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Profiles in Black History: George C. Wolfe

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Profiles in Black History is a project of our Justice Works Anti-Racism Team. A new profile will be spotlighted every day during Black History Month.

George C. Wolfe

“As a Black, gay artist, Wolfe has faced ... hurdles, even if he’s cleared them with astounding frequency. He established himself as a playwright (“The Colored Museum,” “Jelly’s Last Jam”), then earned great acclaim and his Tonys, as the director of Tony Kushner’s landmark play about the AIDS crisis, “Angels in America: Millennium Approaches” (1993) and the musical “Bring in ’da Noise, Bring in ’da Funk” (1996), which he also conceived. His DGA Award for the TV movie “Lackawanna Blues” (2005), based on Santiago-Hudson’s play, opened up even more doors, which he’s made his mission to do for other diverse voices throughout his career, most notably as artistic director-producer of the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater for more than a decade. ‘It’s about expanding the understanding of the texture of this country,’ he says. ‘Hopefully, we’re all involved in that experiment, and that responsibility, which is expanding the breadth of stories.’ ‘It’s putting those truths and those energies out there around the world,” he adds, “and that’s where the healing is. The healing isn’t in skipping over history; the healing is digging into it.’”

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Rebecca Riley is a writer and filmmaker who lives in North County San Diego.