Chesnutt, Charles W.
1858-1932 · Contribution: 1887-1905
Fiction and essays confronting race, identity, and 'the color line' in the post-Civil War South; short-story collections 'The Conjure Woman' (1899) and 'The Wife of His Youth' (1899) and novels including 'The Marrow of Tradition' (1901)
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
Often called the first major African American novelist; his 'The Goophered Grapevine' (1887) was the first work by a Black author published in The Atlantic Monthly. Awarded the NAACP Spingarn Medal (1928).
Life & background
African-American author, essayist, and lawyer born June 20, 1858 in Cleveland, OH, to free Black parents; principal of the State Colored Normal School (now Fayetteville State University) before turning to law and literature. Died Nov 15, 1932.
Sources
- Encyclopædia Britannica; Library of America; African American Registry
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