Serenity's African American Lit Blog

     I thought the whole chapter in Liberty Paints was really interesting and a very well crafted metaphor. The fact that Brockway created the “If it’s Optic White, It’s the Right White” slogan for the company and says “Our white is so white you can paint a chunka coal and you’d have to crack it open with a sledge hammer to prove it wasn’t white clear through” while being a black person creates a really powerful dynamic. Brockway, who believes wholeheartedly in this paint company that has made its name by covering up blackness with white paint, has been moved to the basement of the company away from anybody else. He says it’s because nobody can watch the paint tanks like him, but I have to question if the “Old Man” really believes that or just tells him that to keep him content. It was also interesting reading his thoughts on the union and how the union workers were making life miserable for everyone else, because in reality it’s not the union workers' fault, it’s the com...

       I thought the depictions of the Daltons and the communist party were very interesting. Knowing that Wright himself was a communist changes how I view the depiction of communism. Through Wright’s portrayal of Jan and Mary, he made quite the commentary on wealthy white communists. Jan and Mary seemed so oblivious and at times ignorant when talking to Bigger. They compared the treatment of African Americans to the treatment of communists, as if communists weren’t choosing that life. While “communism” was quite the buzz word at the time (I would say it still is) and there were real repercussions for being a part of the communist party, it was not anything like racism. They also claimed to be interested in helping African Americans through communism, but that is impossible when you have such little understanding of their problems. I think Wright must have been saying that while communism was the solution, the people leading the charge were exclusive and ignorant to...