in the study with the family. Hal Ford has argued
in vain with his boss about the deal but restrains
himself from challenging Cooper’s authority. Mrs.
Cooper, determined to stop Dorsey’s visits to her
house and to protect her husband, decides to use
subterfuge to obtain a blank check from her hus-
band that she can then make payable to Dorsey. In
a tense showdown that threatens to kill Mr.
Cooper, Mrs. Cooper appears to save the day when
she hands Dorsey the check. In the moments fol-
lowing the man’s departure, John Cooper reveals
that he has been dodging creditors, that the family
home is on the verge of repossession, and that he
has been living a sham. The Cooper family women
are dismayed by the prospect of working in order
to pay off family debts. Joyce Adams and Hal Ford
give thanks for the prospect of their union, a rela-
tionship founded on genuine honesty and realism.
The House of Shamfocuses on family dynamics
and complex social negotiations of class status and
intraracial relationships. These primary issues rein-
forced Richardson’s reputation as a writer who was
concerned with the kinds of social contracts that
both emancipate and constrain individuals. His
focus on African-American family life and the
pressures that can plague the middle class revealed
the great diversity of African-American life and
experience.
Bibliography
Gray, Christine Rauchfuss. Willis Richardson, Forgotten Pi-
oneer of African-American Drama.Westport, Conn.:
Greenwood Press, 1999.
Howard Theater
Located in Washington, D.C., at Seventh and T
Streets, the Howard Theater was one of the earli-
est venues dedicated to showcasing African-
American performers and productions. It was the
first theater built in America to accommodate
African-American audiences and productions.
It opened in 1910 and was primarily a venue
in which African-American theater, vaudeville,
and jazz performances were held. It closed in
1929 on the eve of the GREATDEPRESSION. Iden-
tified as one of America’s historic treasures, the
long-abandoned building now is in the process of
being revitalized.
Howard University
The alma mater of many accomplished scholars,
writers, and artists of the Harlem Renaissance pe-
riod. Members of the First Congregational Society
of WASHINGTON, D.C., founded this historically
black university in 1866.
Originally organized to prepare African Amer-
icans for the ministry, it soon became a liberal arts
school. The institution was named in honor of
General Oliver Otis Howard, a Civil War general
and the commissioner of the Freedmen’s Bureau.
The university, located in the heart of Washing-
ton, D.C., was and remains a vital intellectual and
cultural forum. Its alumni include the first African-
American Supreme Court justice, Thurgood Mar-
shall, and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison. It was on
the Howard University campus that the influential
African-American Greek sororities and fraternities
ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA, DELTA SIGMA THETA,
Omega Psi Phi, and Phi Beta Sigma were founded.
A number of leading figures of the Harlem
Renaissance were educated at Howard. ZORA
NEALEHURSTONenrolled in courses at the school
and in 1920 earned an associate’s degree. While
there, she participated in the literary club founded
by professors ALAINLOCKEand THOMASMONT-
GOMERYGREGORYand published her first short
story in STYLUS, the school’s literary magazine.
THELMADUNCANhoned her skills as a writer and
dramatist at Howard. There she worked with Pro-
fessor Thomas Montgomery Gregory, founder of
the HOWARDUNIVERSITY PLAYERS, the troupe
that also performed her work. She graduated cum
laude with a degree in music. Poet, playwright,
and writer LANGSTON HUGHES, who lived in
Washington, D.C., for a time and eventually left
the city to attend LINCOLNUNIVERSITYin Penn-
sylvania, had deep but unfulfilled hopes of attend-
ing Howard. WILLISRICHARDSON, a celebrated
playwright, was admitted to Howard, but his fam-
ily’s dire financial situation required that he forgo
the scholarship and begin working. Historian BEN-
JAMINBRAWLEY and writer LEWIS ALEXANDER
also attended the school.
Norris Wright Cuney II, the father of poet
WILLIAMWARINGCUNEY, attended the Howard
University Law School before becoming a federal
government worker. His son attended Howard
University for a short time before going on to study250 Howard Theater