Richard Wright

Novelist

Birthday September 4, 1908

Birth Sign Virgo

Birthplace Roxie, MS

DEATH DATE Nov 28, 1960 (52)

#63163 Most Popular

About

Influential African-American author of Black Boy, Native Son, and Uncle Tom's Children. His work helped improve race relations in the 20th century.

Before Fame

He wrote his first story, The Voodoo of Hell's Half-Acre, at age fifteen. In 1927, he moved to Chicago and worked for the Postal Service while also becoming involved in prominent political and literary organizations. He began writing his famous novel, Native Son, upon moving to New York in the late 1930s.

Trivia

He claimed that writing was the tool he found most useful to question race relations in America.

Family Life

He grew up in Mississippi and Tennessee, and was raised by his maternal grandmother and aunt. He was briefly married to Russian-Jewish dancer, Dhimah Rose Meidman. With his second wife, Communist organizer Ellen Poplar, he had two daughters: Julia and Rachel.

Associated With

He and fellow author James Baldwin were good friends.