The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
James Weldon Johnson 1912
This fictional life story follows a mixed-race musician who chooses to live as a white man in America. A classroom moment reveals his Black ancestry to him, changing how he sees himself.
182 pages 3h 32m reading time
- A key early novel by a Black American writer, and a major forerunner of the Harlem Renaissance.
- Argues that race in America is often decided by how others see you, not by your talent or character, so one secret fact can change a whole life.
- Shows how fear of racist violence can push a person to hide who they are, and asks what that person gives up by doing so, including his music and his link to Black culture.
- Helped make "passing" (a Black person living as white) a central subject in American fiction, paving the way for later novels such as Nella Larsen's "Passing."
- Its look at a man who feels split between two worlds echoes W. E. B. Du Bois's idea of "double consciousness," and it has stayed a core text in the study of Black American literature.
Published without his name
It first came out anonymously, and many readers believed it was the true life story of a real man.
Written while a diplomat
Johnson wrote much of it while working for the United States government as a consul in Venezuela and Nicaragua.
A quiet first release
A small Boston publisher brought it out, and it drew little attention and few sales at first.
Reborn under his name
Years later it was reissued with Johnson named as the author, and it finally found a wide audience.