1930s: America is in the midst of the Great Depression, caused by the Stock Market Crash of 1929—the same year in which The Green Pastures was first produced. The Great Depression is characterized by the worst unemployment in U. S. history, with about twenty-five percent of eligible workers unable to find jobs.

1990s: America enjoys a period of economic prosperity, characterized by low unemployment, and many middle-class Americans profiting from investments in the stock market.

1920s-1930s: African-American theatrical production is strongly influenced by the Harlem Renaissance movement. Theaters devoted to the black productions are established across the U. S.

1960s-1990s: African-American theatrical production is strongly influenced by the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and '70s. The Black Arts Theater is established in Harlem in 1965.

1860s: In the Post-Civil War era, white Southern resistance to the efforts of Reconstruction leads...