Historical Background and Dramaturgy

Photo of Jacqueline Williams, Anthony Fleming III, and A.C. Smith by Michael Brosilow.

Explore the historical context of Fences and the dramaturgy underpinning Court Theatre’s production.

Historical Background

Learn more about issues around integration in sports—the conflict plaguing Troy’s relationship with his son, Cory.

Negro League Baseball
- The Negro League Baseball: Shattering Segregation by Untold History (2:15)
- 100 YEARS of the Negro National League | A Century of Change by Kansas City PBS (26:45)
- The History of Negro League Baseball by Black History in Two Minutes or so (3:47)
- Negro League Baseball – Breaking Baseball’s Color Barrier by Extra History (11:25)
- Black Baseball in Living Color | The Story of the Negro Leagues by That Old Ball Game (3:00)
Integration in Football and College Sports
- Character: Courage. ‘Forgotten Four’ reintegrated pro football in 1946 | Pro Football Hall of Fame by Pro Football Hall of Fame (4:00)
- The Uneasy History of Integrated Sports in America (Article)
- The Authoricast | Episode 13: Blood, Sweat, and Tears: The Story of Integration in College Football (15:00)
- Ending Athletics Segregation in the SEC and at UGA (Article)
- The History of the CIAA (Article)
- Meet Four Men Who Broke The NFL’s Color Line (Article)
- The Reintegration of the NFL (Article)
- Permanent Reintegration of Pro Football (Article)

Dramaturgy

Study up on the role of Black Americans fighting in World War II—the same that left Gabriel, and countless Black veterans like him, harmed in its wake.

African Americans in World War II
- World War II: Black American History #31 by CrashCourse (12:35)
- First African American Tank Unit Enters WWII | 761st Tank Battalion: The Original Black Panthers by History (12:19)
- The Harlem Hellfighters by History (5:43)
- Fighting against the Odds: Black Soldiers in the Second World War (Article)
- Unsung Heroes: World War II’s Black Veterans (Article)
- Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad by the Minnesota Historical Society (1:09)
- African Americans in World War II (Article)

35 Black players arranged in three rows on the field with the stadium full of fans behind them. Their uniforms say P for Pittsburgh Crawfords or Elite Giants for the Chicago American Giants. — The 4th Negro League All-Star Game, a battle between the best of the East and West at Chicago’s Comiskey Park on August 23, 1936. The game featured Baseball Hall of Famers such as Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, Willard Brown, and Biz Mackey. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions. Image from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1936_Negro_League_All-Star_Game.jpg

Sixteen players in two rows, wearing uniforms emblazoned with crawfords and baseball hats. — 1932 Pittsburgh Crawfords baseball team. By Harrison Studio, courtesy of Heritage Auctions. Image from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1932_Pittsburgh_Crawfords.jpg

A few Black soldiers sit and eat on the sand. Many others stand behind them noticing the camera. — May 1943. “A kitchen was set up along the beach for the…labor battalion unloading the boats. This picture shows a couple of the men enjoying a hot meal for a change. Massacre Bay, Attu, Aleutian Islands.” Image from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%22A_kitchen_was_set_up_along_the_beach_for_the…labor_battalion_unloading_the_boats._This_picture_shows_a_couple_of_the_-_NARA_-_531159.jpg

Six soldiers hold guns and squint as they navigate a hill covered in tall grass. — Black soldiers training, November 1942. “A squad of non-coms, cadres of the 92nd Division, get a refresher course in charging through smoke. When the main body of troops arrives it will be up to the cadres to train them.” War Department. Army War College. Historical Section. World War I Branch. Image from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%22A_squad_of_non-coms,_cadres_of_the_92nd_Division,_get_a_refresher_course_in_charging_through_smoke._When_the_main_body_of_troops_arrives_it_will_be_up_to_the_cadres_to_train_them.%22_-_NARA_-_531141.gif

A patch, in the middle is a black player pitching. Around him are the words Negro League, nineteen twenty to nineteen fifty. — The emblem of the Negro Baseball League.

Posted on July 1, 2026 in Uncategorized

Historical Background

Dramaturgy

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