Whose Birthday Is It? September 4, 2016

Richard Wright (1908)

Wright was an American author whose works helped redefine discussions of race in the mid-20th century. The grandson of slaves, he grew up in poverty in the American south. The fictionalized autobiography Black Boy vividly describes his often harsh youth. He first came to wide attention in 1938 with a collection of short stories titled Uncle Tom’s Children and published his bestselling novel Native Son two years later. More…