Uncle Tom's Children (1938), Wright's first and best-known collection of short stories, explores the legacy of slavery and the psychology of oppression among blacks of the deep South.

Native Son (1940), Wright's most celebrated work, was the first novel by an African American to become a bestseller. It tells the controversial story of a young black man's anger and rebellion.

Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man (1912), offers an insightful portrait of African-American identity and race relations at the turn of the century. Its author, James Weldon Johnson, is considered an important precursor to Wright.

Invisible Man (1952), written by Ralph Ellison, was a best-selling novel and a National Book Award winner. This landmark novel offers a powerful account of a black man's struggle as he migrates to a northern city.

Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), a semiautobiographical classic by James Baldwin, tells of...