As Black History Month comes to a close, I wanted to take time to honor a local legend from the Pittsburgh Area. Each year there is a Black History Month Theme that is chosen by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History and this year’s theme is Black Resistance: A Journey to Equality, and I believe August Wilson’s life and legacy embodies this theme.
Born and raised here in Pittsburgh on Bedford Avenue in the Hill District, the famous Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, August Wilson, made a name for himself despite the obstacles he faced. He embraced the beauty and the struggles of black culture with a keen ear and skilled precision in the development and crafting of the many memorable characters he brought to life. August grew up in a biracial home. His African-American mother, Daisy Wilson, and his German father, Frederick August Kittle had 7 children together. Wilson was named after his father, but at the age of 20, he changed his name to August Wilson and took his mother’s last name. It was his mother who was his primary caregiver. His Pittsburgh home on Bedford Avenue stands today as a national landmark.
The one thing that Wilson clung to regardless of difficult circumstances was his writing and his love of reading. From the age of 15 years old, Wilson educated himself by going to the Carnegie Library every day during school hours rather than continuing to face the frustrations he endured at school including ongoing bullying and racism. Wilson, who never received a high school diploma, was awarded an honorary degree from the Carnegie Library in 1999.
Wilson structured the characters in his plays around life in his community. He would love to listen and watch people talk and interact. One of his first plays was a musical western that granted him a fellowship to the Minnesota Playwright Center. Wilson later met Lloyd Richards who was the dean of the Yale University School of Drama and was a great mentor and confidant to Wilson.
One of Wilson’s most notable accomplishments was the Century Cycle or Pittsburgh Cycle, ten plays that captured every decade of the 20th century from 1900 to 1990, and all were set in the city of Pittsburgh with the exception of one. At the young age of 23, he co-founded the Black Horizon Theater, a place where black playwrights and artists could develop their talents. Wilson’s first produced play was The Homecoming in 1976 through the Kuntu Repertory Theater that remains in the Oakland Area of Pittsburgh today.
August Wilson’s fortitude and determination is an example to us all to keep focusing on our passions, and they will eventually lead to someplace great! Resistance is simply another word for the courage to succeed. Wilson and the figures discussed this Black History Month, prove that having the courage to succeed not only benefits one, but most definitely, it benefits us all.
Plan your visit to "August Wilson: The Writer's Landscape" and be immersed into the life and works of this amazingly talented hometown legend!
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