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.
