Washed Away by Jim Crow: Systemic Racism in "Down By the Riverside"
Richard Wright’s “Down By the Riverside,” published about 16 years before the civil rights movement, is a naturalist novel that explores the crushing, inescapable weight of the environmental and systematic racism present in the Jim Crow south. Throughout this short story, Richard Wright primarily voices his opinions through depicting the harsh nature of segregation rather than blatantly calling it out and decrying it. By immersing the reader in the inescapable injustice that Mann faces, Wright is able to create a story that is a testament to why a movement like the civil rights movement is necessary. In this blog, we’ll explore the various scenes and details that Wright includes in order to create this deep, complex story that acts very much like propaganda calling for a movement of change. The first passage that I want to highlight is the passage when Mann first arrives at the hill. What struck me about this passage was how hostile the white people were to Mann, despite the hill bei...