The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man: A Critical Discussion

Abstract

It was distinguished in many ways by a decline in the status of black people in both the South and the North. Even yet, the South`s submission to racism and the Jim Crow code of discrimination, which commenced in the 1890s, perpetuated unabatedly until well into the dejection years, despite some paramount achievements gained by the Negro community, concretely in the latter part of this decennium. E. DuBois and their adherents, at least until 1915.These years roughly correspond to James Weldon Johnson`s adult life. Johnson was an atypically gifted and adaptable individual; ergo his issues and solutions were indubitably not entirely average. However, in some ways, both his personal life and the type of leadership he gave show the struggles the Negro people faced as well as the astringent restrictions on the solutions that might be habituated to surmount those struggles. The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man is the work written by an African-American writer James Weldon Johnson in the early 20th century when racism was considered the norm in the New World. The novel is a vivid reflection of the idea of the struggle for equality and the attempts of the African-American population of the 20th century to achieve complete freedom and recognition in the society. The narration in the book is from the first person, and the main character is an African-American guy born in the state of Georgia after the Civil War. From the very beginning, the character tells readers that he is going to present a great mystery, saying: “I am divulging the great secret of my life” (Johnson 1).