African-American Literature is a body of literature written in the United States by

African writers. This literature began with the works of writers in the late 18th
century such as Philis Wheatley (Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral).
Before the top of literary work on slavery, this literature was dominated by
autobiographical spiritual works. They write their stories as slave narratives which tell
people during slavery trying to escape and how they seek their own freedom. They
were also known as the 1920s Harlem Renaissance where they came to carry literary
and artistic works especially from Jamaica with the Caribbean islands. Therefore, they
have been recognized and respected, including Toni Morrison (Beloved, the story of
an African-American slave, Margaret Garner, who escaped slavery in Kentucky late
January 1856 by fleeing to Ohio, a free state) who won the Nobel Prize. Among the
themes and issues they discussed, African people wrote about society in America,
culture, racism, slavery and social issues. Their works tend to combine oral forms
such as spiritual, sermons, gospel music, blues, and rap.

At the turn of the 20th century, non-fiction works such as W. E. B. Du Bois and
Booker T. Washington debated how to deal with racism in the United States. During
the Civil rights movement (1954-1968), Richard Wright and Gwendolyn Brooks
wrote about the racism of segregation and nationalism of black people. Today,
African-American works have been admitted as an integral part of American literature
such as Alex Haley's "Roots: The Saga of an American Family," Alice Walker's "The
Color Purple," which won the Pulitzer award and Tony Morrison's "Beloved" achieve
best-selling and award-winning.

 Early African-American literature

African-American history predates the United States as their first country but
both have literary works with the same roots. Lucy Terry's "Bars Fight" is known as
one of the oldest African-American literary works ever. He wrote the ballad in 1746
after an Indian attack in Deerfield, Massachusetts. She was enslaved in Deerfield
during the attack when many people were killed by more than 100 and mostly women
and children who were taken on to Montreal by forced. Some of them tried to redeem
their families while others were adopted by the Mohawk family (an eastern tribe from
Haudenosaunee or the Confederation Iroquois). Some girls joined French religious
groups. The work was first published in 1854, with additional stanzas, at The
Springfield Republican and the second time published in 1855 in Josiah Holland
History of Western Massachusetts.

Other writers include Jupiter Hammon (1711-1806), a domestic slave in Queens,

New York. He first published a poem "An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ with
Penitential Cries" as early as 1761 in the form of leaflets, considered one of the first
black writers in America. In 1778, he wrote an ode to Philis Wheatley where he
discussed humanity along with their human experiences and general bonds. In 1786,
Hammon wrote his latest work "Address to the Negroes of the State of New York."
Writing at the age of 76 after a lifetime in slavery, he said: "If we have to go to
heaven, there will be no people who denounce us for being part of the black or being
slaves." He also promoted gradual emancipation as a way to end slavery. Hammon
was alleged to have been a slave on Long Island until his death. In the 19th century,
his speech was later reprinted by several abolitionist groups (a person who favors the
abolition of a practice or institution, especially capital punishment or formerly
slavery).

William Wells Brown (1814-84) and Victor Séjour (1817-74) wrote the earliest
works of fiction by African-American writers. Séjour was born free in New Orleans
and moved to France at the age of 19. There, he published a short story "The Mualtto"
in 1837. Known as one of the fictional works of African-American literature, although
written in French and published in a French journal, his work had little influence on
American literature. Séjour never returned to the African-American theme in his later
works.

On the other hand, Brown is an abolitionist, lecturer, novelist, playwright, and

best-known historian in the United States. Born into slavery in Kentucky, Brown
worked on a ship in St. Louis, Missouri, when he tried to escape to Ohio. He began
working as an abolitionist, heading to Buffalo, New York, and then Boston,
Massachusetts. He is a prolific writer, starting his escape story towards freedom and
experience under slavery. Brown wrote "The President's Daughter" in 1853 and is
considered the first novel by African-American. He discussed how President Thomas
Jefferson had become the father of a mixed race princess along with his slave, Sally
Hemings. This novel was first published in the UK where Brown lived there for
several years.

Frank J. Webbs' "The Garies and Their Friends" is a novel in 1857 published in
England with an introduction by Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry Lord Brougham.
This work is considered to be the first fictional African-American work to describe
passing, a mixed race that prefer identifies white people than black. This work also
discusses racism in the north in the context of brutal racial riots which are very similar
to racial riots in Philadelphia (1834 - 1835).

The first African-American novel published in the United States is Harriet

Wilson's "Our Nig" which discusses the struggle of blacks who want to live freely in
the north. Our Nig was rediscovered and republished by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., in the
early 1980s. He considered this work as fiction and argued that this was the first novel
published by an African-American. The similarity between Wilson's narrative and her
life has been found, causing some scholars to argue that the work should be
considered autobiographical. Despite this disagreement, Our Nig is a literary work
that talks about the struggle of life of free blacks in the north being a compulsory
servant. Our Nig is a counter-narrative in the form of sentimental and novel novels
that are more centered in the 19th century.

Other African-American works that have been found include The Bondwoman's
Narration, written by Hannah Crafts between 1853 and 1860. She is one of the
fugitive slaves in Murfreesboro, North Carolina. This novel was published in 2002
with a preface by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. This work was never published as long as
Hannah was alive because some people suggested that she didn't enter the publishing
world. This novel uses a style between slave narratives and sentimental novels. In her
novel, she can be said to go beyond the genre. There is some evidence that she read in
his master's library and was influenced by the works. The narrative is then considered
similar to Charles Dickens's writing style. Many critics still try to decipher the literary
meaning and define a constituency for the study of early African-American literature.
 Slave narratives
An African-American literary genre that developed in the mid-19th century was a
slave narrative, a story written by fugitive slaves about their lives in the south and
after fleeing in search of freedom. They want to describe the cruelty of life under
slavery and the humanity lost from slaves as human beings. At the time, the
controversy over slavery led to the literature on both sides of the issues with novels
such as Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in 1852, introducing an
abolitionist view of the cruelty of slavery. The southern white writer wrote "Anti-
Tom" in response to claiming to actually portray slavery and cruelty suffered more by
free labor in the north such as Mary Henderson Eastman's "Aunt Phillis's Cabin" in
1852 and William Gilmore Simms '"The Sword and the Distaff" in 1853. A work
written to inspire abolitionist struggles is the most famous because they tend to have
strong autobiographical motives. Many of them are now recognized as writers of all
works in the 19th century by African-Americans with the two best known being
Frederick Douglass 'autobiography and Harriet Jacobs' "Incidents in the Life of a
Slave Girl" in 1861.

 Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) first became public attention in the north as an
orator for abolition and as the author of the story of a moving slave. He eventually
became the most prominent African-American writer in his mass and was one of the
most influential lecturers and teachers in American history. His most famous work
was his autobiography, "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" as an American
slave published in 1845. At that time, some critics denied the book because he did not
believe that a black man could write a work that was so eloquent . Even so, the book
is one of the best-selling books. He then revised and expanded his autobiography
which was re-published under the title "My Bondage and My Freedom" in 1855. In
addition to serving in a number of political posts throughout his life, he wrote many
articles and essays that were so influential.

 Spiritual narratives
The beginning of the African-American spiritual autobiography was published in
the late 18th century early 19th century. The authors include James Gronniosaw, John
Marrant, and George White. William L. Andrews argues that this initial narrative
gives a twin theme of the Afro-American myths, knowledge, and freedom are one of
their earliest narrative forms. This spiritual narrative is an important precursor of slave
stories which flourished in the 19th century literary world which was later often
abandoned in the study of African-American literature because some scholars regard
it as a historical or sociological document although it is important to understand
African-American literature as a whole.

African-American women who wrote spiritual narratives had to negotiate the

precarious positions of being black and women in early America. The study of these
women and their spiritual narratives are significant to the understanding of African-
American life in the Antebellum North because they offer both historical context and
literary tropes. Women who wrote these narratives had a clear knowledge of literary
genres and biblical narratives. This contributed to advancing their message about
African-American women’s agency and countered the dominant racist and sexist
discourse of early American society.

Zilpha Elaw was a preacher for five years in England without the support of a
denomination. She published "Memoirs of the Life," "Religious Experience,"
"Ministerial Travel" and "Labours of Mrs. Zilpha Elaw," "an American Female of
Colour" in 1846, while still living in England. Her narrative was meant to be an
account of her spiritual experience. Yet some critics argue that her work was also
meant to be a literary contribution. Elaw aligns herself in a literary tradition of
respectable women of her time who were trying to combat the immoral literature of
the time.

Maria W. Stewart published a collection of her religious writings with an

autobiographical experience attached in 1879. The publication was called
"Meditations from the Pen of Mrs. Maria W. Stewart." She also had two works
published in 1831 and 1832 titled "Religion and the Pure Principles of Morality" and
"Meditations." Maria Stewart was known for her public speeches in which she talked
about the role of black women and race relations. Her works were praised by
Alexander Crummell and William Lloyd Garrison. Stewart's works have been argued
to be a refashioning of the jeremiad tradition and focus on the specific plight of
African Americans in America during the period.

Jarena Lee published two religious autobiographical narratives: "The Life and
Religious Experience of Jarena Lee" and "Religious Experience and Journal of Mrs.
Jarena Lee." These two narratives were published in 1836 and 1849 respectively. Both
works spoke about Lee's life as a preacher for the African Methodist Church. But her
narratives were not endorsed by the Methodists because a woman preaching was
contrary to their church doctrine. Some critics argue that Lee's contribution to
African-American literature lies in her disobedience to the patriarchal church system
and her assertion of women's rights within the Methodist Church.

Nancy Prince publishing a pamphlet entitled "The West Indies: Being a

Description of the Islands, Progress of Christianity, Education, and Liberty Among the
Colored Population Generally." Later, in 1850, she published "A Narrative of the Life
and Travels of Mrs. Nancy Prince." These publications were both spiritual narratives
and travel narratives. Similar to Jarena Lee, Prince adhered to the standards of the
Christian religion by framing her unique travel narrative from a Christian perspective.
Yet, her narrative poses a counter-narrative to the 19th century's idea of a demure
woman who had no voice in society and little knowledge of the world.

Sojourner Truth (1797 - 1883) was a leading advocate in both the abolitionist and
feminist movements in the 19th century. Truth played a significant role during the
Civil War. She worked tirelessly on several civil rights fronts; she recruited black
troops in Michigan, helped with relief efforts for freedmen and women escaping from
the South, led a successful effort to desegregate the streetcars in Washington, D.C.,
and she counseled President Abraham Lincoln. Truth never learned to read or write
but in 1850, she worked with Olive Gilbert, a sympathetic white woman, to write the
Narrative of Sojourner Truth. This narrative was a contribution to both the slave
narrative and female spiritual narratives.

 Post-slavery era
After the end of slavery and the American Civil War, a number of African-
American authors wrote nonfiction works about the condition of African Americans in
the United States. Many African-American women wrote about the principles of
behavior of life during the period. African-American newspapers were a popular
venue for essays, poetry, and fiction as well as journalism, with newspaper writers
like Jennie Carter (1830 - 1881) developing a large following.

Elizabeth Keckley (1818 - 1907) was a former slave who managed to establish a
successful career as a dressmaker who catered to the Washington political elite after
obtaining her freedom. However, soon after publishing "Behind the Scenes; or, Thirty
Years as a Slave and Four Years in the White House," she lost her job and found
herself reduced to doing odd jobs. Although she acknowledged the cruelties of her
enslavement and her resentment towards it, Keckley chose to focus her narrative on
the incidents that "molded her character", and on how she proved herself "worth her
salt." "Behind the Scenes" details Keckley's life in slavery, her work for Mary Todd
Lincoln and her efforts to obtain her freedom. Keckley was also deeply committed to
programs of racial improvement and protection and helped found the Home for
Destitute Women and Children in Washington, D.C., as a result. In addition to this,
Keckley taught at Wilberforce University in Ohio.

Josephine Brown (1839), the youngest child of abolitionist and author William
Wells Brown, wrote a biography of her father, "Biography of an American Bondman,
By His Daughter." Brown wrote the first ten chapters of the narrative while studying
in France, as a means of satisfying her classmates' curiosity about her father. After
returning to America, she discovered that the narrative of her father’s life, written by
him, and published a few years before, was out of print and thus produced the rest of
the chapters that constitute "Biography of an American Bondman." Brown was a
qualified teacher but she was also extremely active as an advocate against slavery.

Paul Laurence Dunbar, who often wrote in the rural, black dialect of the day, was
the first African-American poet to gain national prominence. His first book of poetry,
Oak and Ivy, was published in 1893. Much of Dunbar's work, such as "When Malindy
Sings" (1906), which includes photographs taken by the Hampton Institute Camera
Club, and "Joggin' Erlong" (1906) provide revealing glimpses into the lives of rural
African Americans of the day. Though Dunbar died young, he was a prolific poet,
essayist, novelist (among them "The Uncalled," 1898 and "The Fanatics," 1901) and
short story writer.

Frances E. W. Harper (1825 - 1911) wrote four novels, several volumes of poetry,
and numerous stories, poems, essays, and letters. In 1853, publication of Harper’s
"Eliza Harris," which was one of many responses to Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle
Tom’s Cabin," brought her national attention. Harper was hired by the Maine Anti-
Slavery Society and in the first six weeks, she managed to travel to twenty cities,
giving at least thirty-one lectures. Her book Poems on Miscellaneous Subjects, a
collection of poems and essays prefaced by William Lloyd Garrison, was published in
1854 and sold more than 10,000 copies within three years. Harper was often
characterized as "a noble Christian woman" and "one of the most scholarly and well-
read women of her day," but she was also known as a strong advocate against slavery
and the post-Civil War repressive measures against blacks.

 Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance from 1920 to 1940 was a flowering of African-
American literature and art. Based in the African-American community of Harlem in
New York City, it was part of a larger flowering of social thought and culture.
Numerous Black artists, musicians, and others produced classic works in fields from
jazz to theater; the renaissance is perhaps best known for the literature that came out
of it.

Among the most renowned writers of the renaissance is poet Langston Hughes,
whose first work was published in The Brownies' Book in 1921. He first received
attention in the 1922 publication "The Book of American Negro Poetry." Edited by
James Weldon Johnson, this anthology featured the work of the period's most talented
poets, including Claude McKay, who also published three novels, "Home to Harlem,"
"Banjo and Banana Bottom," a nonfiction book, "Harlem: Negro Metropolis" and a
collection of short stories. In 1926, Hughes published a collection of poetry, "The
Weary Blues," and in 1930 a novel, "Not Without Laughter." Perhaps his most famous
poem is "The Negro Speaks of Rivers", which he wrote as a young teen. His single,
most recognized character is Jesse B. Simple, a plainspoken, pragmatic Harlemite
whose comedic observations appeared in Hughes's columns for the Chicago Defender
and the New York Post. "Simple Speaks His Mind" (1950) is perhaps the best-known
collection of Simple stories published in book form. Until his death in 1967, Hughes
published nine volumes of poetry, eight books of short stories, two novels and a
number of plays, children's books, and translations.

Another notable writer of the renaissance is novelist Zora Neale Hurston, author
of the classic novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God" (1937). Although Hurston wrote
14 books that ranged from anthropology to short stories to novel-length fiction, her
writings fell into obscurity for decades. Her work was rediscovered in the 1970s
through a 1975 article by Alice Walker, "In Search of Zora Neale Hurston", published
in Ms. magazine. Walker found in Hurston a role model for all female African-
American writers.

The Harlem Renaissance marked a turning point for African-American literature.

Prior to this time, books by African Americans were primarily read by other Black
people. With the renaissance, though, African-American literature, as well as black
fine art and performance art, began to be absorbed into mainstream American culture.

 Civil Rights Movement era

A large migration of African-Americans began during World War I, hitting its
high point during World War II. During this Great Migration, Black people left the
racism and lack of opportunities in the American South and settled in northern cities
such as Chicago, where they found work in factories and other sectors of the
economy. This migration produced a new sense of independence in the Black
community and contributed to the vibrant Black urban culture seen during the Harlem
Renaissance. The migration also empowered the growing Civil Rights Movement,
which made a powerful impression on Black writers during the 1940s, '50s, and '60s.
Just as Black activists were pushing to end segregation and racism and create a new
sense of Black nationalism, so too were Black authors attempting to address these
issues with their writings.

One of the first writers to do so was James Baldwin, whose work addressed issues
of race and sexuality. Baldwin, who is best known for his novel "Go Tell It on the
Mountain," wrote deeply personal stories and essays while examining what it was like
to be both Black and homosexual at a time when neither of these identities was
accepted by American culture. In all, Baldwin wrote nearly 20 books, including such
classics as "Another Country" and "The Fire Next Time." Baldwin's idol and friend
were author Richard Wright, whom Baldwin called "the greatest Black writer in the
world for me". Wright is best known for his novel "Native Son" (1940), which tells
the story of Bigger Thomas, a Black man struggling for acceptance in Chicago.
Baldwin was so impressed by the novel that he titled a collection of his own essays
Notes of a Native Son, in reference to Wright's novel. However, their friendship fell
apart due to one of the book's essays, "Everybody's Protest Novel," which criticized
Native Son for lacking credible characters and psychological complexity. Among
Wright's other books are the autobiographical novel "Black Boy" (1945), "The
Outsider" (1953), and "White Man, Listen!" (1957).

The Civil Rights time period also saw the rise of female Black poets, most
notably Gwendolyn Brooks, who became the first African American to win the
Pulitzer Prize when it was awarded for her 1949 book of poetry, "Annie Allen." Along
with Brooks, other female poets who became well known during the 1950s and '60s
are Nikki Giovanni and Sonia Sanchez.

During this time, a number of playwrights also came to national attention, notably
Lorraine Hansberry, whose play "A Raisin in the Sun" focuses on a poor Black family
living in Chicago. The play won the 1959 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award.
Another playwright who gained attention was Amiri Baraka, who wrote controversial
off-Broadway plays. In more recent years, Baraka became known for his poetry and
music criticism.

It is also worth noting that a number of important essays and books about human
rights were written by the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. One of the leading
examples of these is Martin Luther King, Jr's "Letter from Birmingham Jail".

 Recent history
Beginning in the 1970s, African-American literature reached the mainstream as
books by Black writers continually achieved best-selling and award-winning status.
This was also the time when the work of African-American writers began to be
accepted by academia as a legitimate genre of American literature. As part of the
larger Black Arts Movement, which was inspired by the Civil Rights and Black Power
Movements, African-American literature began to be defined and analyzed. A number
of scholars and writers are generally credited with helping to promote and define
African-American literature as a genre during this time period, including fiction
writers Toni Morrison and Alice Walker and poet James Emanuel.

James Emanuel took a major step toward defining African-American literature

when he edited (with Theodore Gross) "Dark Symphony: Negro Literature in
America" (1968), a collection of black writings released by a major publisher. This
anthology, and Emanuel's work as an educator at the City College of New York
(where he is credited with introducing the study of African-American poetry), heavily
influenced the birth of the genre. Other influential African-American anthologies of
this time included "Black Fire: An Anthology of Afro-American Writing," edited by
LeRoi Jones (now known as Amiri Baraka) and Larry Neal in 1968; "The Negro
Caravan," co-edited by Sterling Brown, Arthur P. Davis and Ulysses Lee in 1969;
"and We Speak As Liberators: Young Black Poets - An Anthology," edited by Oorde
Coombs and published in 1970.

Toni Morrison, meanwhile, helped promote Black literature and authors when she
worked as an editor for Random House in the 1960s and '70s, where she edited books
by such authors as Toni Cade Bambara and Gayl Jones. Morrison herself would later
emerge as one of the most important African-American writers of the 20th century.
Her first novel, "The Bluest Eye," was published in 1970. Among her most famous
novels is "Beloved," which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988. This story
describes a slave who found freedom but killed her infant daughter to save her from a
life of slavery. Another important novel is "Song of Solomon," a tale about
materialism, unrequited love, and brotherhood. Morrison is the first African American
to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

In the 1970s novelist and poet, Alice Walker wrote a famous essay that brought
Zora Neale Hurston and her classic novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God" back to
the attention of the literary world. In 1982, Walker won both the Pulitzer Prize and the
American Book Award for her novel "The Color Purple." An epistolary novel (a book
written in the form of letters), "The Color Purple" tells the story of Celie, a young
woman who is sexually abused by her stepfather and then is forced to marry a man
who physically abuses her. The novel was later made into a film by Steven Spielberg.

Other important writers in recent years include literary fiction writers Gayl Jones,
Rasheed Clark, Ishmael Reed, Jamaica Kincaid, Randall Kenan, and John Edgar
Wideman. African-American poets have also garnered attention. Maya Angelou read a
poem at Bill Clinton's inauguration, Rita Dove won a Pulitzer Prize and served as
Poet Laureate of the United States from 1993 to 1995, and Cyrus Cassells's Soul
Make a Path through Shouting was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1994. Cassells is
a recipient of the William Carlos Williams Award. Natasha Trethewey won the 2007
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry with her book Native Guard. Lesser-known poets such as
Thylias Moss also have been praised for their innovative work. Notable black
playwrights include Ntozake Shange, who wrote "For Colored Girls Who Have
Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf;" Ed Bullins; Suzan-Lori Parks; and
the prolific August Wilson, who won two Pulitzer Prizes for his plays. Most recently,
Edward P. Jones won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for "Fiction for The Known World"
(2003), his novel about a black slaveholder in the antebellum South.
 Young African-American novelists include David Anthony Durham, Karen E.
Quinones Miller, Tayari Jones, Kalisha Buckhanon, Mat Johnson, ZZ Packer, and
Colson Whitehead. African-American literature has also crossed over to genre fiction.
A pioneer in this area is Chester Himes, who in the 1950s and '60s wrote a series of
pulp fiction detective novels featuring "Coffin" Ed Johnson and "Gravedigger" Jones,
two New York City police detectives. Himes paved the way for the later crime novels
of Walter Mosley and Hugh Holton. African Americans are also represented in the
genres of science fiction, fantasy and horror, with Samuel R. Delany, Octavia E.
Butler, Steven Barnes, Tananarive Due, Robert Fleming, Brandon Massey, Charles R.
Saunders, John Ridley, John M. Faucette, Sheree Thomas, and Nalo Hopkinson being
just a few of the well-known authors.

Finally, African-American literature has gained added attention through the work
of talk-show host Oprah Winfrey, who repeatedly has leveraged her fame to promote
literature through the medium of her "Oprah's Book Club." At times, she has brought
African-American writers a far broader audience than they otherwise might have
received.