the message t o Porgy and has a l s o collected a

do l l a r and a half f o r granting a divorce t o Besa from

Crown. Archdale heara of t h i s transaction and t e l l s

Frazier he hers broken the l a w but promises t o l e t hihim off

t h i s time. Porgy t e l l s Archdale he w i l l wash h i s goat with

soap, and as Archdale i s leaving he imitates F raz ie r f s

professional manner.

PORGY: Mobe on, please. Mobe on! I gots e r bery po l i t e goat heah what object t o de smell ob de jail bird, (Archdale overhear- ing laughs suddenly. Frazier movers off. . . ) Ainf t yo' hear de boss laugh? BESS: Fat ahat I heah um laugh. PORGY (Hugging goat) : Na, no. brucldah, we a i n ' t goinf move on. When de nigger make the buckra laugh, he done win. We goin' spend we l i f e under i s t e h Arch- dale 's window. Pol watch! !f

This incident would be insignif icant except t h a t i t i s

the only one when the Negro ge ts any sa t i s fao t ion a t a l l

from the white man. And i t i s only by playing up t o the

white boss Ban and making hi@ laugh tha t t h i s concesaian i s

obtainecl. Throughout the play the Negro i s always presented

as in fe r io r t o the white man,

I n Golden Boy (1964) Joe Wellington becomes a boxer

t o overcome an i n f e r i o r feel ing resu l t ing from h i s treatment

by white people. R e t e l l s h i s dad why he f igh t s i n the

ring: "When I f i g h t nobody s p i t s on me, i n the r ing I ' m as

good as I am, no previous semi tude. . . . n 2

Bigger Thomas resents a l l white men because the white

dominated soeiaty i n whioh he l i v e s denies h i m the privileges

it gives i t s own. I n Native Son (1941) he expresses h i s -- envy and contempt t o three other Negroes while they a r e

waiting t o rob a white man's store. He sees s plane i n the

sky:

BIGGER: (Exultantly) Speed! Tha t ' s what them white boys got! GUS: (Whispering) Daredevils-- BIGGER: Go on, boys, f l y them planes, f l y 'em t o the end of the world, f l y 'em smack i n t o the sun! I ' m w i t h sou. Goddeun! GUS: Yessuh! I f you wain* t black and i f you had sene mone and i f t h e m e t you go t o t h a t av a on school, you might could be with 'em.

rtTY BIGGER: ( ~ i e r c e l y ) Yeh, keep on, keep on now!

BIGGER: Give her the s t i c k and pu l l r i g h t aver! Machine gunner, give t h a t crowd down %here on Miohigan Boulevard some hot lead. JACIC: Yessuh! Rat-tat- tat- tat , ta t , tat, ra t - ta t - ta t - ta t - ta t BIGGER: Looks a t the white folka fa l l - - Now we gonna dive-bomb t h a t Tribune Tower. Turn gem loose! 3

Although it i s ineidental t o the main thelne of the

play, Carson NeCullers i n The Member of the Wedding (1950) ---- exhibits the feel ings of many young Negroes i n the South

toward white people through the actions of Honey Camden

Brown. Honey is angered when M r . Addeuns a a l l s him ma

biggity, worthless nigger,* and demands a "siret1 After

M r . Addams leaves Honey says, nfar folks t h a t call me

nigger, I got a r e a l good nigger razor.n4 When Honey

pushes baak a drunken white so ld ier who has bumped i n t o

him, a mi l i ta ry policeman h i&s him on the head wi th h i s

st ick. T h i s infuriates him an8 aoon a f t e r he stabs s

white bartender who refuseai t o serve him. Honey i s caught

and commits suic ide before he can be hanged.

Honey Camden Brown shows us the Negro generation

t h a t i s s t r i k i n g back i n anger a t unreasonable o r unjus t

treatment by the white man.

It was i n Emperor Jones (1920) t h a t Eugene 01 Neil1 - gave us a Negro who not only s t ruck back but l l ved t o t e l l

about it. Jones i s a man who has k i l l e d a colored man and

a l s o a white guard who s t ruck him with a whip. He escapes

t o an i s land and makes himaelf emperor over the nativea.

I n the opening scene of the play he makes i t c l ea r t h a t he

r u l e s the one white man on the l a land as w e l l .

JONES: (with cool deadliness) You mean lynchin* *d scare m e ? Well, I t e l l s you, Smithera, aaybe I doe8 k i l l one white m a n back dere. Maybe I does. And maybe I k i l l s another r i g h t heah ' fo re long i f he don't look out, SMITHERS: I w a s only spoofin' yer. Can't yer take a joke? And you waa just sayint you'd never been i n Jail. JONES: ... f t t s a s to ry I t e l l s you s o t s you knows I ' s e de kind of m a n dat i f yeu evah repeats one word of it, I ends yo* s t e a l i n * on d i a yearth mighty damn quick! SMITEBFB: ( t e r r i f i e d ) Think It a peach on yer? Mot me! Aintt I alwaya been yer f r iend? JONES: (suddenly e laxing) Shot you haa-- and you better be. 3

I n con t ras t t o the p lea made i n -- Native Son (1941)

f o r an understanding of the forces whiah caused Bigger

Thomas t o murder, James Baldwin, i n Blues f o r Mister --- Charlie (1964). wri tes t h a t we whould t r y t o understand

the forces which caused Lyle Br i t t en , a white laan, t o k i l l

a Negro.

Jane8 Baldwin makes race re la t ions the principal

theme of t h i s play. He ca l la h i s c i t y i n the South,

Plaguetom, U.S.A. Richard Henry who has made I t big i n

New York C i t y comes back home t o Plaguetown t o regain h i s

health. He w i l l take no demeaning treatment from the white

man and rese t s Instant ly t o any suggestion of t h e i r

superiori ty,

He purchases er coke a t the Brittenst seare arnd when

Mrs, Bri t ten can' t change a twenty d o l l a r b i l l he laughs at

her embarrassment, Lyle Bri t ten comes i n from the back

and both men exchange Insults . Lyle threatens Riahard,

t e l l i n g him i f he ha8 any sense he w i l l get out of town,

Richard then deprecates Lyle's manhood and i n s u l t s h i s

wife but doeanlt gs near her. The two men scuff le and

Richard forces Lyle t o the f l o o r and knocks a hammer out of

h i s hand,

Two months l a t e r Lyle i s on trial f o r the murder of

Richard Henry. After overwhelming evidence i s presented

t o an all-white Jury t o es tab l i sh Lyle Brlttentlr g u i l t ,

Lylets wife, Jo, t e s t i f i e s t h a t Richard t r i e d t o have

re la t ions w i t h her jus t before the argument i n the grocery

store. The jury returns the verdict , not guilty.

The acoused, a f t e r being freed, admits his g u i l t

privately t o Reverend Henry, Rlchardts fa ther , and t o

Richardls f r iends and sags, "1 a i n ' t sorry. I want you to

hJ know t h a t I a i n ' t sorry!n6

With t h i s the Negroes go back t o the ahurch t o prepare

i f o r mother march t h a t evening. i

t James Baldwin i s saying i n t h i s p l a y t h a t because of

t h i s murder and the unJust a c q u i t t a l race re la t ions i n

Plaguetown, U.S.A., a re r ea l ly worse than they were before.

LeRoi Jones expresses the feel ings of the Negroes

today who believe t h a t the time f o r understanding has been

l o s t an& t ha t under the present oircumstances no p e a c e w

solution is possible.

Dutchman (1964) has o white g i r l making a prapoektton

t o a Negro while they r ide along i n a subway t ra in . After

he agrees t o take her out f o r the night, she begins t o

insu l t and slander h i m , He grabs her, slaps her, and makes

her l i s t e n t o h i s scathing denunciation of a l l white people.

He then prepares t o get off the coach.

CLAY: (Bending across the g i r l t o re t r ieve h i s belongings ) Sorry, baby, I don' t think we could make it. (As he i s bending over her, the g i r l brings up a s m a l l knd.fe and plunges it i n t o Clay's chest. Twice. He slumps across her knees....) 7

She turns t o the others i n the car and orders them t o

ge t Clay off her.. They do. She orders them t o throw him

off the t ra in . They throw the body off. She then orders

them t o get off a t the next stop. They do th i s .

It is suggested t h a t t h i s scene w i l l be reenacted

when, a t the next atop, another Negro comes i n t o the coach

9

w and drops h i s books when he is given the eye by the g i r l .

The symbolic message seems t o be t h a t the Negro

I should s t a y away from white people, They can only cause

h i s cu l tu ra l o r physical death. I

I n -- The Slave (1964) Walker Vessels, a Negro, i s I

leading a revolut ion of the black people aga ins t the white

people i n the United Sta tes . H e i s hiding i n the home of

h i s former white wife, Grace, where he has come $0 ge t

t h e i r two daughters. When Grace and her husband, Bradford,

who w a s Walker's college professor, enter,hee~rposes himself'

and immediately begins t o i n s u l t both of them. When Brad

pours dr inks f o r himself and h i s wife, Walker knacks the

drinks out of h i s hand, grabs the b o t t l e and starts

drinking from it i n g rea t gulps. Brad c a l l s him a phony

poet and Walker r e t a l i a t e s by slapping Brad t o the f l o o r

and then t ry ing t o shoot him, Grace i s unnerved, and i n

f r i g h t and desperat ion she calls Walker a nigger murderer.

He laughs, almost hys te r ica l ly , and asks , "Oh! H a , ha, ha...

you mean.. . Wow! No kidding? Grace, Gracie l I wonder

how long you had t h a t s tored up?" (p. 54) When Walker

accuses Grace of leaving him, she says she d id it out of

f e a r , when he began preaching the murder of a l l the white

- .. people at t h o e r a l l i e s . Walker r e p l i e s , "You mean because

I loved you and $as married t o you,. .had had children by

you, I wasntt supposed t o say the things I f e l t . I was

crying out agains t three hundred years of oppression; not

agains t individuals.* (p 72)

He admi8s t h a t now he has nothing but d i sgus t and

hate f o r a l l white people, including her , because she l e f t

him. Before the play ends Brad i s shot when he t r i e s t o

overpower Walker; Grace i s c r i t i c a l l y in jured when an

a r t i l l e r y s h e l l h i t s the house, and Walker is in jured but

able t o s tagger out. A s he leaves, we hear or daughter

crying and se reming as haM as she can.

The Slave presents *%'he most b i t t e r p ic tu re of race -- r e l a t i o n s gPveO i n any play. There i s no hope o r char i ty i n

it. LeRoi Jones goes a s t ep f a r t h e r than James 3aldwin

and suggests t h a t nothing l e s s than a w a r between the races

w i l l sa lve the i s sues between the white and colored man.

I n d i r e c t con t ras t t o t h i s approach i s Lorraine

Hansberry* s The Sign - i n Sidney Brmsteinls - Window (1965).

Here race r e l a t i o n s i s seen as only one of the many problems

t h a t i n f e c t our society. It is no l e s s and no more important

than t h a t of understanding the homoeexual, the emotionally

disturbed, the man without i n t e g r i t y , and the man who

refuses t o become involved i n the so lu t ion of todayrs

problems. A l l of these i s sues a r e brought forward i n t h i s

~ -- play

When Alton Scales, the light-skinned Negro, i s asked

by Sidneyta wife, Iris, why he ju s t doesn1-b pass f o r white,

'L) and forge t about causes, he answers: "1 w a s born with t h i s cause -

.. .I - am a black boy. I didn ' t make up the game, and as long

a s a 1st of people think there is.-something wrong with the

f a c t tha t I - am a Negro--I am going t o make a point of being

one. Follow?" 8

We learn from t h i s passage t h a t Alton Scales refuses

t o be intimidated because of h i s r a c i a l background. We

know he stands up t o the white man and asse r t s himse~f .

But unlike Walker Vessels o r Clay, he w i l l l i s t e n t o reason

and accept the white man t o the extent t h a t he himself is

accepted. This would appear t o be more i n accord wi th

r e a l i t y than the views of" Mr. Jones,

I MTELLI GENCE

The Negroes portrayed i n Porgy (1928) lack the

ordinary inte l l igence w e expect from adults. U.1 the

characters speak poor English. They do not know the l a w s

of the s t a t e : they pay f o r and acoept as legrJll divorces

given by another Negro i n a s t a t e tha t doesntt permit

divorce. (pp. 62-69) They are supers t i t ious t o the point

of incredi tab i l i ty : Porgy believes Sporting Life 's statement

about the murdered Crown, n A l l I know i s when de m a n what

done um goes i n da t room, Crown wounds begin t o bleed."

(p. 184) There are no refinenents o r courtesies, no

underatanding of femininity, no e f f o r t t o i n s i s t on one's

own rights. The men p lay craps and k i l l i n the presence

of t h e i r families, When Crown must leave he accepts the

f a c t tha t Bess w i l l l i v e with another man while he i s gone.

(PP* 23-24)

I n -- The Green Pastures (1930) M r . Deshee, the minister,

teaches as a tenet of re l ig ion t h a t God, a l l H i s angels, and

a l l the people of the O l d Testament a re Negro. When one of

the boys i n Sunday School asks him i f God and the angels have

picnics, he answers a f f i m a t i v e l y : *She, dey had the nicest

kind of picnics. Dey probably had f i s h f rys , wid bgiled

custard and t en cent seegars f o r de adults.fl (p. 606) Tfie

Old Testament is i n t e ~ p r e t e d i n terms of the eontcslapsrary

Megro l iv ing i n the v ic in i ty of New Orleans* -- The Green

Pastures appeals t o the emotions ra ther than t o the in te l l ec t .

Eugene OlMeill i n Emperor - Jones (1920) was the f i r s t

playwright t o reveal t o us a Negro wi th a shrewd manr~er and a

cunning intel l igence.

The Megro Jones becsnnes maatss af a new and strange

environment. I n discussing Jones? r i s e t o power, Smithers,

the white man, says i t w a s just luck t h a t the matter of the

s i l v e r bu l l e t turned out the wary it did.

JONES: Oh dat s i l v e r bul le t ! Shot m a luck. But I makes da t luck, you heah? I loads de dice! Yessuh! When da t murderin? nigger 'o le Len hired t o k i l l m e takes aim ten f e e t away an8 h i s gun missea Fire and I shoots him dead w h a t you heah me say? SMITHERS: You said yertd got a oharm sots no lead b u l l e t f d k i l l yer. You wrrs so strong only a s i l v e r bu l l e t could k i l l yer , you to ld 'em. Blimey, wasnlt t h a t swank f o r yer--and plain fat-leaded luck? JONES: I got brains and I uses lem quick. Bt a ih t t luck. (p. 13)

Paul Green gave mental s t a tu re t o the Megro i n h i s

play I n Abrahamls Boaam (1926). He emphasizes the differenoe - - between being f r ee physically and being self-confident

in te l lec tua l ly .

Abraham the slave s tudies a t every opportunity t o

become a teacher so t h a t he can educate young Negroes. He

knows tha t it i s only through education t h a t the Negro w i l l

t r u l y become f ree and then equal t o the white man.

ABE: The Negro w i l l r i s e when h i s aharacter i s of' the nature t o rise-- f a r on t h a t the future of the race depends, and tha t character i s mostly b u i l t by education, f o r it cannot ex i s t i n ignorance.. . . Through w a r and destruc- t ion we was freed, But i t w a s freedom of the body and not of the mind.9

T h i s was the speech A b e m a attempting t o give when

the white men broke up the meeting and ehased him out of

tom. Forty years ago Abe knew and spoke out about the

importance of education t o the Nekro i n gaining in te l l ec tua l

Lorraine Hansberry gives us a charming young lady

of inte l l igence and w l t t i n Beneatha Younger i n A flaisin i n --- the Sun (1959). Beneatha i s attending college and intends -- t o become a doctoraof medicine. George, a college graduate

and son OF a successful buainessman,wants t o marry her, but

she t e l l s her mother he i s too concerned about money and not

enough ',,about culture.

Asagai, a native of Africa who has come t o America

i;: f o r h i s education, asks Beneatha t o go back with him as h i s

br ide help him i n h i s e f f a r t a t o educate hi8 people.

He sees i n her the charm and 8igni ty of the former princesses

of Africa. When Beneatha says she must th ink about t h i s

proposal, he answers: nNever be a f r a i d t o s i t awhile and

think. How of ten I have looked a t you and sa id , 'Ah--so

t h i s i s what the New World hath f i n a l l y wrought....'n 10

Here a r e two Negro men who see the in te l l igence ,

s inperiey, and beauty of t h i s woman. Their conversations

with her are about important questions of race and society

as they are today. Beneatha i s not a f r ivolous person; her

accomplishments a t t e s t t o that . id

The pr inc ipa l character i n Slow Dance on the K i l l i n g - .. - - Ground (1964) is Randall, an eighteen-year-old Negro, who - says he ha8 an I.Q. of 187. H i s speech, keen observations and

a b i l i t y t o quote from leading authors tend t o ve r i fy t h i s

claim. He thinks quickly and is voluble. When G l a t s , the

Geman propr ie to r of a small shop,says he doesntt wash the

windows because there ' s nothing out there he pa r t i cu l a r ly

wants t o see , Randall makes an accurate deduction immediately:

&BE3DBU: Well now, you see? I had a f e e l i n t , I ju s t knew we was brothers under the skin, s ~ o w . I hasten t o repeat , under - the skin , no offenas intended, no indeed, sir. But I know exact ly what you mean, exactly! I mean, it i s grotesque out there , a i n ' t i t , now? It is...bizarra! You know what t h a t i s out there-? You know? ha t is the k i l l i n g ground out there. l?

We learn tha t Randall has mrdared h i s mother, who

w a s a pros t i tu te , and tha t G l a s had allowed h i s Jewish wife

t o be taken prisoner by the Nazis. It was G l a s t statement,

VTherets nothing out there I par t icular ly want t o seen

(p.152 t h a t assured Randall t h a t G l a s , too, had reason t o

i s o l a t e himself from society,

In LeRoi Jonest -- The Slave (1964) Walker Vessels,

a college graduate, has organized the Negroes of America and

promoted a revolution against the white people, 9

WALKER: ... I, Walker Vessels, single-handedly, and w i t h no other adviser except qy own ego, promoted a bloody s i tua t ion wbre white and black people a r e k i l l i n g each other. (p.66)

But something occurred t o me last night, It wars the idea t h a t w e mlght not win. .. . EASLEY: Things a r e not going a8 well f o r you as you figured. WALKER: No. It w i l l take a l i t t l e k n g e r , that's al l . (p. 69)

This f e a t marks Walker as a unique person i n the

areas of leadership and organization. By coapariaon he has

fap outstripped h i s white counterpart. Walker points t o h i s

achievement, i n get t ing the Negroes t o a c t , as making

him superior t o Brad oohose theories are l imlted t o the

ivory tower.

Alton Scales, the Negro i n The Sign i n Sidney - - Brusteinfs Window (1964) i s accepted as an i n t e l l i g e n t and - cultured person. He l a Brusteinls equal I n w i t , repartee,

and social consciousness.

ii Alton, disgusted with Sidneyls ref'usal t o become

involved i n a p o l i t i caf. campaim says, We are eonfronted ~ 5 t h

the great disease of the modern bourgeois in t e l l ec tua l :

- ostrichisa.n (pp 21-22) Sidney rep l i e s tha t the one erure

way you oan t e l l an ex-communist "is by the sheer volume of

h i s use of the word bourgeo1s.n Altonls answer t o t h i s i s ,

you can t e l l a card-carrying phony nby the minuteness of

the pretext on which he w i l l manage t o change the subdeat,

i f the subjecC is even remotely 1mportant.n (p 2 2 ) - These ohargea made against one another i n the bostrs

apartment es tab l i sh the honesty land frankness of t h i s

friendship. It must be based on mutual appreciation o r it

would not take t h i s course.

O f a l l the characters considered i n terms of inte l l igence,

Berenice Sadie Brown i n - The Member of the Wedding (1950) i s -7

the most wise and understanding. She knows the teenager

Frankie Addams and loves her as her own. She comprehends

~ i e t I s loneliness and aynpathizes with her, but i n s i s t s

tha t Frankie not intrude on her brother J a m i s ' wedding.

She t e l l s Frankie of her own mistakes i n looking f o r

love i n the wrong persons* She expects t h i s lesson t o

teach Frankie tha t she shouldn't p e r s i s t i n her actions.

- When Frsnkie i n s i s t s , she speaks out:

BERENICE: You think you going t o march t o the preacher r i g h t i n between your brother and the bride, You think you going t o break i n t o t h a t wedding, and then Jesus knows what else.

You Jus t se t t ing t yourself a fancy t r ap t o catch yourself i n trouble. And you know it, (pp 79-80)

Berenice reasons f i r s t and only then c r i t i c i z e s

Frankie 1 s immature behavior. It i s eventually through

Berenice's e f f o r t s tha t Frankie admits her mistake.

%renice exemplifies the gentle but i n s i s t e n t mother

who i s kind but not indulgent. There i s love but no

sentimentality here. Berenice Sadie Brown's concern f o r

Fmnkie trmsoends the color barrier .

The r e a l l i f e s i tua t ion presented i n I n White -- Merice (1964) brings t o our a t ten t ion the Negro leaders

who were more aware of the serious f a i lu res i n race

re la t ions than were our whlte leaders i n the highest places.

I n a brief interview, N , v o e Trot ter s t a t e s angrily

t o President Wllson tha t segregation w a s d ras t i ca l ly

introduced i n h i s administration.

PRESIDENT WILSON: Your manner offended me. TROTTER: I n whet way? WILSON: Your tone, with i t s background of passion. TROTTER: We colored leaders a re denounced i n the colored churches as t r a i t o r s t o our race. WILSON: What do you mean t r a i t o r s ? TROTTER: Because we supported the Democratic t i c k e t i n 1912. WIXASOW: Gentlemen, the interview i s a t an end.12

Trot ter and the other men with him a t t h i s interview were

i n t e l l i g e n t men who were informed and concerned about race

re la t ions more than f i f t y years ago.

R E L I G I O N

Marc Connelly s ta ted tha t i n h i s p&ay The Green -- Pastures (1930) he was presenting the re l igion of nthousands

of Negroes i n the deep S0uth.R (p. 600) Except f o r a brief

introductory scene, a l l of the act ion takes place i n the

Old Testament . Cain meeting h i s g i r l fr iend f o r the f i r s t time i s a

typical scene :

CAIN'S G I R L : I get you ken handle a gal mean wid dem big s tout arms of yourln. I shot would hate t o get you mad at m e , Country boy. CAIN: Cone yere. Donlt be ' f r a id , I &int so mean. CAIN'S G I R L : You got two bad lookin' eyes, I bet yo1 hot coffee 'mong de women folks. CAIN: I ein ' never f ind out, What w a s you doin' i n da t t ree? CAINlS GIRL: Jest coolint myself i n da element. CAIN: I s y o u a N o d P a r l s h g i r l ? C A I N a S G I R L : Born ant bred. CAIN: You know yof kind& pret tg , CAINtS GIRL: Who t o l l you dat? CAIN: Dese yere two eyes of mine. (p. 615)

The complete play is a d i s to r t ion and over-simplifica-

t i o n of the Old Testament. The stery as it i s presented on

the stage i s very human and entertaining but not , of eourse,

the Old Testament as it w a s written.

The f a i t h i n - I n Abraham's - Bosom (1926) i s strong,

challenging, and a force i n h i s l i f e . Abraham, at the time

of h i s discouragement and helplessness, believes tha t God

has forsaken him, He speaks out against a God who forgets

H i s own: mAlntt no God f o r the nigger, t h a t ' s a white man's

Li' God.I1 (p. 227) It i s a t th ia -cia1 time t h a t Colonel

Hack oomes t o the cabin and presents A b r a h a m wlth a deed

t o henty- f ive acres of land and informs him t h a t he i s

t o begin teaching i n a few weeks.

Abraham, h i s wife, and h i s mother see t h i s as an

answer t o t h e i r prayers. Be kneels down imed ia te ly and

gives praise t o the Lord:

ABB: You the A,lrnfgkty, us the dust i n thy hand. U s poor and wqa, ua nothing. Like the grasshopper, l i k e the paor Piela-lark, swept away i n the atom. M a t 3 got no strength i n him, no muscle can ra i se h i m tcepting your power. (p. 231)

Abraham's violent temper causes him t o put h i s son

out of h i s house and t o k i l l h i s half-brother, Lennie.

But he never gives up h i s bel ief i n h i s cssuae, t o bring

education t o hie fellow Regrwa, nor h i s f a i t h i n God,

Who he believed sustained him through h i s many years of

laperor Jones (1920) takes a pragmatic view of

rel igion. He uses it when it i s t o h i s material advantage

SNITHERS: I 've 1 eard myself y ~ u tad turned yer mat ant w a s takinl up with t h e i r blarated witch doctors, o r what- ever the t e l yer calls the swine. JONES: Datla p a r t a* my game from de fist . I f I f inds out den niggers be- l ieves d& black i a white, den I y e l l s it louder In d e i r loudest. I t donlt g i t me nothin* t o do missionary work f o r de Baptist Church. I * a e a f t e r de coin, anr I l a y s m y Jesus on de shelf f o r de time bein*. (p. 15)

'u Mrs, Thomas i n Native Son (1941) i a a very re l igious --

woman who makes ora l prayer a~ esaent i s l p a r t of each i L. meal, but her son Bigger scoffs at re l ig ion and sees it

only as an ineffectual r i t u a l . He refuses bb part ic ipate

i n any of it. He ea t s while the family prays. (p. 12)

Kis mother says he needs God i n him.

BIGGER: God! Yeh, you got him hanging on the w a l l there-- the white f olka* God! BANMAII: "I am the Resurrection and the Life.* Your pa knowed t h a t , son, your par l ived by it. BIGGER: And he died by it. (p 10 )

We learn l a t e r (p. 1 2 9 ) t ha t M r . Thomas was shot down

by a Southern mob while he w a s t rying t o protect another

u Negro from t h e i r violence and hate.

Bigger Thomas i s the f i r s t of the angry young Negwes

who refuse t o accept t h e i r parents! beliefs. To do so i s

t o compromise. They equate societyta InJustiue toward them

with a f a i lu re of rel igion. Bigger Thomas does not accept

God because he does not see h i s l i f e affected by rel igion.

Beneatha, the college student, challenges her

mother's belief t h a t God helps us a t t a i n our goals i n - A

Raisin i n the Sun: (1959) r - - -. BEWEATHA: It 's just t h a t I get t i r e d of H i m , ge t t ing credi t f o r a l l the things the human race achieves thraugh i ts own stubborn ef for t . There simply i s no blasted God--there i s only man and it i s he who makes miracles. (p 3 9 )

Mama reacts immediately, She s laps Beneatha

%2 powerfully across the face and makes her repeat a f t e r her:

" In m y mother: s house there i~ s t i l l Got3.n (p 3 9 ) Beneatha

does as she i s commanded but considers her mother a tyrant .

Beneatha Younger does not accept r e l i g i o n because

i n t e l l e c t u a l l y she sees it as an outdated idea o r soc i a l

custom. She does not bel ieve i t has any $ffect on her l i f e .

James Baldwin i n Blues f o r Mister Charlie (1964) -- has Richard Henry charge h i s f a the r , a min is te r , with

cowardice. Richard bel ieves h i s mother w a s k i l l e d by white

men and t h a t h i s f a t h e r knew t h i s and f a i l e d t o revenge her

murder. Boause of t h i s f r i c t i o n , Richard leaves home and

goesr,to New York. H i s immoral l i f e i n hfew York wou18

ind ica te t h a t he l o s t confidence i n the Church as well.

(p .29 )

When Richard re tu rns t o h i s home i n the South he

begins t o accept h i s f a t h e r ' s teaching of non-violence t o

some extent. He gives h i s gun t o h i s f a the r but only on

condition that he w i l l be ab le t o have i t when he asks f o r

i t . After the a c q u i t t a l of the white man who murdered

Richard, h i s f r i ends go out on a non-violent demonstration

march. Upon t h e i r r e tu rn Lorenzo speaks harshly. H e i s

reminded he i s i n church,

LORENZO: Yeah. Well, I wish t o God I w a s i n an arsenal . I ' m sorry , Meridian, Hother Henry--I don't mean i t f o r you.. . and ye t here you s i t i n this--this-- the house of t h i s damn almighty God who don' t care what happens t o nobody, unless ,

of couree, Wiey're white,*. I t ' s t h a t damn God that's h e n lynching us and burning us and castra t ing us and raping our women and robbing us of everything tha t mkkes a man a man f o r a l l these hundreds of years... I f 1 could get my hands on H i m , I ' d pu l l H i m out of heaven and drag Him through t h i s town at the end of a rope, (p. 4)

The mi l i tan t young Negro Lorenzo sees God and re l ig ion

as a force working against them i n t h e i r struggle f o r

justice. He i s subscribing t o the policy of power instead

of peaceful resistance urged by the ministers of the church.

It is a l so s igni f icant tha$ Richard could have

k i l l e d h i s wh$te murderer, Lyle Bri t ten, and saved himself

i b , he had continued t o carry h i s gun,

The message is clear. The Negroes a re not

accomplishing t h e i r goal by following the leadership of

re l igious leaders.

LeRoi Jones, I n The Bpptlw (1966), places a - I

minister who appears t r w e l l meaning 'and gemrally ridiculousn

on the altar w i t h ,!an elegant, 40ish, priggish homosexuaIS~t~

(P. 9 )

The minister and the homosexual a re discussing what

love i s not, i n very crude language, when a fifteen-year-old

boy enters the chukch. He says he has sinned and asks f o r

forgiveness. During h i s conversaqlon with the two men, an

old lctdy cornea i n and s a y s she has seen h i m s in ; then s i x

women, nyoung, sleek 'Villaget typeact ('p 9), come i n and say

he has had re la t ions with them. The boy admias h i s g u i l t

and asks forgiveness. The homosexual intervenes and the

winister knocks him out. The minister and the women refuse

forgiveness and the .boy i n anger s l ays them. A messenger

comes in to the Wwch with $he message tha t the boyls

father i s planning t o destroy the world tonight w i t h a

h&nd grenade. He takes the boy away. The homosexual'

r i s e s and makes the last speech of the play:

HOMOSEXUAL: Good Christ, what's happened i n this place? (Turns Miniatert a body over with his toes) Serves h!m r igh t f o r catering t o sough trade. ,out l i k e l lgh t s . I b e k s r % get out of hem' fore somebody comes i n and aaEtsl me t o cl* up the place.. . . Wonder what happened t o t h a t cuEe l i t t l e re l igious fanatic. (p 32)

Playwright Jones i s saying Neeroes are worse wi th

re l ig ion than they would be withoxkt it. H e presents it as

nothing but a negative and f a l s e influence on t h e i r l ives .

A s we seek far meaning i n IThe Baptism!m we f ind that he

i s making a complete mockery of rel igion.

CRIME

I n Native - Son (1941) Bigger Thomas joins with other

Negroes t o rob a white manr s store. He spoi l s the plan by

carrying a gun. The other Negroes w i l l rob but not commit

murder. Bigger believes i n using the force necessary t o

get what he wants. (pp. 35-40)

After h i s aecldental slaying of Hsry Dalton, Bigger

sends a Tansoar note demanding $10,000 f o r her return. He

t e l l s h i s g i r l f r lend, Clara, " t h i s money w i l l make us - - 7

safe.. . .ll (p, 86) : UThen you and me--wet s free. Goddmit,

free! You hear me? Free l i k e then E h e ~taltbns7. - (p. 88)

Ria plan is f rus t ra ted when a newspaper man discovers Bigger

has burned the body i n the furnace i n Daltonts home.

To Bigger Thomas, money 3& the thing t h a t can make

him as f ree as the white people. If it W e s murder o r a

lying ransom note t o get i t , he w i l l do it. He w i l l conunit

any crime necessary t o escape from h i s i n f e r i o r posit ion

i n society.

Empe~or Jones - (1920) has k i l l e d two aen and i s

presently s tea l ing from the natives on an is land i n the

West Indiea. These actions apparently do not bother h i s

oonscience. H i s sole a i m is t o acemulate a fortune before

the natives sverthrow him. He has prepared f o r t h i s

eventuality by hiding food and carrying s i x rcrunds af

ammuni ti on.

The natives do revol t and the Emperor starts toward

the port without a worry. But before long the constant

beating of the a m s begins t o unnerve him. A s the in tens i ty

increases Jones sees strange animals which he Is obliged

t o shoot. Shortly a f t e r t h i s , the two men he has murdered

appear i n a clearing. He shoots a second and th i rd time

t o make them f a l l . After thPs he hears himself being

auctioned as a slave. To save h i s l i f e he shooter the

auctioneer and the buyer. He rea l izes now he has but one

i/-JA bu l l e t l e f t . He hurr ies through the f o r e s t t o reach the

port. On the way he encounters a witah doctor who conJures

up an animal t o devour the Ehperor. I n desperation he uses

the last bu l l e t t o k i l l the animal. The natives f ind him

i n the morning and are able t o k i l l him since he i s

unarmed. (pp. 16-25)

The Emperor, who had a l l things planned f o r h i s

retirement from a l i f e of crime, became a victim of h i s own

conscience and h i s past. H i s farmer murders and h i s preaent

association with witch doctors required him to use four

bul le ts . But it w a s the slavery of h i s ancestor8 which

brought fo r th the vis ion of the slave market. H i s cu l tura l

u past closed i n on him t o help prevent his escape t o a l i f e

of freedom through a l i f e of crime.

Honey Camden Brown i n The lurembe~ of the Wedding - - - (1950) has a choleric temperament. He cannot resign himself

t o the i n f e r i o r ro le assigned t o the colored man i n the

South. H i s feelings ge t out of control so he takes dope t o

ge t away from the r e a l i t y of the infer ior1 ty-superiority

relat ionship which i s dependent en t i r e ly upon the color of

onet s skin.

He has cursed and threatened the white man under h i s

breath before he pushed a drunken white so ld ier from him and

then f i n a l l y stabbed a white bartender who refused t o serve

h i m .

t~ His sister-in-law, Berenice Brown, asks what made him

commit such a fool ish crime. She says , "Already I f e e l

tha t r0pe.n

HONEY: Dontt you dare cry. I know now a l l my days have been leading up t o t h i s minute. No more "boy this--boy t h a t , " no bowing, no scraping. For the f i r s t time, Ira f r ee and i t makes m e happy. (p.109)

Richard Henry i n -- Blues f o r Mister Charlie (1964)

had re la t ions with white g i r l s while he was l i v ing i n New

Xork. He couldn' t stand them. They used him and he i n turn

used them; taking dope w a s t he only way he aauld stand

l iv ing with himself. Before he knew ,.t he was hooked. i Then he l o s t everything before going t o Lexington f o r the

cure.

Back i n h i s southern hometown, he explains a l l t h i s

t o Juanita, h i s high school g i r l f r iend, but sags he i s

going t o be a l l r igh t now.

Juanita sympathizes with him and accepts him

completely. She t e l l s him she wants t o be his g i r l friend.

She doesnlt allow Riahard's re la t ions with white g i r l s o r

h i s taking of dope a f f e c t her love f o r him, (pp, 29-31)

Richard Henry takes dope because of h i s immoral

association w i t h white women. After the cure i t appears he

w i l l recover b a a u s e he is ba& roith h i s own people. O f

course, any respectable future f o r him vanishes when he i s

murdered by Lyle Britten.

I n Porgy (1928) the Negroes drink, gamble, take dope

o r "happy dust" and conunit murder i n t h e i r own area, f ree

c- -2

w from a l l assoc ia t ion with white people.

Crown and Bess drink end use happy duat i n f u l l view

of a l l the adu l t s i n Catf ish Bow.

Sporttng Life i s known by everyone as a peddler of

dr ink and happy dust* '%hen Crown has t o leave Bess,

Sporting Li fe t r i e s t o g e t her t o go t o New York with him.

SPORTING LIFE: Listen! 1'11 be goin* up t o Noo Yolk soon. Al l yo1 gots t o do i s t o come wid me new. I t 1 1 hide yo' out au' take yo' on wid m e when I go. Why, yo1 an' m e t 1 1 be ar s w e l l team! Wid yo' looks an' a l l de fr iend! I gota dere, i t ' l l be ebery night an' a l l night-- l i c k e r , dus' , br igh t l i g h t s , an' de sky Be l i m i t ! Come 'long! We gots t o beet it while de bea t in ' s good.

Nobody ground h e r e f s gain1 t o take i n Crownts Bess. Yo' besf go wid yo' only f r i e n l . BESS: I a i n ' t come t o da t yet. (p 25)

a, Instead of t h i s , Bess goes t o l i v e with Porgy. But

Sporting Li fe doesn' t give up and when Porgy i s put i n jail

he get$ Bess t o take some happy duat cPad she goes off to

New York with him.

One g e t s the impression from r e a d i w t h i s play

t h a t the Negroes i n Catf ish Row acoept as normal a11 of the

crime t h a t takes place around them. This i s probably so

because the crimes a r e never reported t o the a u t h o r i t i e s

and there irst~very l i t t l e discussion by the res iden ts

concerning the immorality of the conduat. " --

Walker Vessels i n -- The Slave (1964) has preaahed hate

of a l l white people and has climaxed h i s cslrmslrmpaign with a

* revolut ion of the black people aga ins t the white people of

'u the United S t a t e s , He does t h i s because he bel ieves the

only means l e f t f o r the Negroes t o secure t h e i r r i g h t s i s

the overthrow of the white people. He maintains t h a t he

i s f igh t ing "against th ree hundred years of oppression;

not agains t individuals .

Frofessor Easely reminds him t h a t i t i s individuals

who a r e dying.

WALKER: It was individuals who were doing the oppressing. It w a s individuals who were being oppressed. The horror i s t h a t oppression i s not a concept t h a t can be spec i f i ca l l y t ransferable . From t h e oppressed down t o the oppressor. (p 72 )

With t h i s explanation Walker Vessels j u s t i f i e s the

k i l l i n g of the white men i n h i s country. Certainly h i s

a t t i t u d e and the k i l l i n g t h a t r e s u l t s i s the g rea t e s t crime

of a l l .

BAN- WOMAN RELATIONSHIP

Porgy (1928) i s the only play i n which the man-

woman re la t i ansh ip i s presented exclusively as a Negro

problem. A l l the o ther playwrights who t r e a t it as a

conf'lict see it as a symbol of the overa l l r e la t ionsh ip

between white and colored people.

Crown's Bess goes t o Porgy f o r a place t o hide from

the o f f i c e r s of the l a w . Porgy takes her i n and announces

t h a t she i s Porgy's woman now. B e s s meets Crown again and i s

mistreated by him. Porgy takes Bess i n a second time and

nurses her back t o health.

PORGY: Ef dey wa'nt no Crown, Bess! Ef dey

wqa only just yo1 an1 Porgy, what den? BBSS: Oh, fot Gaud's sake, Porgy: Don' l e t d a t man come ant handle me! Lf yo! i s wl l l inr t o keep m e , den lemme stag! Ef he just don' put deln hot hant on me, I dan be good! I can membuh! I can be happy! PORGY: Dere, dare, Bess. Yo1 a i n t t need La be a f r a id . Ain ' t yo' gots Porgy fol take care ob* yo'? What k i n ob nigger yo1 t i nks yo1 gots anywag, fol l e t anudder nigger carry he 'oman? No, atlh! Yo1 gots yo1 man now. Yo' gots Porgy. (pp. 124-25)

Crown re turns t o Catf ish Row during a wild s t o m . Porgy

knows he w i l l come and take Bess. A s Crown en te r s Porgy's

basement apartment, Porgy k i l l s him. Porgy consoles Bess,

t e l l i n g her she has a nman - now! (p. 168)

Bess i s t rue t o Porgy u n t i l he i s put i n jail.

Sporting Li fe , knowing Ebsst weaknesses, t e l l s her Porgy

w i l l be locked up f o r a year o r so. He blows "happy dugt;,H

o r dope, on her face. Naria knows he i s up t o no good.

MARIA: What yo' waitins tround here fo r? SPORTING LIFE: JUS' walt ln t . NARIA: What yo! tink yot goinf t o get? SPORTING LIFE: UUmmmm~~--jus' wait in*. MARIA: Yat don' know Bess. SPDETING LIFE: ( In a low voice, not intended far Baria t o hear) You don' know happy d u s t * ( ~ ~ 1 9 4 - 9 5 )

Bess goes off t o New York with Sporting Life.

Bess, of course, i s portrayed as the wildest woman

i n Catf ish Row, but adul tery and murder over the "'oman"

a r e predomlnavlt preoccupations i n t h i s play.

Joe Welllngton, i n Golden (1964). expresses h i s

love f o r Lorna Moon with i n t e n s i t y and depth. Previous t o

h i s confession, Lorna t e l l e him of her re la t ionsh ip with

Tom Moody, Joe 's marmger. She reveals a sordid past, and

an obligation toward Tom f o r mturnlng dignity t o her l i f e .

LORNA: ..;and once I t r i e d t o leave him, he drank some--

I knew everything t h a t f s wrong with him-- because he loves me and I f m rotten. When someone loves - me I ask myself whatls wrong w i t h them-- JOE: But you donlt know how I fee l? Lorna, when I'm not with you 1-1 bleed, I got a hole i n my side nothing *op but being with you becauae the other half i s you, -

ro t ten , beaut i ful , the other half i s you!-- and I f m h e ~ e on my f e e t bleeding-fax you-- (PP. 94-95)

Lorna accepts Joe 's marrkage proposal but changes her

decision l a t e r when Tom threatens t o conunit suicide i f she

leaves him. It is Joe, instead, who is led t o tha t end.

His world had been elevated t o two stages--Lorna, a d a

successful boxing career. He w a s wil l ing t o marry a white

g i r l i n s p i t e of her past. She loved him, and tha t w a s a l l

he wanted. But her love was not strong enough t o break

allegiance t o the man who had helped her r i s e out of the

gutter . It w a s not the complete love Joe thought she had

expressed t o him.

A n allegiarioe transcending h i s strongest d e s i m f o r

achievement i n the world of men binds the Negro hero of

A l l God's Chillun - Got Wings (1924) t o h i s undeperving

white wife.

E l l a and J i m had been fr iends from t h e i r childhood,

when Ella j i l t e d him f o r the neighborhood philanderer,

Mickey. He leaves her wi th child; the child d ies , and

E l l a f e e l s freed of her attachment t o Mickey.

J i m Harris meets E l l a and a f t e r a declaration by

El la tha t J i m i s the only understanding person she knows,

he asks her t o marry him. E l l a says yes and they a re married

i n two weeks.

Two years elapse. We learn f ran a conversation between

J i m and h i s s i s t e r Hattie t h a t the marriage has nut been a

success. For the f i r s t year they had l ived together as

brother and s i s t e r . Shortly afterwards, E l l a began t o have

mental trouble.

J i m picks up h i s study of l a w again, but El la works

against him. Her mental i l l n e s s is f u l l y established. She

t e l l s J i m h i s success i n l a w would require her t o k i l l him.

As she expresses it: flItls a l l r igh t , J i m ! --It's dead.

The devi l ' s dead. See! It couldn't live--unless you

passed. I f you'd passed it would have l ived i n you. Then,

I l d have t o k i l l you, Jim, donit you see? (p,'193)

We rea l ize t h a t E l l a married J i m only because she f e l t

superior t o him. He w a s someone who would take care of her.

She was unable t o accept him as soaeone she would be subject

t o , as a wife i s subject t o her husband. She did not

accept him as an equal i n r a c i a l terms. She visualized

h i s l a w degree as the way he would become her superlor--

thus, a superior t o the white people she considered her

equals. -

E l l a had t o defeat J i m i n order t o holcl on t o her l a sk

b i t of securi ty. J i m ' s i d e a l i s t i c p i c tu re of the white

woman shat tered h i s l i f e , and enslaved him.

Alton Scales , the Negro i n The - Sign Sidney

Bruste lnls Window (1965X asked Gloria Parodus, a white woman,

t o be h i s wife, then cal led i t off when he learned she*-

a p ros t i t u t e .

He inf o m s Sgdney t h a t the s i t u a t i o n is completely

d i f f e r e n t now:

ALTON: How would you a c t ? When you go i n t o the mines, Sid , you g e t coal i n your skin; i f you're a fisherman, you w i l l reek of f i sh ! ... She doesnlt know haw t o love anymore, i t ' s a l l a performance. It has t o be. (p.100)

Sidney reminds Alton t h a t he was a revslutionary.

He reasons t h i s should carry over i n t o his love f o r Gloria;

as he s+ys, s . . . doesnl t t h a t s tand f o r anything?'* (p 100)

Altan r e p l i e s t h a t Gloria has been used as a eomodi t y :

ALTOBT: A commodity! Don' t you understand, Sidney? Man, l i k e I am spawned from comodities. . .and t h e i r purchasers. Donlt you know t h i s ? I a m running from being a commmy. How do you think I got the color I am today? Haventt you ever thought about it? I got t h i s co lor from my grandmother being used ad a commodity, man. The buying and the s e l l i n g i n this commodity began with - me. Jesus help me. (p 101)

Sidney s t i l l has something t o say f o r the marriage.

SIDNEY: &en1 t you even going t o see her? (Alton drops h i s head) And i f she was a black mama? (It hangs) - Thatls racism, A l t . ALTON: I know it--(Touching h i s head) here! (p 102)

Sidney, taking a note f a r Gloria from Alton, asks him again:

UAren't you even goin& t o see her?n Alton r e p l i e s i n

anguish as he leaves the apartment: "NO. I don ' t ever want

t o see her. fl (p. 103)

kl ton i s the f i rs t Negro i n the plays considered here

t o say no t o a woman with a sordid past . The Negro is now

refusing t o take the white man1 a leavings as s u f f i c i en t f o r

him. It i s another expression of h i s be l ie f i n h i s own

equal i tfr.

I n Blues f o r Mister Charlie (1964) Rlchard Henry has

nothing but ont tempt f o r t h q ~ w h i t e chicks" with whom he has

had sexual re la t ions .

RICKARD: See, I couzdntt s tand these chicks. I was making it with.,.youfd be off t o make some down scene with some pasty white-f'aeed bi tch. (p.29)

He divulges all the sordid d e t a i l s t o Juan i ta so she w i l l

know w h a t he has done while he was away from h i s hometown.

Juan i ta dismisses everything and expresses her love f o r

Richard and her des i r e t o help him recover his health.

Bichard inquires , ftDo you have any idea of what you might

be l e t t i n g yourself i n for?" Juan i ta r e p l i e s , ttNo. But

you sald you were lonely. And I'm lonely , too.lt (p.30)

A t Lyle Br i t t en l a trial f o r Richard's murder, Juan i ta

reveals t h a t Richard has had sexual r e l a t i o n s with her.

She s t a t e s t h a t she i s glad i t happened before his death and

she hopes she w i l l have a ch i ld t o r a i s e t o manhood. ( p.94)

Juanita had known Richard f o r a number of years and

w a s wil l ing t o forgive h i s immoral l i f e i n New York, f o r

she evidently s a w t h i s episode as a revol t against a l l the

conventions and rel igious pract ices of h i s family. He

was defeated i n the big c i t y but came home t o h i s own

environment and people. He f e l t proud t o be a Negro who

w a s not bound t o the white man of the South. Juani ta ls

desire i s t o carry h i s s p i r i t of independence i n t o the next

generation.

Walker Vessels, i n -- The Slave (1964), was rllarried t o

a white woman and they had two daughters. H i s wife, Grace,

l e f t him t o marry t h e i r college professor, Bradford Easley.

Some time l a t e r , during a Negro rebell ion, Vessels comes t o

the Easley home ostensibly t o take away the ohildren. A t

t ha t time, Walker, Graee, and Brad exchange insu l t s and

f i l t h y ta lk .

Walker s t a t e s tha t he loved Grace and loves h i s

children and wants t o take them with him. Graee does not

believe him:

GRACE: You never never never cared a t a l l f o r these children. My fr iend you have never cared f o r anything i n the world t h a t I know of but 'what's i n there bcahincl your eyes. And God knows what ugliness t h a t is.. . . (p. 64)

There i s a s l i g h t indication near the end of the play tha t

Walker has r ea l ly come t o k i l l the children and the

Easleys. He has succeeded, i n the meantime, i n k i l l i n g

Brad during a raw. Before he can a c t , an explosion k i l l s

h i s former wife. He leaves the house, as the audience

hears the cry of a ch i ld and continuing explosions.

The marriage of Walker and Grace ended i n complete

f a i l u r e . Each par ty blcnmed the other f o r i t s f a i l u re .

Playwright LeRoi Jones leaves us with a f ee l ing of not

$ragedy but i r reparab le hatred and misunderstanding.

There appears t o be no hope f o r reconc i l i a t ion between the

white and Negro races.

LeRoi Joness Dutchman (1964),has the Negro Clayts

aoeeptance of a proposi t ion from a white woman, Lula, end

i n h i s death, Clay i s twenty, Lula t h i r t y .

LULA: Now you sag t o me, "Lula, Lula, why don't you gat t o t h i s par ty with m e tonight?" I t t s your tu rn , and l e t those be your l i ne s . CLAY: Luls, why don ' t you go t o t h i s par ty with ma tonight , huh? LULA: Say my name twice before you ask, and no huh's. (p 16)

LULA: When you g e t drunk, p a t me once, very loving on the f lanks , and 1'11 look at you c ryp t i ca l ly , l i ck ing my l i p s . (p. 22)

Lula begtns t o i n s u l t Clay.

LULA: You middle-class black bastard. Forget your social-working mother f o r a few seconds and l e t ' s knock stomachs... CLAY: Lullp! S i t down, now. Be cool. (p. 31)

Clay s laps her and cautions t h a t he could k i l l her o r

any of the o ther white people on the car.

CLAY: I t takes no g rea t e f f o r t . For what? To k i l l you s o f t i d i o t s ? You don' t understand anything but luxury. (p. 33)

Lula w a i t s f o r the opportunity and when Clay i s

completely off guard she stabs him t o death,

It i s suggested that Lula w i l l go on trapping young

Negro men with her beauty and clever conversation.

Playwright Jones; Dutchman i s more b i t t e r i n h i s denunciation

of the relat ionship between white and colored people. He

implies t h a t the Negro can only lose h i s l i f e o r ident i ty

i n thls association.

ASPIRATIONS

Joe Wellington, the Negro i n Golden Bog: (19641

wants t o "make i t big." He chooses boxing as er career

bemuse he is confident he can outsmart the best f ighters ,

He discusses the s t ra tegy f o r h i s next f ight with h i s

manager :

TOM: Now youtre going t o meet G r a n t next week, he 's a good boy and-- JOE: Mot as good as you think, TOPI: Oh? JOE: H e pu l l s your lead, hes i ta tes a second, then hers in. Catch t h a t second, hets open f o r a r ight . TOPI: A,nd what do you do w i t h h i s l e f t hook? JOE: Avoid it. TOM: Well. You're a pre t ty clever boy-- (pp. 21-22)

Lorna Hoon, Tom; s g i r l fr iend, f a l l s i n love with Joe.

Lorn& t e l l s Tom she wants t o leave him. Realizing she i s

serious, Tam threatens suicide. Consequently, Lor= refuses

Joe's proposal.

Joe i s outraged and throws everything he has i n to h i s

f i g h t with the champion, Lopez. He knocks Lopez out , and

f o r a moment of jub i la t ion Joe sees himself on the top.

Then the news comes t h a t Lopez i s dead; he never recovered

from Joet s blow. Joe i s dumbfounded. Lorna t r i e s t o convince

h i m i t w a s not h i s f a u l t , but Joe responds, ftOh Lorna, why

couldnt t you love me right?tt (p. 124) Joe goes t o h i s ca r ,

dr ives away, and i s k i l l e d i n a crash.

Joe Wellington wanted t o be accepted as equal i n s p i t e

of h i s color, He knew he could win recognit ion i n the r i n g

because of h i s a b i l i t y . He f e l t he had achieved everything

when Lorna promised t o marry him, Lorna's r e fusa l and h i s

death blow t o Lopez l e d him t o despair and ul t imate death.

I n - A Raisin i n the Sun Beneatha Younger a sp i r e s t o be --- a doctor* Asagai, her African boy f r i end , asks why she

made t h i s decision. She t e l l s him she once s a w a playmate

ge t h i s face s p l i t open and then when she s a w him again

he had ju s t a l i t t l e l i n e down the middle of h i s face.

ltThat was the most marvelous thing i n the world. .I wanted

t o do tha t . I always thought it was the one concrete thing

i n the world t h a t a human being could do, Fix up the s i ck ,

you know--and make them whale again. lt (p 110)

Beneatha sees her money f o r her medical school education

- * squandered by her brother i n a scheme t o g e t r i c h quick.

She gives up the s t ruggle ; it i s hopeless now. Asaghi

chas t i ses he r f o r her lack of s p i r i t .

w ASAGAI: Your brother made a s tup id , ch i ld l ike

mistake--and you aye gra tefu l t o him. So t h a t now yon~can give up the a i l i n g human race on account of it. You t a l k about what good is struggle; what good i s anything? Where are we a l l g-? And whr a re we bothering? (p. 110)

I Walter Lee Younger, a f t e r h i s sad experience, rea l izes

there a re other things more important than money. He gives

a firm and f i n a l flNo" t o the white r e a l e s t a t e man who i s

trying t o bribe them from moving in to h i s neighborhood.

Upon t h e i r decision t o move, hope i s restored and the family

I becomes confident of the future.

A ~ a i s i n i n the Sun gives us hope tha t the Youngers ----- 1 w i l l aehieve t h e i r goal of a be t t e r l i f e through work and

cooperation.

I n A l l God* s Chillun Got Wings (1924) , J i m Barris, a - Negro, has just to ld h i s g i r l f r iend, El la Downey, tha t he

has flunked h i s l a w course again. He explains why:

1 I swear I know more'n any member of my class. I ought to , I study harder, I work l i k e the devil. I t 's a l l i n my head-- a l l f ine and correct t o a T. Then when I ' m called on--I stand up--all those white faces -looking at me--and I eeLn fee l t h e i r eyes--I hear my own voice sounding funny, trembling--and a l l of a sudden i t t s a l l gone i n my head--there's nothing remembered--and I hear myself stuttering-. and give up--sit down--They d0nJ.t laugh hardly .ever. They're kind. They' r e good people. They' r e considerate damn them! But I f e e l branded! (pp. 164-65)

E l l a sympathizes with J i m but urges him t o give up the

idea of becoming a lawyer, arguing tha t he doesn't need it.

I I need it more than anyone ever needed anything. I need it t o l ive .

ELLA: What111 it prove? I Nothing a t a l l much--but everything t o me. ELLA: You're so much b e t t e r then they a r e i n every other way. J I M : Then--you understand? ELLA: Of course (Affect ionate ly) Don't I know hew f i n e youlve been t o me! (p. 165)

I J i m proposes t o E l l a and they a r e married i n a few

I weeks. Two years l a t e r E l l a has become mentally ill as a

I r e s u l t of i s o l a t i n g herse l f from f r iends and neighbors.

I J i m a c t s as her nurse while studying l a t e i n t o the night

i n preparat ion f o r the bar exams.

I El l aL+ has s p e l l s when she t a l k s t o a black mask t h a t

hangs i n the apartment. She calls i t a dev i l and considers i

i t a competitor. , LJ

J i m takes the bar exam and hears from the Board of

Examiners of New York State.

ELLA: You didntt--you didn't--you didn ' t pass, d id you? J I M : Pass? Pass? Good Lord, ch i ld , how come you can ever imagine such a crazy idea? Pass? He? J i m Crow Harris? Nigger J i m Harris--become a f u l l fledged Member of the Bar! I t t s be against a l l na tura l l a w s , a l l human r i g h t and Jus t ice . I t ' s be miraculous, t he re ' s be earthquakes and catastrophes,.. . . (p.192)

E l l a , with ch i ld i sh happiness, says she i s glad. She grabs

the mask from the wall and s tabs it with a knife. J i m

-* can't believe what he sees and shouts at her t o stop.

ELLA: I t l s a l l r i g h t , J i m ! I t ' s dead. The devi l&8 dead. See! I t 's couldnlt l i v e unless you passed. I f you'd passed it would have l i ved i n you. Then I ' d have had t o k i l l you. J i m , don't you see?--or i t would have k i l l e d me. But now I've k i l l e d it. So you needn't ever be a f r a i d anymore, J i m .

1 I 've got t o s i t do-, Honey, I ' m t i red. I haven't had much chanop t o sleep i n so long.-- ELLA: I know J i m 4 That w a s my fau l t . I wouldn't l e t you. I kept thinking i f ' he sleeps good then h e ' l l be sure t o stddy good and then he l l1 pass--and the d e v i l ' l l win! (pp. 193-94)

J i m rea l izes the seriousness of h i s wife'a problem

and promises, i n answer t o her requests, never t o leave her

and t o be Uncle J i m or her l i t t l e boy, J i m , as she wants it.

J i m Harris' aspiratYon of becoming a lawyer w a s

defeated from the staqmby h i s i n f e r i o r i t y complex and then,

when he gained t;he confidence he needed, by his white wife

who f e l t h i s achievement WOW prove h i s superiority over

her.

Abraham ( I n - A G r a h a m l s Bosom 1926) i s the son of a - 9

wealthy white plantation owner and a Negro slave woman.

He has a driving ambition t o see h i s people r i s e out of

t h e i r poor conditions through education.

While s t i l l a slave he spends a l l h i s available time

s tudyiw t o become a teacher. H i s eventual f a i lu re i s

predicted by h i s Fellow slaves who say t h a t the high ideas

of h i s white blood w i l l be defeated by the Negro blood i n

h i m . H i s goal i s achieved wi th the opening of a school f o r

the children of slaves. But h i s success i s Bhort-lived with

the closing of the school the same year.

The indifference of the Negro toward education, due

t o slavery, discourages Abraham from renewed e f f o r t s i n h i s

own area. He goes North t o speak out f o r the Negroes' r igh t

t o education. The skepticism of the northern Negroes and the

open h o s t i l i t y of the white people requkre him t o mom from

c i t y t o c i ty .

After years of s t ruggle and f a i l u r e , h i s wife

convinces him t h a t they should r e tu rn t o t h e i r bir thplace.

GOLDIE: A b e , Abe, l e t ' s go back. Please do. Lett s go back where we growed up. Aint t no home f o r US i n no town. We go t t o get back t o the country. Thatt s where we belong. ABE: Yah, yeh, honey, we i s going back. After a l l these years. I knowa now the town a i n ' t no place f o r us. Fi f teen years we been t ry ing t o make it and couldnc t. (p 249)

Abe and Goldie, t h e i r son,and Abets mother go back t o w

t h e i r b i r thplase . H i s coni"idence i n success and h i s

op t imis t i c s p i r i t are reqarded by a r e a l i n t e r e s t i n the

Negroes of the a r ea t o bui ld a school. But the white men

hear of the proJect , break up the m e e t i q and chase Abe

out i n t o the country. I n h i s rage he k i l l s his half-

brother who i s a white man and i s himself murdered by a

white posse.

He and a l l of h i s family consider h i s l i f e a complete

f a i l u r e , but we see him as a martyr t o the cause of Negro

education.

In White ~ m e r i c a (1963) i s a continuous aacount of -- the a sp i r a t i ons and' f rus tpat ions of' the American Negroes.

The very e a r l y des i r e s f o r freedom a r e recorded by MP.

Olmsted, a Northern journa l i s t , who interviewed s house

servant named Willim:

OLNSTED: Some people th ink Africa i s a b e t t e r place f o r grou. What would you do, i f you were f r e e ?

WILLIAM: If I w a s f r e e , massa; i f I was - free., . I would--Well, sar, de fu8 t I3ng I u l d do, if I w a s f p e , I woud go t o work f o r a year, and get some money f o r my- s e l f , --den,--den,--den, massa, d i s i s what I do--I buy my, fus place, a l i t t l e house, and l i t t l e l o t land, and den--no; den--den--I would go t o old Virginny, and see my old mudder. OLMSTED: Well, now, wouldnlt you r a the r l i v e on a planta t ion with a kindly master l i k e youse than t o be f r ee , William? WILLIAM: Oh! No, sir, I ' d r a the r be free! Oh, yes, sir, I ' d l i k e i t b e t t e r t o be f r ee ; I wo*d da t , master,

OLMSTED: The black people t a l k among them- selves about t h i s , do they; and they think so generally? WILLIAM: Oh! yes, sir; dey t a l k so; datts what dey tink. OLMSTED: They t a l k about being f r e e a good deal , do they? WILLIAM: Yes, sir. Dey--(suddenly an guard) da t i s , dey say dey w i s h it was so, d a t t s a11 dey t a l k , master--dat 1 s a l l , sir, (pp. 27-20)

Today the Negro s t i l l asp i res f o r his inaclienable

r ights . A f i f teen-year-old g i r l t e l l s of her experience

when she t r i e d t o en te r Central High i n L i t t l e Rack, Arkansas,

i n 1957. A t f i r s t a l l was quie t as she approached the.schoo1.

Then as she t r i e d t o follow the white students, the guards

with ra ised bayonets closed i n on her. When she turned away,

the crowd began t o move i n , yel l ing nLynch her! Lynch her!"

(PP* 75-76 1 The g i r l f i n a l l y escaped and went t o her mother who

worked as a teacher i n a school For the blind, Although her

e f f o r t had f a i l e d , she had displayed a grea t amount of courage

L and determination t o a t t a i n her jus t r ights.

CONCLUSION

An analysis of eighteen plays writ ten and produced

from 1920 t o 1965 i n the areas of race re la t ions , in te l l igence,

crime, man-woman relat ionship and aspirat ions , indicates

thaBlz4$,n a l l but two of these plays the presentation of

the Negro has been a r e a l i s t i c one. The reader received

the impression t h a t the playwrights a re attempting t o

present the Negro aa a komplex, i n t e l l i g e n t individual

who hers aspirat ions , d i f f i c u l t i e s , and conf l ic t s similar

t o those experienced by white people, but a l so with the

addit ion of the most serious one of discrimination by reason

of color.

The two outstanding exceptions %o t h i s r e a l i s t i c

presentation a re %he plays Porgy (1928) and The Green -- Pastures (1930). I n these plays the Negro is seen a8 someone

a l i e n and almost completely d i f f e ren t from the white man.

I n the e a r l i e r play the Negroes a r e preocolupied with drink,

sex, and crime. They show l i t t l e inte l l igence and no

aspirat ions except i n get t ing the woaen they want. The - Green Pastures, on the other hand, e v e a Negro version of - the Old Testament i n which all the characters from God on

down were Negroes. It was an entertaining and folksy play,

but hardly a true picture of the Negro as we know him today.

The f rus t r a t ion and defeat of the aspirat ions of the

Negro were the dominant theme running throughout a l l the

plays except Porgy and The Green Pastures. One example of -- t h i s i s the f a i l u r e of a l l i n t e r r a c i a l marriages o r

contemplated i n t e r r a c i a l marriages.

Porgy has been staged i n 1927, and as Porgy and Bess -- i n 1935, 1942, and 1953, with the las t cas t making a world-

wide tour. Since then f i l m versions have been made of it.

The last f i l m production has been shown i n thea t res and

on t e l ev i s ion movie-of - the-week programs a t l e a s t twice.

The Green Pastures had a very successful Broadway 1-

run and i t s ca s t a l s o made a world tour with the play. It

w a s made i n t o a movie which w a s shown nationally. The play

i s s t i l l avai lable f o r production from Samuel French.

Since these two plays have had l a r g e r audiences

than most if not a l l of the o ther plays considered here,

the presenta t ion of the Negro i n the American Theatre from

1920 t o 1945 viwed by the majority of people has been a f a l s e

and misleading one.

FOOTNOTES

1. Dorothy ileywood and dE3ose Xeywood, Por ( ~ a r d e n City, New York: Doubleday Dorm a n d d ' r i y , Inc. , l928), p. 81. (Subsequent c i t a t ions w i l l be from t h i s edition. )

2. Clifford Odets and ~ i l l f a m Gibson, Golden Bo ( N e w York: Atheneum, 1965), p. 27. (SU-n c i ta t ions w i l l be from t h i s edition. )

f

3. Paul Green and Riphard Wright, N a t f ve Son (New York: Harper and Brothem, .1941) , p p . ' ~ ~ . ~ u b b e q u e n t c i ta t ions w i l l be from tb$s edition. )

4. Carson McCullers, The Kembsr of the ' ~ e d d i q (Long Island, New York: ' A e " w - + E n m ] , - p, 68. (Subsequent c i t a t i m s dl1 be from t h i s edition. )

5. Harlan Xatcher (ed.) , Plodern American Dramas (New York: Harcourt, Brace and CO- ~~~~~4. (Sub- sequent c i ta t ions w i l l be from t h i s edition. )

6. James Baldwin, Blues f o r Mister Charlie (New York: D i a l Press, 1 9 6 ~ , ' T 2 0 * - b ~ c i ta t ions w i l l - be from this edition. )

7.:- LeRoi Jones, Dutchman and The Slave (New York: W i l l i a m Morrow and Company, l'9m,F . T ( ~ u b s e q u e n t e i ta$ione - w i l l be from t h i s edition. ) -

8, Lorraine Hansberry , The Window (New York: -quent c i t a t ions w i l l be from t h i s edition. )

9. Paul Green, I n Abraham's Bosom i n Out of the South (New York: B r p e r ~ r o t h e ~ 9 3 9 ) p . ~ ~ ~ -equent c i ta t ions w i l l be from t h i s edition. )

10. Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin i n the Sun (New York: Signet Book, 1959), 5.'- m b s e q K n t c i ta t ions w i l l be from this edi t ion.)

11. W i l l i a m Hanley, Slow Dance bn the K i l l i Ground ( New York : R a n d = o u ~ e , 1 ~ b 4 r p ~ (-uent c i t a t ions w i l l be from t h i s edition. )

12. Martin Dubeman, I n White America, (New York: The New Ameri can Library , T 9 r p m 7 . (Subsequent c i ta t ions w i l l be from t h i s edi ti on. )

Albee, Edward. The Zoo Stor , The Death of Bessie Smith, - The Sandbox. N e n o d C o ~ a r d ~ ~ K1960. WPP* %

Baldwin, James, Blues f o r Mister Charlie. New York: D i a l Press, 1'm TZf pp.-

Coe , Kathryn, and Cordell, W i l l i a m B. , (eds. ) . Pul i tzer Prize Plays. New York: Random Bouser, 1 9 3 5 . 9 8 3 . -

Dubeman, IgIartin. I n White America. ' New Yorlr: The New h e r i can ~ i b r a r r 1-126 pp.

Green, Paul. Out of the South. New York and London: Harper a r i d ~ o % e r 8 ~ u ~ h e r s , 1939* 5$$3 pp.

Green, Paul, and Wright, Richard. New York and London: Harper and Brothe ishers, 1941. 148 pp.

Hanley, W i l l i a m . Slow Dance on the K i l l i u d New York: ~ a n d h o m ~ s n g m 175-

L,

Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin i n the Sun, 4th ed. h~ York: Signet ~ ~ e k - b ~ ~ e r n ~ Rand%im. Houwe, ~ n c , , 1961. 126 pp.

F Heywood, Dorothy, and Heywood, DuBose. New York : Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc., 203 pp.

Hatcher, Harlan. Modern American Dramas. New York: Harcourt , ~rac-company , 1 - 7 3 7 8 pp,

Jones, LeRoi. Dutchman and The Slave. New York: W i l l i a m Morrow and Compahy, m4.7-

. The Toile% and The Baptism. New York: Grove Press fnc.',1967.=.

McCullers, Carson. The Member of the Wedding;. Mew York: New Directions, hp.-

Odets, Clifford, and Gibson, W i l l i a m . Golden Boy. New York: Atheneum, 1965. 128 pp.

.u' O'Neill, Eugene, Ah, Wilderness and Two Other Pla s New York: The ~ o d E n Library, ~ r n ~ ~ ~ r i ~ ~ 6 0 . 306 pp.

APPENDIX

A chrqnological l i s t of plays re fe r red t o i n this paper.

1920 - Ebperor Jones $'jr Eugene 01 N e i l l - 1924 - A l l God! s Chillun Got Wings by Eugene 01 Neil l -- - 1926 - - In Abraham1 s - Bosom by Paul Green

1928 - Porgy by Dorothy and DuBose Heyward

The Green Pastures by Marc Connelly 1930 - 1941 - Native Son by Paul Green and Riohard Wright -- 1950 - 2 Member -- of the Wedding by Carson NaCullers

1959 - ,A Raisin 2 the Sun by Lorraine wnsberry

1960 - The Death of Bessie Smith by Edward Ubee --- - 1964 - Golden - Boy by Cl i f ford Odets and W i l l i a m Gibson

1964 - Dutchman Qr WBoi Jones -- fl

Th :-4&&$e by LeRoi J- 1964 - 3

196& - ip z l X d a $ Brusteing 8 Wlndow by Lorraine Hansberry m ?m' . -

1964 - Slaw Dance on the Killiw GrounU by W i l l i a m Hanley --- - ,1964 - I& White America by Nart in Dubennan

1964 -*Blues f o r Mister Charlie by James Baldwin --- 1964 - The To i l e t by LeRoi Jones

. -- 1964 - - The Baptism by LeRoi Jones