... to keep their lives organized and crazy-free and the blacks needed the whites to help keep their lives suitable by working. On the other hand, in Ossie Davis" Purlie Victorious, Charlie wants there to be integration, but is put down for it by his father Ol" Cap"n. Towards the end of the play, Charlie works alongside Purlie to place the church in Purlie's name. Charlie even asks Purlie ... to be a Deacon of the church. "Would you let me be a member of your church?" In contrast, in Leroi Jones's Dutchman, neither ... figure to him... helping him to know right from wrong, dating do's and ...

• Word Count: 1924
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... are separate, and to keep them that way. When August Wilson wrote his play, Fences, he was writing a play about the things that keep people apart. Fences is about separation, the separations between different colors, of man and wife, life and death, and of generation to generation. These separations are illustrated thorough the members of a black family in 1957. The father of the family, and main character, is Troy Maxson. Throughout ... slowly ending, as Troy does manage to get the promotion that he wanted, but only with persistence does he manage to finally close the gap. Throughout t...

• Word Count: 582
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... noted positions as a reformer and orator made him the leading voice of African Americans during the 1800's. The first published African American fiction came along during the mid 1800's by William Wells Brown. Brown, an escaped slave, wrote such novels as Clotel (the first published novel by an African American) and The Presidents Daughter (1853) along with a play, travelogue, and a compilation of anti-slavery songs ... . All of these works by Brown gave his the reputation as the most prolific literary figure of the mid-19th century. Wells continued to write and lecture throughout his lif...

• Word Count: 2200
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate