I think all in all, one thing a lot of plays seem to be saying is that we need to, as black Americans, to make a connection with our past in order to determine the kind of future we're going to have. In other words, we simply need to know who we are in relation to our historical presence in America.
August WilsonFor me, the original play becomes an historical document: This is where I was when I wrote it, and I have to move on now to something else.
August WilsonMy greatest influence has been the blues. And that's a literary influence, because I think the blues is the best literature that we as black Americans have.
August WilsonThe details of our struggle to survive and prosper, in what has been a difficult and sometimes bitter relationship with a system of laws and practices that deny us access to the tools necessary for productive and industrious life, are available to any serious student of history or sociology.
August Wilson