The blacker the berry

Resource Information

The work The blacker the berry represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in San Francisco Public Library. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

The blacker the berry

Statement of responsibility

Wallace Thurman

Creator

• Thurman, Wallace, 1902-1934

Contributor

• hoopla digital

Subject

• African American women -- Fiction
• Electronic books
• Harlem (New York, N.Y.) -- Fiction

Genre

• Fiction

Language

eng

Summary

"The tragedy of her life was that she was too black," declares the narrator at the start of this powerful novel of intraracial prejudice. Emma Lou Morgan lives in a world of scorn and shame, not because her skin is black, but because it's too black. No one among her family, teachers, and friends has a word of consolation or hope for the despised and rejected girl. With nothing to lose, eighteen-year-old Emma Lou leaves her home in Idaho, seeking love and acceptance on a journey that ultimately leads her to the legendary community of the Harlem Renaissance. A source of controversy upon its 1929 publication, The Blacker the Berry was the first novel to openly address color prejudice among black Americans. Author Wallace Thurman, an active member of the Harlem Renaissance, vividly recaptures the era's mood and spirit. His portrait of a young woman adrift in the city forms an enduringly relevant reflection of the search for racial, sexual, and cultural identity

Cataloging source

Midwest

Dewey number

813/.52

Index

no index present

Literary form

fiction

Nature of contents

dictionaries

Target audience

adult