Douglas Turner Ward emerged from the Black Theatre Movement of the 1960s as a noted playwright, actor, and director. His plays, particularly Day of Absence and Happy Ending, brought a new, sharply satirical dimension to the dramatic presentation of black life. With the founding and development of the Negro Ensemble Company, a New York repertory theatre and workshop where Ward presently serves as artistic director, he solidified his position as a leading black artist.

Roosevelt and Dorothy Short Ward gave birth to their only child, Douglas Turner, 5 May 1930, on a rice and sugar plantation in Burnside, Louisiana, where they worked as field hands. Eight years later, the family relocated in New Orleans, where Roosevelt Ward worked on the loading docks and Dorothy Ward worked as seamstress. After World War II, they opened a tailoring business in their home. Despite his family's low-income status, Douglas Turner was noted to...