Richard Wright's memoir Black Boy (American Hunger): A Record of Childhood and Youth chronicles the author's personal experience growing up as an African-American man in the Jim Crow South, as well as his early years in the North in the late 1920s. Although a personal account of one man's life during this period, the memoir Wright also shed light on the broader role of black men in American society in the early 20th century, particularly regarding race, gender, and class relations. It is no coincidence that insight into these relationships can be gleaned from the very title of Wright's memoir. I argue that Wright chose the provocative title Black Boy (American Hunger): A Record of Childhood and Youth in order to both use shock value and explicitly call attention to the characteristics that defined him throughout his life. his life, with or without his consent. In choosing this particular title, Wright was stating that at the turn of the 20th century, being a member of the African American race greatly determined a person's gender and class role in American society, as well as having a simultaneous impact on their daily living conditions and on their living conditions. future aspirations. To demonstrate how Wright's choice of title addresses these questions, I will analyze in turn the title's implications regarding race, gender, and class for black American men in the early 1900s. First, in terms of race relations, the use of the term "Black Boy" in the memoir's title speaks to the fact that for Wright, as well as many other African Americans of that era, being black literally defined him above all else. Primarily during his years in the Jim Crow South, Wright's skin color was the single most determining factor in every aspect of his life...... middle of paper ......tor.org/stable /25163654. Lynch, Hollis R. (2007). “Americans of African Descent,” [Online]. http://history-world.org/black_americans.htm. [February 2014]. Maloney, Thomas. (2002). “African Americans in the 20th century”, [Online]. http://eh.net/encyclopedia/african-americans-in-the-twentieth-century/. [February 2014].Summers, Martin. “Manhood Rights in the Era of Jim Crow: Evaluating Claims of the “End of Men” in the Context of African American History,” Boston University Law Review, vol. 93, no. 3 (May 2013): 745-767. https://login.libproxy.uregina.ca:8443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com. libproxy.uregina.ca:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=89713610&site=ehost-live. Wright, Richard. Black Boy (American Hunger): a childhood and youth record. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, [orig. publication. 1944] 2005.