..
rd ··Wri
Richard Wright, the uthor of
"Native S • "Black Boy" and
five other novel and hort story
coil ction , knew t taste, smell
and cool deathlike cares of
mi cry. .
, Hi Iir t 18 ye r were pent
in constant truggle, often near
starv tion, often in fear or' beat­
ing that would wipe out his
bre tho Inexplicably, Wright
. rose above hi harsh existence
and bees me thc nation's first sue­
cc Cui African-amcrican
novelist.
Whcn he w 13 years old, a
BI ck newspaper publishcd a
short story he had written. AJ­
though his friends and fam1ly
couldn't understand his' strange
de ire jo "make things up and .
write them down," Wright ig­
nored their corn and pursued his
dream of becoming a writcr. In
1927, hc'left the SOuth and
moved first to a Chicago ghetto
and later to Harlem in New York
to dit small newspaper.
By 1'932, Wright's view of ra­
cial oppression broadened. His
poems and short stories revealed
a Marxist perspective, although
'Communist party members
viewed him.with suspicion._,.- .. __
to live."
De pite fin nci I h r:l hip,
he wrote four no eta under the
title "Uncle Tom' Children."
The torte deal t wi th oppression
of Black' in the South and
violence of Bla again t
Blac s that rose from their vic­
timiz tion.
Richard Wright' life changed
ramatically in the 1940s. He
married Ellen Poplar, of Broo -
lyn, N.Y .. in 1941, and that same
'year received a Guggenheim Fel­
low hip which 'allowed him to
complete the novel "Native Son. "
It was the fir t novel by a Black
wri ter to become a Book-of-the­
Month Club" election.
"Native SO/l" later became ra
successful Broadway production,
directed by Orson Wells. It also
'was made into a film, with
Wrtght playing the role of the
cen tra I characre r, Bigger
Thomas.
'Wright's second major
�H oJ (lli tcuary ucce £ me in 19 5
- - with' the public-ation of his
utobiogzaphy; "Black Boy". -He
was showere9 with .praise for h'is
realistic and moving portrayal of
Black urban life. '
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org niz
choice.
G RO G U I ho ing
project in th South Bronx, Jeffrey
Br dley went from being a neigh­
borhood bull y to capt in of the
youth ten nt patrol nd a, coun-
elor at camp for emotion lIy
di turbed children.
For the pa t 11 years, he h
worked te cher t ABC's
Merriest' Ca tIe School in New
York, helping to improve the
quality of life for children who are
homele s, handicapped and trick­
en with AIDS and their families.
"I would like to dedic te this
award to children," he told the
award gathering, litho e who, re
struggling to survive and tho e
who didn't make it. My goal is to
continue to try and tand between
these children and their pain."
As a candidate for a masters
degree in African-American and
J
1
I
ACC
TI G H
w rd
he aid: "Human right not n
event, it' proce S. Racism,
exlsm, homophobia and the ex­
ptoitatlcn of working people are
hum n right violation th t ta�e
place everyday. I hope that each of
u can le ve this event tod y and
rededicate ourselves to working
an behalf of human rights.
everywhere. "
The Reebok Human Rights
Award is given annually to young
people who, early in their live ,
nd ,against great odd, have sig­
nificantly raised awarenes of
human rights. Now in its third
ye r, the award is one. �f only
three established human rights
awards in the world, the only one
honoring young people, and the
only private sector initiatlve.
&)1& ON GOSPEL
-)
determine what her next mo� .
would be,- gospel or secular.
For now, it looks like WiIliaPls
will stick t� both, and is planning
to do another pop project, ,
While stating she's been both­
a pop and gospel music queen,
she believes the music should be
aecepted for what it is.
... Another key story was the
split from Detroit's own Com­
missioned of former lead singer
Keith Staten. Staten went solo
and now that the fate of his label
is unclear, so too is his career
direction.
Vane Bell though t a move
west to LA would energize her
career. It didn't.
As for TV personal! ty Bobby
Jones, his recording debut friz­
zled out before it got started, and
for all the Success of their
children, Mom and Pop Wlnan
truck out wi th gospe fans.
(However, the duo did manage to
SCore a Grammy nomination for ..
their effort.).
This week's scripture: "Lei
your manner of iife be worthy of
the gospel of Christ, "-- Philippiaos
1:27. '
Recappi ng the top religious
news stories of 1990, the
Catholic Church made plans for a " .
freed Black slave, Pierre Tous­
saint to become it's first Black
saint and the Supreme Court
declared it unconstitutional' for
public sclools to deny access to
religious clubs.
Fred K. Price" Lo Angeles­
based Cren haw Cbri tlall e'en­
ter was ranked among tbe
nation's 20 biggest Protestant
churches, with an average
Sunday attendance of 6,000,
and a sex scandal forced the
"BLA CK BO Y" IS considered resigna tion of Eugene Marino,
by many critics to be Wright's the nation's first Black Roman
most Significant work. The Book Catholic Archbishop ..
tells the story of Wright'� Vickl L 0:0 g, the woman who
childhood inthe Deep South. a was at the center of he Marino
tory of a, sensitive young boy , scandal was recently hospitalized
struggling to m ai nta in self- for a failed suicide attempt.
respect and confidence in a harsh Finally, calling crack and
and brutal environment. : . cocaine, "the new lynch mob" t
Despite his great literary sue- Black ministers discussed a new
cess, Wright still faced bigotry, cohesive strategy with which to
prejudice and social injustice. fight the drug epidemic in the
American socie ty wa not yet same manner that they fought
ready to accept him as an equal. the old KKK, while also calling
After World Wa; II" he and his on the Black church to once
wife accepted an invitation from again 'become a force in the
the government of Fra to Black community.
v isit , 'After six months, they ... As reported last w ek, the'
decided to make Francetheir per- . biggest success in' gospel music
manent home. In Paris, they in 1990, came most)y with
found a circle of writers who choirs: those Ii e the Mississippi
. shared his sense of alienation and Mass Choir and Rev. M.ilto.n
rootlessness. and a society that Brunson and his Thompson Com­
"treated Blacks as equals. munuy Choir, however this week
,�Much of Wri�llt's energy we'lltakealookatwhatwashap­
during his years in Paris was .peru the lives of some of the
devoted to writing nonfiction and artists.
to supporting national inde- No, story' was as well covered
'pendence movements in Africa. as the illness of Rev. Jame
_ Wright lived in Paris until he Cleveland. Today, Cleveland is
died in.1960. faring much better. Although the
Today, Wright is remembered _, tube in, his throat (from a
not only-as one of the most elo- trachaeotorny) remains,
quent spokesmen for the African- Ceveland is back at work mixing
American but also as one of the his next gospel music project.
most important literary talents of .. .. Frank Williams, lead of
contemporary America. the famed Jackson Southernaires,
organizer of the Mississippi
Mass Choir, and dire-ctor of .
Malacos gospel division, is also
back at work, and almost fully
recovered from his bout wi th
blastomycosis, a deadl disease
that could have killed him ...
The gospel world' mourned
the loss of both Rev. Bill Sawyer
and Sister Thea Bowman.' How­
ever, both left a rich legacy in
their music.
In the meantime, Rance
Allen, resurfaced- in gospel
stage production of "Mama
Don't" and is now ready to pick
up his music career. Allen, who
stopped recording to concentrate
full tlme on his ministry, says he
never really got gospel out of his
blood.
... Denefee William put her
career in a holding pattern to