Traditionally, women playwrights in general, and black women playwrights in particular have been excluded from the American theater because of racial and gender oppression. However, early twentieth-century African-American women playwrights, such as Angelina Weld Grimke (1880-1958), Alice Dunbar-Nelson (1875-1935), Marry Burrill (1879-1946), and Myrtle Smith Livingston (1901-1973), whose works have been overshadowed for decades, were able to express their awareness of the racial discrimination facing African-Americans. They also paved the way for the next generation of black women playwrights, such as Alice Childress (1920-1994), Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) and many others.
Beginning in 1950s, Childress was able to have her voice reach beyond her community into the competitive world of professional theater. The portraits of black life and characters are simply not complete without the unique perspective of this playwright, who honestly portrays the struggle of her people. Childress has peopled her plays with challenging, innovative and multidimensional black characters, who struggle in a hostile world to survive and to achieve self-assertion, dignity and pride. Childress is among the frontrunners in the development of black playwriting, and thus, deserves serious study.
