Apart from the two music industry professionals and the policeman in Ma Rainey, Selig is the only white character to appear onstage in Wilson’s cycle. He explicitly wanted to shine the spotlight on Black men and women, but white characters are an unseen, ominous presence in all of his plays. They control the recording industry in Ma Rainey, and in Fences they put up roadblocks in Major League Baseball, making it impossible for Troy to break the color barrier. In Joe Turner, an unseen labor boss demands a portion of Black workers’ wages in order for them to keep their jobs. Wilson told the
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