"Seven Black Plays represents the multifarious experience being limned by African American playwrights today: a unique moment in the history of baseball's Negro Leagues; a working-class couple's confrontation with a neighborhood bully; a woman's memories of negotiating desegregation; young blacks coming of age amid the ravages of racism, child abuse, and AIDS. The Theodore Ward Prize for African American Playwriting, sponsored by Columbia College Chicago, annually recognizes the accomplishments of emerging and established black playwrights and their growing importance in shaping contemporary theater. This anthology, edited by director and educator Chuck Smith, the contest facilitator, showcases the best of the prizewinning plays and the evolution of African American drama. "--BOOK JACKET.