august wilson • playwright

Bob Child, Associated Press

1945-2005
August Wilson was an American playwright who chronicled the history and experiences of African Americans for theatre. His work delved into the systemic and historical exploitation of African Americans, as well as race relations, identity, migration and racial discrimination. Two of his plays won the Pulitzer Prize for Theatre and two plays won Tony Awards for Best Play. James Earl Jones, Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne and Samuel L. Jackson have performed his works, and two of his plays have been adapted into film (Fences, 2016 and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, 2020) by Denzel Washington.

​Click here to view a short film about Wilson's career.