Fences is a 1985 play by American playwright August Wilson. It explores the evolving African-American experience and examines race relations, among other themes. The focus of Wilson’s attention in Fences is Troy, a 53-year-old working-class head of a household who struggles with providing for his family. The play takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; although never officially named, it makes mention of several key locations in Pittsburgh. In his younger days, Troy was an excellent player in Negro league baseball and continued practicing baseball while serving time in prison for a murder he had committed during a robbery. Because the color barrier had not yet been broken in Major League Baseball, Troy was unable to get into the MLB to make good money or to save for the future. He now lives a menial, though respectable, blue-collar life of trash collecting; later in the play, he remarkably crosses the race barrier and becomes the first Black truck driver in Pittsburgh instead of just a barrel lifter.

Troy admits to Rose that he has been having an affair and that his mistress, Alberta, is pregnant. Later, Alberta dies in childbirth. Troy brings his baby daughter Raynell home, and Rose agrees to raise the girl as her own, saying: ‘From right now . . . this child got a mother. But you a womanless man.’ She remains in the family home but the couple are estranged; she refuses to accept Troy back into her life.

Seven years later, Troy has died. Cory comes home for a visit from the military where he is a corporal in the Marines. He initially refuses to go to his father’s funeral due to long-standing resentment, but he is convinced by his mother to pay his respects to his father — the man who, though hard-headed and often poor at demonstrating affection, nevertheless loved his son. The family say their farewells to Troy and offer forgiveness that may not be fully deserved.