Black Americans

The play’s portrayal of its central characters, the Crump family, is essentially a portrayal of Black Americans as a community. The portrayals of the individual characters are manifestations of their individual identity, but are also representative of different facets of the overall, thematically significant experience of Blackness in America. For example, Godfrey’s intense religious faith can be seen as representing how many Black Americans find comfort and safety in Christian faith, while Ernestine’s desire for education is one of several ways that the dreams of the characters for a better life represent the dreams of Black Americans for a better life as a community, and as a culture. This is also true of Lily’s desire for a revolution. In other words, the play is essentially a parable of Blackness in America, with its individual characters standing in for an entire group of people...