Albert Murray was a bard of America’s racial complexity
In his essays and criticism, he insisted that black and white Americans shared a common culture
THE ORIGINAL sins of American race relations are as stark as they were horrific. For over two centuries, black people were enslaved. For decades afterwards they endured legal and de facto segregation, and, in the South—where Albert Murray grew up—forced labour and peonage imposed through convict-leasing and sharecropping. These brute facts bequeathed pain and injustice. But they also left a complex cultural legacy. Murray probed that complexity as deeply, seriously and joyously as any American writer.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Twentieth-century fox”
From the August 22nd 2020 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Culture
Want to spend time with a different American president?
Five presidential biographies to distract you from the news
Los Angeles has lost some of its trailblazing architecture
How will it rebuild?
What firms are for
The framework for thinking about business and capitalism is hopelessly outdated, argues a new book
Greg Gutfeld, America’s most popular late-night host, rules the airwaves
The left gave him his perch
Astrology is booming, thanks to technology and younger enthusiasts
Gen Z is full of stargazing users
Why matcha, made from green tea, is the drink of the moment
Is it really a healthy alternative to coffee? Not the way Gen Z orders it