Selected Plays

The first African American woman to have a play professionally produced in New York City (Gold Through the Trees, in 1952), Alice Childress occupies an important but surprisingly under-recognized place in American drama. She herself rejected an emphasis on the pioneering aspects of her career, saying that "it's almost like it's an honor rather than a disgrace" and that she should "be the fiftieth and the thousandth by this point"-a remark that suggests the complexity and singularity of visi...