Radio Golf

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses racism.

Radio Golf explores the evolving definition of African American success following the Civil Rights Movement. Through its characters, the play considers what it means to succeed as a Black individual in a society built on racial inequality, asking whether and how it is possible to achieve financial and social success without abandoning cultural identity.

Harmond Wilks embodies the tension between ambition and cultural responsibility. At the beginning of the play, Harmond’s vision of success aligns with post-Civil Rights ideals of upward mobility. As a real estate developer and aspiring mayor, Harmond sees redeveloping Pittsburgh’s Hill District as a way to revitalize the area and demonstrate Black excellence. He wants upscale businesses like Starbucks and Whole Foods to transform the neighborhood into an economic hub. He plans to rename a medical center after Sarah Degree, the city’s first Black nurse, and hangs a poster of Martin Luther King Jr. in his office to symbolize his ideals. His vision is captured in his words: “This is 1997. Things have changed. This is America. This is the land of opportunity. I can be mayor. I can be anything I want” (21). However, over the course of the play, Harmond begins to see the moral cost of his plans.