Happy Birthday August!

Much of my teaching is influenced by the education that I got at Columbia Prep and the education that my mother made sure that I had outside of it.  My mother guaranteed that that I had access to books by black authors, and she took me to museum exhibits that featured work by black artists.  We saw Alvin Ailey every Christmas, and if there was a black person in a play on Broadway we got tickets.

Out and About circa 10th grade

August Wilson was a big part of my growing-up, and much of what I know about the African-American experience I learned from the plays in his Century Cycle.  Interestingly, August Wilson is one of the most venerated yet under-taught black writers in America.  Nevertheless, teaching his plays was often the highlight of my year.  My students loved the humor and the familiarity of the language, while the plays allowed us to examine elements of  African culture and Greek tragedy in a modern context, and discuss larger themes such as love, magic, family, and history.

On the occasion of what would have been his 70th birthday, here are a few of my favorite August Wilson memories.

1. Seeing Joe Turners Come and Gone on Broadway in 1988.  My mother and I saw every August Wilson play on or off Broadway, but this one was my favorite. I remember the realization that slavery didn't end with slavery being really impactful for me.  I was only twelve, but I recall the following line like it was yesterday.

“Herald Loomis, you shining! You shining like new money!”

2. Reading Fences with my 8th grade English class and then seeing it on Broadway.  Yes, academic rigor existed before The Common Core and the charter school movement.  My students were lucky enough to see the production starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis.  Watching 8th graders mouth the words of the play along with the actors was priceless. 

3. Watching Nasir  outact Denzel when we read Fences last year  in the 6th grade.

4.Watching this video from PBS version of The Piano Lesson as we read this play.  The is something so beautiful and haunting about this song. My students wanted to watch this over and over again, and then learn about the history and pain behind the music.

August Wilson's Century Cycle is available on amazon.com