September 4, 1908

Author Richard Wright was born on a farm in Roxie, Mississippi. After Wright’s father left the family, Wright and his mother and brother eventually moved to Elaine (Phillips County). Wright wrote fiction and nonfiction. His many works, influenced by the injustices he faced as an African American, protested racial divides in America. His most famous work, the autobiographical Black Boy, was a controversial bestseller that opened the eyes of the nation to the evils of racism.