The plays of Suzan-Lori Parks have been noted especially for their reworking of history to provide audiences with political and social commentary that is relevant to today's society. The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World (1990) creates a new view of history that debunks many of the racial stereotypes about blacks that Parks uses to tell her story. Featuring characters with names like Black Man with Watermelon, Black Woman with Fried Drumstick, Lots of Grease and Lots of Pork, and Yes and Greens Black-Eyed Peas Cornbread, The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World depicts a mythos of archetypal proportions. In the play, Parks transforms black vernacular English into a form of poetry that pays homage to the past as it brings history firmly into the present.

Ntozake Shange's for colored girls...