“If this country can't find its way down a Human path, if it can't inform conduct with a deep sense of life...then all of us, Black as well as White, are heading down the same drain.”
- Black Boy by Richard Wright
By Richard Wright
Adaptation and Direction: Wynn Handman
Performed by Tarantino Smith
Appropriate for: elementary / middle / high school, college, and community audiences
Available for: pre-recorded, remote, or live performances
This great American memoir is Wright’s powerful account of one young man's journey from innocence to experience as a black youth living in the Jim Crow South.
The Story
Black Boy is both the unashamed confession of a proud non-conformist, and a profound indictment—a poignant and disturbing record of social injustice and human suffering. Wright describes his youth in the South and his eventual move to Chicago, where he establishes a writing career and becomes involved with the Communist Party.
In Performance
Actor Tarantino Smith plays more than fifteen characters from Richard Wright's life, depicting racism in America in a way that is both honest and profound. This adaptation explores how Wright finds his voice and uses it to reach others, allowing audiences to relate to their own experiences and self-exploration.
Having premiered at the Kennedy Center, Black Boy was one of the first titles on LTL’s roster to tour to communities nationally and has been touring for more than 15 years.