A1. Uncle Tom’s Children: Stories by Richard Wright

Richard Wright (born 1908 in Mississippi, died 1960 in Paris) is probably best known for his explosive novel Native Son (1940) and his autobiography Black Boy (1945). One of his earlier works was a series of five short stories, Uncle Tom’s Children (1938). Each story is set in a specific historical time in African American history and can be read as a separate tale. Taken as a whole these stories create a discussion of the ways one can or should respond to bigotry and racism. We will read five stories in the volume, one story a week.

Eugene McCarthy taught literature at Holy Cross for thirty-five years with emphasis on Eighteenth-century English literature and African American literature.

REQUIRED BOOK: Uncle Tom’s Children, by Richard Wright, Harper Paperback. ISBN: 978-0061450204

FOR THE FIRST CLASS: Read the essay, “Ethics of Jim Crow” and the first story, “Big Boy Leaves Home”