d Cuba Gooding, Jr.; MANDELA and DE KLERK (Showtime, 1997), with Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine, and co-wrote the scripts for BOJANGLES, starring Gregory Hines (Showtime, 2002) and DEACONS FOR DEFENSE (Showtime, 2003), with Forest Whitaker, Jonathan Silverman and Ossie Davis. DEACONS FOR DEFENSE was the recipient of a “Black Reels Best Picture” Award from the Foundation of African American Films. He has also written episodes for the series FALLEN ANGELS (Showtime, 1996) and ONE HUNDRED CENTER STREET (A&E Cable Networks, 2000 and 2001).

Citations Mr. Wesley has received include: The Castillo Award for Outstanding Writing in Political Theater (2013), The Pioneer Award from the National Black Theater of New York (2015), The August Wilson Playwriting Award from the National Black Theater Festival (2015), The Distinguished Playwriting Achievement Award from the Texas State University Black and Latino Playwrights Conference (2018), The August Wilson Award from the National Black Writers Conference (2018), The Grace L. Jones Award for Lifetime Achievement in Playwriting from AUDELCO (2022), The Howard University Chadwick Boseman College of Fine Arts Legacy Award in Playwriting (2023) and The Dramatist Guild Foundation Legacy Playwrights Initiative Award (2024).

The National Film Preservation Board included Uptown Saturday Night, for which Mr. Wesley wrote the screenplay, among 25 films selected for inclusion in the 2024 National Film Registry, for archival in the Library of Congress.

Mr. Wesley is currently an Associate Professor in the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University in the Rita and Burton Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing, Chair of the Selection Committee for the Black Film Festival of the Newark Museum of Art, Advisor to the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers University in Brooklyn, NY, a Guest Lecturer at the Advanced Playwrights Workshop for the New Federal Theater and a Member of the Board at the Manhattan Theater Club.

He is married to the novelist, Valerie Wilson Wesley.