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Before They Were Activists, They Were Readers: An Analysis of the Autobiographies of Booker T. Washington and Malcolm X

Though published 64 years apart, the autobiographies of Booker T. Washington and Malcolm X share remarkable similarities. Up From Slavery and The Autobiography of Malcolm X serve as extensions of the activism their subjects devoted their lives to spreading, aiming to lead by example and empower Black audiences. Both authors share stories of their extraordinary devotion to education and reading, of their climb up from the lowest of lows. However, between the two autobiographies exist nuances to how and why they share these stories. Booker T. Washington, in Chapter II (Boyhood Days), recalls his stubborn desire to attend school in Kanawha Valley: “my boyish heart was still set upon going to the day-school, and I let no opportunity slip to push my case … There was never a time in my youth, no matter how dark and discouraging the days might be, when one resolve did not continually remain with me, and that was a determination to secure an education at any cost.” When he surpassed the kno...
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The Protest Novel: Examining Civil Rights Era Literature Through Richard Wright and Lorrain Hansberry

“Down By the Riverside,” a socialist-driven naturalistic short story by Richard Wright confronts the intense white supremacist ideology of 20th century America amidst the flooding of the Mississippi River. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorrain Hansberry, likewise, confronts American racism and segregation in the urban setting of Chicago, IL through a liberal-inflected realistic point of view. Though both are prominent examples of protest literature, they differ markedly in their diagnosis of American society.      Wright, a socialist at the time of the publication of Uncle Tom’s Children, viewed the American market-based economy and society as unsalvageable and unable to create a just society for African-Americans. He drew a parallel between the Mississippi River flood and segregationist society (both devastating issues converging on the protagonist Brother Mann) to depict the unrelenting violence and harshness of the latter. Wright confronted the fundamental unfairness of the ...
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Autobiographies and Activism: Comparing and Contrasting the Autobiographies of Harriet Jacobs and Booker T. Washington

While both Harriet Jacobs’ and Booker T. Washington’s autobiographies detail their experiences of suffering and oppression during and after slavery, the stories and messages they tell are shaped by the times in which they live. Jacobs is writing in a time where slavery is still legal; her struggle, the struggle of millions, is an ongoing story which she wishes to end. Her anecdotes of cruelties are ongoing, written in the present tense; in chapter 21, she writes, “God pity the woman who is compelled to lead such a life!” The audience of “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” is limited to those who have access to literature and literacy and are inclined towards the issue of slavery: white Northern women. On the other hand, Washington is writing during Reconstruction, and thus is dealing with the chief problem of his time: life after slavery. He writes of his time in slavery not to bring awareness to the issue (for his readership is both those who’ve also gone through such atrocities a...
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