SOURCE: An interview in The New York Times, Section 2, May 18, 1975, p. 5.

In the interview with Charles M. Young below, Bullins reflects on his goals, the growth of African American theater, and the role of the theater as an instrument of change.

[Charles M. Young]: Are you trying to reach a black or white audience?

[Ed Bullins]: The blacks like it when the whites get put down and the whites like it when the blacks get put down. I don't write to please the audience and reassure everyone that we agree. I don't care how they feel or what they think—whether they agree or disagree—just so it makes them examine themselves. In a work like [The Taking of Miss Janie], the truth is open-ended. Like Hemingway said, "If I wanted to send a message, I'd go to Western Union."

Clive Barnes said you were a moral writer...