Introduction
Empowerment can be defined as the process of increasing or raising the capacity of an individual to make choices that will help them realize their goals or outcomes. Empowerment can take the role of a whole organization where the different individuals’ capacity is increased to make better choices that will transform to better lives and desired actions. Increasing the efficiency of an individual to perform a task better means empowering the named individual to realize his/her set out goals. Fairness in organizations is one of the means of empowering the individuals as there is collective improvement in service delivery. Monitoring the effectiveness of a certain organization will help in realizing the required change and how to empower the different individuals to meet the various needs as required of their tasks. Empowerment of African American women in the United States of America has been an ongoing process that has seen improvement in their social, gender, economic and political strength in the society (Cornish 64).
The Africa American community has suffered for a long time in the lands of many opportunities where they had been subjected to discrimination by the white community. The African American communities were often referred to as second class citizens in the country and were discriminated based on race, religion, ethnicity and gender in the US. Over time the community has been empowered through different initiatives and groups that help to increase the capacity to make to make better choices and realize their dreams. This research paper seeks to find how African American women have ben empowered and a closer analysis of two great American women Alice Childress and Lorraine Hansberry.
Literature review
The American theatre has seen great change since the time they show cased their first art project on stage up to now. The transformation that has occurred in this industry is enormous and it continues to grow each day. The introduction of two great African American women in the theatre was a strategic move that has transformed the lives of million African American women in the country. He African American community had suffered discrimination from their white counter parts in the US during the days of slavery up to the early 1950s up to the 1980s. This discrimination was based on their color and gender and they suffered for long before they started to demand more rights.
These rights and freedom helped to channel a new way of living for the African American community in the country and empower them to be better citizens through improvement in their social and economic welfare. The deteriorating welfare of the African American community in the US was a culmination of long years under slavery and discrimination that sought to subject the community to poverty and lack of jobs and interaction with the rest of the community. The white community used to discriminate the black community as it was often referred to poor housing conditions and poverty (Moss & George 94).
As time went on the community started to rise through acquiring education that made them more suited to official jobs which uplifted their personal and community lives in the country. Education opened many doors for the community and they were able to learn how to defend and demand for more rights and freedom from their white superior community who controlled major government operations. Their freedom of movement had been restrained and they were always handled together and the presence of the black community was subjected to their own neighborhood that lacked several amenities and infrastructure. These conditions were the reason for their plight and as time went by they were able to access education that empowered them and they were able to transform their lives and the lives of many more in the community.
The African American women have come a long way to their current situation where they enjoy freedom to the maximum in an era that has seen many women leaders and other command great responsibility in the country. This was not normally the case during the early 1900 up to the 1980s as the community had been subjected to poverty and poor living conditions that forced most of the youths to be involved in crimes, drugs and violence round the country. The theater industry has overtime incorporated the rich culture of the African American community in the country. The community is endowed with a rich cultural following that includes art and directing that makes them very competitive as compared to other communities in the country (Cornish 68).
Empowerment of African American women in the theater cannot be complete without the mention of two great African American women in the United States. These women are Alice Childress and Lorraine Hansberry who were among the pioneers of the art scene on major Broadway shows in the country. Lorraine Hansberry was an African American woman who have written and directed many plays and theatre scenes in America. Her most famous play is referred to as ‘a raisin in the sun’ which was written and directed first on the Broadway stage in 1959. The play depicts the struggle of the African American communities in the United States of America in the realization of the American dream. The main characters in the play are played by an African American family living on the Washington Park of Chicago’s neighborhood (Hansberry 561).
The play write was an exceptionally good work by Lorraine as she tried to capture the lives of the ‘black community’ in the country. The play plot is a mixture of the African American culture and the white culture as depicted by the various characters in the play. The setting of the play was done at a time when the African American community in American faced lot discrimination from their white counterparts and this subjected them to poor jobs and poor living conditions. The main characters in the play include the Younger family which is constituted of Walter, Ruth, Travis, Lena, Beaneatha and Joseph Asagai, George Murchison while the presence of a white man by name Karl Linder (Bernstein 1123).
Alice Childress was an African American play writer and actor who were born on October 12 1916 in Charleston, South Carolina. Her earlier life was challenging due to her parents separating and she was forced to love with her grandmother who encouraged her to read and write. Her love for poems and plays helped her to become one of the most celebrated African American play writers in the country. She was a woman who commanded high respect in the theater as she could write, act and directs plays. Her major work involved criticizing the American way of life due to its neglect and abandonment of the poor communities in the country. Her plays have shared a lot of insight in the uplift of the African American communities as they were portrayed by her plays. The plays have inspired many African American communities in realizing their dreams and played a vital role in empowering women in the country.
Her work revolved around championing for the welfare of the poor masses in the American culture that have faced neglect over time and abandonment by the government agencies. Her famous play ‘wine in the wilderness’ depicts a race riot in the Harlem neighborhood and an artist by the name Bill Jameson. The artist is geared to showcase three paintings that will express the African American woman in the American culture. In the first painting the paint reveals the ‘Black womanhood’ as depicted by a young black girls who signifies innocence. The second reveals an ‘African queen’ whom represents the ideal woman in Jameson’s life and the third painting reveals a down and out African Woman and is symbolic of what the society have molded the woman to look like (Childress 425).
The work of these two great African American women has been instrumental in championing for the empowerment of the African American women in the country. The plays have been used to reveal a changing community that is more empowered in their work and success. Lorraine and Alice have been two pioneers of the excellent work done by African Women against all odds and the success their work have reached over the years. The plays have depicted the culture of the society and how the different communities in the society have embraced change that will transform their lives and the lives of the community as a whole. Lorraine’s play ‘a raisin in the sun’ gained a lot of theater success due to its plot that captures the lives of the black community and the treatment they encounter form the white community in the country. The play was both famous among the white and the African American community due to its precision and excellent merge of characters as depicted by the various character traits of the Younger family (Hansberry 235). The pioneers of theater work in America have helped motivate and encourage other African American women to write and direct plays. This process has played a crucial role in the empowerment of African American women in the United States of America.
Conclusion
Empowerment of African America women in theater cannot go unnoticed without mentioning two pioneer women in the industry who have been instrumental in championing for the recognition and empowerment of women in the community. Their work in the theater has not been without challenge as they tried to make it in a white dominated industry in the 1900 up to 1980s. Discrimination among the black minority group was evident form the days of slavery and continued up to the time the black community started championing for their rights and freedom in the country. Their work has been a culmination of hard work and zeal that helped them to gain recognition as good play writers and directors in the American history. Their work has inspired other writers young and old in the African American community in the country and around the world. Social, political and economic empowerment among women in the country has been on the increase as demographic trends reveal as more African women are making it on the theater and art scenes.
Work cited
Bernstein, Antje. Womanism in Lorraine Vivian Hansberry's "a Raisin in the Sun" - Beneatha and the Triple Oppression of African American Women. München: GRIN Verlag GmbH, 2011. Print
Childress, Alice. Wine in the Wilderness. New York: Dramatists Play Service Inc, 1969. Print.
Cornish, Gracie. 10 Good Choices That Empower Black Women's Lives. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2000. Print
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry: A Lively Learning Guide. Sunnyvale, Calif.: Shmoop University, 2010. Print
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. New York: Vintage Books, 1994. Print.
Moss, Joyce, and George Wilson. Literature and Its Times: Profiles of 300 Notable Literary Works and the Historical Events That Influenced Them. Detroit, Mich: Gale, 1997. Print
