Emperor Jones - What does it say about mankind?

Today's NY Times reviews a revival of a Eugene O'Neil play. The Emperor Jones is about a Pullman Porter who leaves the United States and takes control of a West Indies island; it premiered in 1920. Jones was played by Charles Gilpin, the first African American to appear in a leading role in a white theater. How weird is that sentence? Gilpin received rave reviews, but he found it very difficult to play to role as written because of the offensive language (which he changed, much to the consternation of the author). In fact, if you Google the play, Baylor's filter won't let you see all the Wikipedia entries. It's a painful play to read or watch. O'Neil was a provocative playwright. Looking back, we can see that he made bold attempts to bring the discussion of race in the U.S. out into the open. Baylor Libraries have a video of the filmed version starring Paul Robeson. The play was awarded a Pulitzer Prize, but it is often viewed as embarrassing or too shocking for polite company today. If you should have the opportunity to write a paper on this play, whatever you do - don't use the papers you find online. They are dreadful and perpetuate all kinds of outdated and stereotypical thinking.