August Wilson was a prominent and prolific African American playwright, best known for his Pittsburgh (Century) Cycle of 10 plays, each depicting one decade of the 20th century. The cycle is set primarily in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, the historically Black district where Wilson spent much of his youth. Although there are many thematic connections across the cycle’s installments, each play delves deeply into the sociocultural climate of the decade that it depicts. King Hedley II, set in the 1980s, looks at the way that Reagan-era policies adversely impacted Black communities.

Wilson was born Frederick August Kittel to an African American mother and a German father in Pittsburgh in 1947. He grew up during the era of Jim Crow and widespread institutional racism. Although Wilson was a bright and dedicated student, he experienced so much prejudice during his adolescence that he transferred schools multiple times and eventually dropped out. He continued his education autodidactically, reading widely and cultivating a particular appreciation for Black American history, culture, and literature. His works evidence that appreciation.

As a young man, Wilson served in the US Army, worked odd jobs, and began to write poetry. By the late 1960s, Wilson had become part of the burgeoning Black Arts movement, and he cofounded the Centre Avenue Poets Theatre Workshop.