Identidades in English No 4, December 2014 | Page 107

August Wilson Center
and the African Legacy

tt
n Friday, October 19, 2014, in the midst
of the AfricAméricas II activities, we paid
a visit to the African-American Cultural
Center named in honor of August Wilson, Pulitzer Prize winning U.S. African-American playwright, whose plays reflect the black experience
in Pittsburgh.
We were met with closed doors and a multitude
of people congregated in front of the building,
noisily drumming and holding up signs that said
“I am August.” We were immediately brought up
to date on what was going on. The August Wilson
Center (AWC) was having numerous financial
difficulties and was on the verge of being sold.
After having dedicated itself to preserving, presenting, interpreting, celebrating and creating the
art, culture and history of African Americans in
Western Pennsylvania and Afro-descendants in
the Diaspora around the world, the AWC would
lose its home.

O

We joined the swelling group of protesters, standing with numerous personalities and representatives of diverse organizations and institutions as
well as artists, journalists and professionals in
many different fields. In attendance were Janera
Solomon, the movement’s organizer, along with
members of both the AWC’s Recovery Committee, the Black Political Empowerment Project,
and 1Hood Media. We saw Cecile Springer,
Tammy Dixon, Idasa Tariq, Phat Man Dee,
Anqwenique Wingfield, Jamila Taylor, Darrell
Kinsell, DJ SMI, Lauren Stuparitz and Paradise X
Gray, the husband of Renee Wilson Gray, a relative and descendant of August Wilson.
In the end, the court decided in favor of the AWC.
So many people - men and women, political representatives, civic leaders, and media and cultural
personalities - made possible the preservation of
the African legacy through this very important
center.

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