Wallace Thurman's The Blacker the Berry was published in 1929, and is looked at today as one of the key novels in Harlem Renaissance Literature. At the time of its publication it was considered to be groundbreaking, because Thurman had the courage to look at colorism within the African American community where young women were judged on the blackness of their skin.
The story centers around a young woman called Emma Lou, whose skin is a darker black color. Despite being a woman of achievement - she graduates from college and then finds a job in New York City - she is looked down upon by black women of lighter color. During the novel, Emma Lou undertakes not only a geographical journey but a personal one as well, learning to come to terms with her skin hue, and embracing it as part of the person she has become, thereby learning how to be happy with herself the way that God made her.
This novel is one of the first to deal with the issue of colorism; much like early work by Maya Angelou, it tells of the way in which those with paler skin - otherwise considered "high yellow" - were valued more than those who were "blue black", even within their own families. The theme has also been explored by director Spike Lee in his movie about a fictional black college, "School Daze". This is one of the most influential of Thurman's novels and its influence has continued right up to the present day. Tupac Shakur's 1993 song "Keep Ya Head Up" referenced the book, and Kendrick Lamar's "The Blacker The Berry" is based on Thurman's novel. This is also interesting in that it shows that colorism is still an issue today.
Wallace Thurman was one of the most prolific writers of the Harlem Renaissance, dying at the young age of thirty two but leaving behind him far more books, essays and editorials than authors three times his age. In 1926 he took up the position of Editor of "The Messenger", a political, let-wing journal aimed at the black community. He was also the first person to publish the work of Langston Hughes. He was not at "The Messenger" for very long, later in 1926 becoming Editor of a white owned paper called "The World Tomorrow". In what was a very productive 1926, he founded the literary magazine "Fire!" the idea behind which was to promote the work of young African American writers and essayists. Contributors included Zora Neale Hurston and Gwendolyn B. Bennett. Thurman was not only influential in what he wrote and published himself, but also as a conduit for young black writers who had not yet achieved the exposure that Thurman had managed to find for himself.
