An African American author who wrote predominantly about white characters, Willard Motley (1909-1965) gained recognition with the 1947 release of his critically acclaimed first novel Knock Down Any Door. His realistic, detailed depictions of life in slums, prisons, and reform schools earned him comparisons to other naturalist authors such as Theodore Dreiser. Despite the fact that two of his novels were made into films, Motley never surpassed the success of his first novel.

Born into a middle-class, Roman Catholic, African American family in 1909 (some sources cite the year of his birth as 1912), Motley enjoyed some early advantages. His family lived in Englewood, a white neighborhood on the south side of Chicago. Living as the only black family in an all white neighborhood meant Motley's family was not considered a threat, and unlike most blacks of that time Motley had few hostile interactions with whites. He grew up believing his...