African-American characters live in a city similar to Pittsburgh just before the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The members of the Maxon family come into conflict with each other over how they should live their lives: Should the sons’ futures be limited by their inheritance of attitudes from America’s long-extinct slave culture and Jim Crow laws? Or, is it realistic for the younger generation to follow its dreams based on merit and skill by taking advantage of academic and athletic incentives that the white establishment offers? Fences won four Tony awards, the New York Drama Critics Circle award for best play, and the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for drama.