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Black Boy
Black Boy | Richard Wright
Richard Wright grew up in the woods of Mississippi, with poverty, hunger, fear, and hatred. He lied, stole, and raged at those around him; at six he was a "drunkard," hanging about 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 indictmenta poignant and disturbing record of social injustice and human suffering.
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Graywacke
Black Boy | Richard Wright
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Pickpick

This. It‘s like such a crystalline picture. Richard Wright has this way of making himself a regular person in the completely insane, oppressive violent world of the 1920‘s Jim Crowe South. It‘s dystopian, and nonfictional. His response, his strength, but also his tone - it‘s like “What are these people thinking?!…Is this real?” - is incredibly powerful. It‘s an amazing window into that reality, our history.

AmyG This is one of my most favorite books. I picked it up as a teenager and I remember reading the opening part….and feeling blown away. This book was so eye openeing for me. 2y
Graywacke @AmyG It‘s so memorable! (i must have read some or all the first part in high school because it left a deep impression. I didn‘t remember the author or the title, but I recognized the events and… they really had shaped my view of the world.) 2y
staci.reads I used to teach this one in a junior English course. Early in its publication, only the first 2/3 were published, leaving out everything in Chicago and his foray into communism. Only much later was it published as the full text. I find that a fascinating and very telling of the time. 2y
Graywacke @staci.reads I must have read this in high school, but only part one. I was confused why until i read about the publication history. No doubt once the cold war settled in, it was a bad time to share Communist associations (although 1944 was maybe ok??) But, part one is much stronger. And the reworked 1945 ending was nice (merely an endnote in my reconstructed edition). 2y
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Graywacke
Black Boy | Richard Wright
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My next book. Started today.

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booksforlife83
Black Boy | Richard Wright
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Unity in Diversity: #blackhistorymonth

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baberj
Black Boy | Richard Wright
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Almost 100 years later and the police still assume a person of color is the one who needs locked up. :(

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Emilymdxn
Black Boy | Richard Wright
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Pickpick

I did get a lot out of reading this book but I think it suffered a bit from me comparing it to Native Son which is one of the best books I‘ve read in a long time so that probably isn‘t a fair comparison. This was horribly hard to read (as I expected a memoir of growing up in poverty and black in Jim Crow Mississippi) but incredibly well written and I‘m astonished he managed to find a hopeful ending.

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Emilymdxn
Black Boy | Richard Wright
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#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

1. Tagged, I wanted to read an American classic on Independence Day

2. All the Becky chambers books are the most beautiful space themed covers to me

3. Guapa by Saleem Haddad

rachelsbrittain Love Becky Chambers 4y
65 likes1 comment
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AvidReader25
Black Boy | Richard Wright
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Pickpick

A powerful memoir of growing up in the south. The author of Native Son tells his own story, full of hunger, prejudice, and pain. It's hard to believe that it was published 75 years ago and so many of his points are still relevant now.

“Within the confines of its present culture, if the nation ever seeks to purge itself of its color hate, it will find itself at war with itself, convulsed by a spasm of emotional and moral confusion.”

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Emilymdxn
Black Boy | Richard Wright
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Guess who unexpectedly got paid back some money that I wasn‘t expecting to get back? Guess who immediately spent it on books despite being broke??

Put together this stack for the #joysofjune readathon. My goal is to read all books by authors of colour and I‘ve got a pretty big range here from very ancient through to this year, 3 different continents, fiction non fiction memoir and religion, whew.

AlaMich But see, that‘s okay, because it was money you didn‘t think you‘d have anyway so you‘re no worse off than before. 😉 4y
MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm Gotta have priorities! You obviously made the right decision. ❤️😊👍❤️ 4y
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Creme_de_la_them
Black Boy | Richard Nathaniel Wright
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Pickpick

An excellent book. Wright‘s autobiography should be required reading.

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CatharKnight
Black Boy | Richard Nathaniel Wright
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Pickpick

Heavy

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As_An_Adamant
Pickpick

This is one of the best memoirs I‘ve ever read, though admittedly I haven‘t read many. I‘m not sure some of the anecdotes he shares from his childhood are strictly “true” as in objectively reflecting reality (he gets too many clever one-liners in his fights) but I think it‘s as true as any autobiography can be. His fight with his uncle had me on the edge of my seat and as an ex-SDA, I can confirm the accuracy of his observations about the church.

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JLaurenceCohen

Wright tells the story of his childhood in Mississippi in crushing poverty. He describes his alienation from his own highly religious family and his confrontation with white racists.

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KGlibrarian
Black Boy | Richard Wright
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Winter in my high school library (Black Boy is part of my snowman)🌲⛄️🕎📚

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bookloo
Black Boy | Richard Wright
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“I hungered for the sharp, frightening, breathtaking, almost painful excitement that the story had given me, and I vowed that as soon as I was old enough I would buy all the novels there were and read them to feed that thirst for violence that was in me, for intrigue, for plotting, for secrecy, for bloody murders.”

AmyG I read this book when I was in high school. Just picked it out of the stacks in the library. It was the first time I read a book that not only stayed with me...but changed me. (edited) 7y
Smartypants You‘re reading my favorite author! You can feel his soul in all his books. ❤️ 7y
bookloo @AmyG I only wish I would have read this in high school! It‘s so raw and full of beautiful writing. I‘m in awe of this man. 😍 7y
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bookloo @Smartypants I think he‘s becoming one of my favorite authors as well. His writing is very similar to James Baldwin, just a tad more cut open as if he‘s like you said, baring his soul out. I‘m obsessed. ♥️ 7y
AmyG Have you read Native Son? Also, brilliant. 7y
batsy Wow. 7y
Smartypants @bookloo I totally agree! For some reason, I always liked his writing better than Baldwin. Native Son is a must and so is his book, The Outsider. I first read Native Son when I was 12 and it changed my life. I‘m so happy to share a love for him with you! 7y
bookloo @AmyG I haven‘t! I actually heard Native Son was more “brutal” than Black Boy. Is Native Son also autobiographical? 7y
bookloo @batsy I know. 😍 7y
AmyG Native Son is a novel and I think based on a crime committed. It is more brutal. 7y
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Pat_E_Cakes
Black Boy | Richard Wright
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Isn't this a quote to define the times:
And we strove to convince one another that our decisions stemmed from ourselves and ourselves alone. Yet we frantically concealed how dependent we were upon one another.

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Kristy_K
Black Boy | Richard Wright
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I'm normally really good at used bookstores b/c I'm a bit of a book snob and don't like any imperfections on my books. So today's visit was a surprise and a success! (Or a failure b/c I only went there to browse).
#bookhaul

BeckyD I loved The Way We Live Now. His books are long, but really good. 8y
EllieDottie Ha! I can be crazy about imperfections in my books too!! 8y
Kristy_K @BeckyD I'm glad to hear that! This was a definite impulse buy. 8y
Kristy_K @EllieDottie I'm glad I'm not the only one! 😁 8y
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Brie
Black Boy | Richard Wright
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I read parts of this #autobiography in school, but I've wanted to read it in its entirety ever since I read Wright's novel Native Son a couple years ago. It describes Wright's childhood and experiences growing up in the Jim Crow era south. #readjanuary #diverseathon #ownvoices

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SharonGoforth
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#bookhaul picture #1 from Half Price Books. Yes, I spent way more 💰💰than I intended, but I had a great time doing so. Books and reading are just too important!! Most of the books I bought today can be considered #diversebooks. I have my work cut out for me, so it's time to get busy! #overit #selfcaresaturday #overthis #blacklivesmatter #feminist #LGBTQ

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kristyliekwhoa
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brendanmleonard
Black Boy | Richard Nathaniel Wright
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Happy #bookishbirthday to Richard Wright (1908-1960)! Like a lot of people, I read Black Boy in high school - my freshman year - and, looking back, I can see it was a pivotal book in encouraging my sense of empathy and expanding my view of the world. I need to read it again! #wndb

Zelma Great choice. Both Black Boy and Native Son are excellent. I think the former is definitely more intimate and remember being really moved by it. 8y
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quote
nyashajunior
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"So far I had managed to keep humanly alive through transfusions from books."

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M_landis27
Black Boy | Richard Wright
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"Yes, the whites were as miserable as their black victims, I thought. If this country can't find its way to a human path, if it can't inform conduct with a deep sense of life, then all of us, black as well as white, are going down the same drain..."

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M_landis27
Black Boy | Richard Wright
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It's one of those days where to turn away only perpetuates the violence.

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