20th-century mob rule and the threat of lynching.
Richardson also developed an absorbing set of
mythical, historical, and biblical plays that cele-
brated the accomplishments and explored the ex-
amples of powerful and privileged figures. These
included The King’s Dilemma,set in “The Future,”
The Last Kingdom of the World, Antonio Maceo,and
Attucks the Martyr,inspired by the life of Crispus
Attucks, the first man to fall in the Boston skirmish
that provoked the American Revolution. Richard-
son also contributed to the efforts to generate a
substantial and visible African-American theater
tradition. Like fellow Washingtonians T. Mont-
gomery Gregory and Alain Locke, he published col-
lections of plays, including PLAYS ANDPAGEANTS
FROM THELIFE OF THENEGRO(1930). He was ini-
tially prompted to compile the volume by CARTER
G. WOODSON, the established historian with whom
he unofficially coedited the work. Five years later,
he coedited NEGROHISTORY INTHIRTEENPLAYS
(1935) with MAYMILLERSULLIVAN.
Richardson, who remained based in Washing-
ton, D.C., participated fully in the Harlem Renais-
sance movement and sought out opportunities to
showcase his work. He participated in the literary
contests sponsored by Opportunityand by The Crisis.
He submitted a play for consideration in the first
Opportunityliterary contest, held in 1924. Judges T.
Montgomery Gregory, Alexander Woollcott, Robert
C. Benchley, and Edith Isaacs awarded his play Fall
of the Conjurer the second honorable mention in the
competition that saw the first four prizes go to G. D.
Lipscomb, Warren McDonald, ZORA NEALE
HURSTON, and May Miller. Undeterred, Richardson
entered the upcoming Crisiscompetition for 1925,
which would give awards to some 15 writers. On
this occasion, judges EUGENEO’NEILL, Charles Bur-
roughs, and Lester Walton awarded Richardson first
prize for THEBROKENBANJO.The second and third
prizes went to RUTHGAINES-SHELTONand to MYR-
TLESMITHLIVINGSTON, respectively. The following
year, Richardson’s play Boot-Black Loveredged out
works by EULALIE SPENCE and RANDOLPH ED-
MONDSand won first place in the 1926 Crisisliter-
ary contest. Richardson received his prize, also
referred to as the Amy Spingarn Prize for Negro Lit-
erature and Art in honor of the philanthropist who
funded the awards, from W. E. B. DuBois, editor of
The Crisis,at the International House in New York
City in October.
Richardson, although an exemplary playwright,
combined his playwriting career with his full-time job
at the Bureau of Engraving, where he was employed
until he retired in 1955. He maintained his member-
ship in the NATIONALASSOCIATION FOR THEAD-
VANCEMENT OFCOLOREDPEOPLE(NAACP) and in
the NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE. The NAACP
awarded Richardson a Spingarn prize in 1925 and
1926 for two of his dramatic works, The Broken
Banjoand Boot-Black Lover,respectively. He was
wholeheartedly devoted to the advancement of
African-American theater, which he saw as a pow-
erful vehicle by which writers could educate, chal-
lenge, and invigorate audiences in general and
African-American communities in particular.
Richardson’s passion for theater, which was unwa-
vering during his lifetime, was evident when he was
just beginning his career. As he confessed in a letter
to his longtime colleague T. Montgomery Gregory
in 1922, “Negro drama has been, next to my wife
and children, the very hope of my life” (Martin, 1).
His works have benefited from recent republication
and have enjoyed a modest set of contemporary
productions such as the Black Theater Alliance
Festival show of The Chip Woman’s Fortuneat the
Brooklyn Academy of Music in the fall of 1973.
Richardson’s work was part of the popular three-
week festival hosted by a group of African-Ameri-
can theaters in New York City that functioned as
“vital grass-roots community centers” and, in addi-
tion to producing plays, offered a variety of drama
instruction and workshops (NYT, 17 November
1973). Such events underscore the lasting power of
Richardson’s lifelong mission to make theater an in-
tegral part of American community life.Bibliography
Gray, Christine Rauchfuss. Willis Richardson, Forgotten Pi-
oneer of African-American Drama.Westport, Conn.:
Greenwood Press, 1999.
Martin, George-McKinley. “Willis Richardson.” Avail-
able online. URL:http://www.dclibrary.org/blkren/
bios/richardsonw.html. Accessed June 28, 2005.“Rich Man, Poor Man”Anita Scott Coleman
(1920)
One of three short stories that ANITA SCOTT
COLEMANpublished in the CHICAGO-based THE“Rich Man, Poor Man” 451