Richard Wright grew up in the woods of Mississippi amid poverty,
hunger, fear, and hatred. He lied, stole, and raged at those around
him; at six he was a "drunkard," hanging about in taverns. Surly,
brutal, cold, suspicious, and self-pitying, he was surrounded on
one side by whites who were either indifferent to him, pitying, or
cruel, and on the other by blacks who resented anyone trying to
rise above the common lot.
Black Boy is Richard Wright's powerful account of his
journey from innocence to experience in the Jim Crow South. It is
at once an unashamed confession and a profound indictment-a
poignant and disturbing record of social injustice and human
suffering.