Native Son
Written by Richard Wright, the 1940 publication tells the story of a 20-year-old African-American youth living in poverty in a poor area on Chicago’s South Side in the 1930s. It was the first bestselling novel by an African-American Black author. It was also the first Book-of-the-Month Club selection by an African-American author. Wright also received the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP. But the book was highly criticized and was removed from high school bookshelves in Berrain Springs, MI because it was “vulgar, profane and sexually explicit.” Other school boards followed suit, saying that it was violent and sexually graphic. Despite the criticisms, the book was turned into a theatrical production that was directed by Orson Welles on Broadway.
