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The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man

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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man follows the life of a biracial narrator who navigates the complexities of race and identity in late nineteenth-century America. Orphaned young, he moves from a privileged middle-class upbringing to experiencing both the vibrant black church community and the stark realities of racial violence and discrimination. His journey through music and society leads him to make profound choices about self-presentation and survival, revealing the painful depths of racial tension and personal conflict.
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Format: Hardback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This novel is ideal for readers interested in historical fiction, racial identity, and American social history. It appeals to those who appreciate classic literature that examines complex social issues, as well as to anyone drawn to stories exploring personal and cultural transformation.

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A compellingly powerful novel about racial relations that is as relevant now as it was one hundred years ago.

A compellingly powerful novel about racial relations that is as relevant now as it was one hundred years ago.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson is a powerful, trailblazing novel that exposes the intricate relationship between race and class in late nineteenth-century America.

Complete & Unabridged. Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition is introduced by Dr Sam Halliday.

After losing his mother at a very young age, the narrator is thrust from his comfortable, middle-class environment, afforded by his distant but aristocratic father, into the wider world. His passion for music begins in Georgia's all-black church community and takes him from New York, where he plays ragtime for a rich white gentleman, to the South, where he witnesses lynchings and out of fear gives up his passion, as well as his race, to pass for white.

Relevant to this day, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is an unflinching account of black experience in America.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781529069204

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 20 January 2022

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Macmillan Collector's Library

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 15.0mm

Width: 100.0mm

Height: 157.0mm

Weight: 152g

Pages: 176

About the Author

James Weldon Johnson was born in Jacksonville, 1871. He trained in music and in 1901 moved to New York with his brother John; together they wrote around two hundred songs for Broadway. His first book, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, published anonymously in 1912, was not a great success until he reissued it in his own name in 1927. In that time he established his reputation as a writer and became known in the Harlem Renaissance for his poems and for collating anthologies of poems by other black writers. Through his work as a civil rights activist he became the first executive secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), as well as the first African American professor to be hired at New York University. He died in 1938.

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