- Registration is required for this event.
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Program Description
Event Details
Darryl Lorenzo Wellington recreates the life and times of preeminent Black novelist- Richard Wright. Richard Wright (1908-1960), author of the novel Native Son (1940) and the autobiography Black Boy (1945), pioneered an influential school of protest literature. He was the first Black writer to pen a bestseller that overtly criticized racism and white supremacy. Born into dire poverty and oppression in segregated Mississippi, his journey to international success was so unlikely that upon meeting him the most famous sociologist of the 1940's asked, "How in the hell did YOU happen?"
Following his success, Wright grew disillusioned with the United States and relocated to France in 1947. Before his death in 1960, at age 52, he coined the phrase "Black Power" in support of African anti-colonial revolutions. Darryl Lorenzo Wellington recreates Wright's final days, looking back on his career, while delivering a lecture to an American audience in Paris.
The show is approximately 40 minutes, followed by a ten to fifteen minute Q&A with Wellington in character as Richard Wright.
This program is made possible by the support from Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library. Visit santafelibraryfriends.org to learn more.
For accommodations such as translations, ASL interpreters, or disability needs, please email library@santafenm.gov or call 505-955-6786.