The Blacker the Berry

The thought-provoking and enlightening 1929 book ‘The Blacker the Berry’ was written by Harlem Renaissance author Wallace Thurman. The protagonist of the book is a young, dark-skinned black woman named Emma Lou Morgan. She was born and raised in the mostly white neighborhood of Boise, Idaho, by her single mother. Because her family is lighter-skinned than she is, she frequently feels alienated from them and thinks that having dark complexion would prevent her from getting married and leading a comfortable life. Emma enrolls at the University of Southern California in the hopes of finding acceptance from others and improving her own life.
After graduating from college, Emma Lou follows her heart to New York and the thriving black neighborhood of Harlem, but she still encounters discrimination and rejection in a place she had assumed would be more tolerant of her. It has received high praise from critics, is nonetheless an honest and provocative look at racism, prejudice, and acceptance of oneself.

Wallace Henry Thurman (1902–1934) was an American novelist active during the Harlem Renaissance. He also wrote essays, worked as an editor, and was a publisher of short-lived newspapers and literary journals. He is best known for his novel The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life (1929), which explores discrimination within the black community based on skin color, with lighter skin being more highly valued.