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The portrayals of Black characters in fiction. The history of Black American novelists. And the responsibility of present and future fiction authors.
The Negro in American Fiction by Sterling A. Brown
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| Description
• Vintage Literature Study
From the Introduction: The treatment of the Negro in American fiction, since it parallels his treatment in American life, has naturally been noted for injustice… [In light of this,] Negro novelists must accept the responsibility of being the ultimate portrayers of their own.
| My Thoughts
While I’m a lifelong lover of fiction, I read only so many nonfiction books, and I’m selective about the subjects I dive into.
A History of Fiction
Of course, the American literary landscape isn’t the same as it was back when this book was first published in 1937. But one of the main reasons that I as a Black American woman picked this book up is because it’s worth remembering that Black literary voices aren’t a recently developed phenomenon or just a current “trend” rising in publishing.
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Black people have always had something to say. And we’ve been writing and discussing fiction in America for longer than many people may be aware. Even in 1937, there was already quite a history of Black American fiction worthy of exploration, and this author offers commentary on much of it, as well as on depictions of Black people in fiction written by American authors who weren’t Black.
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Diversity of Thought within a Culture
Granted, when I mention us having “something” to say, it doesn’t mean that Black Americans have essentially only one message or that we all merely echo each other. I reiterate from time to time that the Black experience isn’t a narrow one and that neither Black culture nor Black thought are monolithic. I appreciate how this book highlights that, likewise pointing out how racial stereotypes develop and have oftentimes been perpetuated in fiction—when writers possess or convey too little knowledge and too narrow/limited a view of something as nuanced, multifaceted, complex, and historied as a whole people group.
I’ve read and/or heard of several of the authors discussed in this book, and others I haven’t, including most of the Black authors who wrote and published novels before the American Civil War. As for a few among the 20th-century fiction works mentioned in this book that I haven’t read, I added them to my list to check out sometime.
For the Sake of My Psyche
With all of that said, this wasn’t an easy book for me to get through. As the author includes many direct quotes and passages from late 18th-century to early 20th-century American fiction, cruel and ugly depictions of racism are frequent in this book, including details of serious violence and numerous appearances of the N-word and other racial slurs. Also, given that realistic literature in general involves much tragedy, hard living, misery, etc., many of the stories the author discusses here are heavy ones.
I’m not at all new to such material. So I didn’t feel I was short-changing myself when I skimmed or skipped over some of the passages, on account of where my psyche is right now.
Bolstered Respect and Passion
On the whole, though, this book has added to my respect for Black authors who’ve ventured to write from real, embattled experience, especially in earlier times as they fought against certain myths that were pushed within American society. For instance, those authors fought against the false and dehumanizing claims that slavery was benevolent and necessary to save and to discipline Black people, and that we were generally content with being oppressed.
Moreover, this book has added to my passion as an author to be a part of sharing a fuller picture of Black peoplehood through fiction, including the gentle, the sparkling, and the upbeat aspects of who we are and the lives we live—because our love, our hope, our light, and our joy are also real. And powerful. Worthy of being written about directly from our experience and perspectives.
As we go to the Russians, the Scandinavians, and the French for the truth about their people…we should expect the truth of Negro life from Negroes. The Negro artist has a fine task ahead of him to render this truth in enduring fiction.
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| Content Note
- many mentions of serious violence in published fiction works, including lynchings and sexual assault
- frequent appearances of racial slurs in quoted fiction lines and passages, especially the N-word; all other language kept to a “PG” level
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