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How Does August Wilson Portray The Struggles Of African-Americans?

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“Racism is man's gravest threat to man - the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason” (Abraham Heschel). That one’s own threat is simply their skin color. “Fences” by August Wilson is a play that depicts the struggles of a black man living in the 1950s, where racism was at peak. Wilson was inspired by the situation at Pittsburg, where he lived, that he wrote a play to depict the segregation from what he had seen, thus Fences was born. He showed how the African-Americans are trying to find their racial identity, their treatment, and how Troy and Wilson are alike.
As many of the people know Fences is a play that is part of the Pittsburg cycle of August Wilson. It depicts the hardships of the African-American’s went through living in the 1950s …show more content…

He focuses on too much of what happened during his time; that it swallows him up. Baseball to Troy Maxson is his whole life but then when the year came that segregation ended, he was denied in any access to the major-league because of his age. He is sitting in his house watching the famous Jackie Robinson and other talented African-Americans, though not as talented as he was himself. Because of that he cannot brag to people of his skills because he was not in major-league baseball (Shannon). His excuse is always the fact that he could not play major-league because of his color and even though segregation ended, he still blames his skin color instead of the fact that he is too old to be playing in the major-league. Even Rose made it clear for him that his age was actually a problem and not his skin color. With his experiences he also shows it to his son Cory, who was given a scholarship to play in football, by telling him to reject the offer because the coaches would only put him at the bench instead of letting him play. Wilson's artistic battle is also reflected in Troy Maxson's willingness to go against an all-white workforce knowing full well that doing so would place his job (and his family) in jeopardy. The issue of resisting control over one's person or over one's art—whether it is in the workplace or on the set, defines Wilson's character as an

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