Memoir Review: Black Boy

When I decided to focus my February reading on Black History Month, I went through a lot of audio books and found it very convenient. Richard Wright's Black Channel, originally published in 1945, is a reminder of a boy's difficult childhood and youth in rural Mississippi and his adult life in Chicago in the first half of the 20th century. The life of a young man in a constant struggle and the author is a compelling, compelling (and sometimes scary) story with a lot of interest in himself, family and other people of color.

Richard begins his memories of his four-year-old son, Nachz, Mississippi, living with his parents and brother. Shortly thereafter, his mother began a relentless struggle to care for her young children and support them financially. Ricardi studies a lot, but once the opportunity arises, he tries to make money to help his family, initially by doing work and doing odd jobs, even in a local bar to get customers a coin or nickel from books. . (And he drank his first drink as a child). To help the family he dropped out of eighth grade. They move to earn a living, sometimes moving with their families or occasionally living in small, dilapidated apartments. Richard's grandfather had a nice house and lived there for a while, but it was very religious with very strong ideas of how Richard should be, and in that life he did not feel comfortable with Richard and his mother ( although they had to were patient for a while). As he grew and began to read more and learn more about the world around him, Richard began to notice the stark contrast between blacks and whites in the South. As an intelligent and educated young man, he could not understand why things were happening and why people tolerated such disgusting treatment. Eventually, Richard escaped to North Chicago and was able to transfer his mother and brother there, although life was not easy. Richard was surprised to find that whites (usually Jews or other foreigners) treated him with kindness and justice, even though the majority of the population was anti-apartheid, even in the northern highlands. He withdrew from the Communist Party for his speech on equality and the presence of other educated blacks, but he was quickly upset by their quarrels and other issues.

Richard's life story is fascinating, both with its extraordinary age and with a fascinating look at Jim Crow South and the experiences of blacks in the early 1900s. Originally published in 1945, the narrator is not actually an author, but Peter Francis James has done an amazing job of fully capturing the voice of the child and the person, so you feel like telling the story directly ( audio example here ). While the discrimination and abuse he faces in Richard and his family is often disturbing, there are also funny moments when Richard remembers his childhood flourishing. The first half of the book, set in Mississippi, was a little more interesting to me than the subsequent episodes of Richard's involvement with communism, but I was still immersed in his powerful and compelling story from beginning to end.

Old classic

Harper Audio

This book is suitable for the following 2022 reading activities:

Back to Classics Probationary non-fiction classics

Non-fiction test (# 3) - in the social history category.

Diversity test

Call for Literary Travel - Mississippi

Publication I received this book from the publisher for an honest review. My review is my opinion and does not depend on my relationship with the publisher or author.

 

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Listen to a beautifully read and / or audio recording of Richard Francis James as an early child from an audio book .

 

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