This Wednesday, I attended the first book group of the semester which focused on Richard Wright’s autobiography, Black Boy. The attendees were a mixed group of students, faculty, and staff. Professor Cymone Fourshey opened the group by sharing the Griot’s upcoming events this semester. Lily, the graduate assistant for the Griot, led the book group. She ran through a blurb of a bit of the background of the book and how it relates to the Griot theme of “Youth from Africa and the Diasporas: Knowers, Innovators, Visionaries, and everyday people.”
The first question asked was whether or not Black Boy is a novel, autobiography, or if it belongs to another genre. The book in itself is technically an autobiography. Wright is telling the story of his childhood, but it engages with many novelistic conventions and reads similarly to a novel. Professor Kenton Butcher offered the point that maybe it didn’t feel like a typical autobiography because of the repressive atmosphere that Wright reflects on throughout the book. It was brought up that this book was actually banned from schools for a certain period of time, which was ironic as the meeting took place during Banned Book Week. Which led us to the discussion of how this book resonates with today, in general or specifically to banned book week.
Professor Aisha Cort led us into a discussion about communism and how often fails to consider race, which Wright also critiques in the book. Even as a child, Wright had a vision beyond what was deemed possible. His drive is notable because he doesn’t seem to have searched for something “better”, but rather something different. The conversation then moved to Black escapism and whether or not it is possible to escape, using Wright’s move to France as an example. When Wright left the South, he was leaving behind what he was familiar with to look for something different. We ended the conversation with a discussion on migration, home, and acceptance. The book club fostered great conversation and allowed for us to connect the book to our current society.
-Da’Mirah Vinson