Lonne Elder III is a talented and creative actor, playwright, and screenwriter whose career has evolved from acting and writing for the stage to acting and writing for the screen. Elder has remained committed to a program of raising audience consciousness of racial tensions through his analysis of the black identity in modern America. In particular, his vision has stressed the personal dedication necessary for Afro-Americans to overcome the handicaps imposed by generations of white prejudice and black fear. He has also used his writing to help change the portrayal of blacks in films and on television.

Elder was born in Americus, Georgia, but his family moved to New Jersey when he was an infant. He has two brothers and twin sisters. After losing both his father, Lonne Elder II, and his mother, Quincy Elder, in 1943, he was brought up by his aunt and his uncle (who was...