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Who Is Richard Wright's Black Boy?

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Richard Wright, mostly known for his success as an author and his views on equal rights for African Americans. One of his most popular pieces of works, “Black Boy,” is an autobiography on Wright's struggles throughout his life as an African American during the early 1900’s. The book is full of many controversial topics, most notably racism. Unfortunately for Wright, he never got to see the passing of the Civil Rights Act. History has shaped the world to be a significantly better place for people of color from when Richard Wright had written Black Boy. The lives of many minority groups changed from said act, which begs the question: If Black Boy were to be written in the 21st century, what would Wright write about? One might assume he would …show more content…
Wright lived in a time where it was routine to see that a black man or woman would end up missing. In 2018, if a Black American was insulted or abused for their race, then the entire media would take their side. This is the future that Wright lived for, which is why it would be a major part of the new Black Boy. While this time in America has definitely improved the lives for nearly all minority groups, racism still exists. There are many cases of African Americans being insulted for the color of their skin. Although Wright would mostly write about how much better things have gotten, he’d also include examples of how there are still people in the world who do not accept this major change that has been made for minorities. Yes, racism still exists, but the times now are different. Many minorities are now able to be recognized as well as have more opportunities than they did while Richard Wright was still alive. An example of this comes from a recent film called “Black Panther.” The film takes place in Africa and portrays one of its countries to be the economically successful country in the world. Not only this, but the film’s main protagonist is in fact African American. The film has had praise all over the country and has met huge box office records. It has not doubtedly become one of the biggest movies of 2018 and still months after its release does it still receive praise. According to Jamil Smith in his article “The Revolutionary Power of Black Panther” the film does an incredible job of allowing the African American community to relate to characters that are of the same race. The movie was directed by Ryan Coogler who is of African descent which further proves that Blacks are now able to have more opportunity. Entertainment like this would no doubt make an appearance in the new Black Boy if Wright

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