1941

Wright marries Ellen Poplar on 12 March. Native Son opens 24 March at St. James Theatre and runs until 15 June, after which it goes on tour through Northeast and Midwest cities. Wright begins a novel, "Black Hope," which he never completes. Wright expresses his opposition to the war first by signing onto an anti-war appeal by the League of American Writers, and second by publishing "Not My People's War." Both items appear in New Masses. He criticizes Roosevelt's racial policies in a 27 June speech to the NAACP, although communist party pressure forces him to lessen his critique. Wright gets involved in music: "Note on Jim Crow Blues" prefaces blues singer Josh White's Southern Exposure album and Paul Robeson, accompanied by the Count Basie orchestra, records Wright's blues song, "King Joe." Twelve Million Black Voices: A Folk History of the Negro in the United States published in October. Wright becomes interested in psychoanalysis as a result of his reading Fredric Wertham's Dark Legend. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Wright signs a petition, which appears in New Masses, supporting America's entry into the war.

1942

Wright's first daughter, Julia, is born 15 April. In the summer, the Wrights move to an artist group house near the Brooklyn Bridge. Among the residents are George Davis and Carson McCullers. Wright is not drafted because he is his family's sole support, but he unsuccessfully tries to secure a special commission in the psychological warfare or propoganda services of the army. He publishes "The Man Who Lived Underground" in Accent and "What You Don't Know Won't Hurt You" in Harper's Magazine. He breaks quietly with the Communist party.

1943

Wright begins American Hunger. The FBI begins interviewing Wright's associates and neighbors, presumably to determine if 12 Million Black Voices constitutes sedition, but while that inquiry concludes during 1943, the FBI's investigations continue until Wright's death. Wrights move to Brooklyn Heights. Wright finishes American Hunger in December.

1944

Wright works on several projects which never materialize: "Melody Limited," a film scenario about black singers during Reconstruction; "The Negro Speaks," a book, and "American Pages," a journal, both of which Wright plans in conjunction with C.L.R. James, a historian and Trotskyist; and, a series of radio programs on the life of a black family. Dorothy Norman, New York Post editorial writer and editor of Twice a Year, introduces Wright to existentialist literature and philosophy. Book-of-the-Month Club tells Harper that it only wants the first section of AmericanHunger, which describes Wright's southern experience. Wright agrees to this demand and titles the new volume Black Boy. The second section is not published until 1977 (as American Hunger). "I Tried to Be a Communist" appears in the Atlantic Monthly, causing New Masses and Daily Worker to denounce and disown Wright.

1945

The Wrights move to Greenwich Village, but they have to use their lawyer as a middle-man in order to circumvent racial discrimination. Harper publishes Black Boy: A Record of Childhood and Youth in March. It remains on the bestseller list from 29 April until 6 June. Interestingly, Theodore Bilbo, a senator from Mississippi, labels the book obscene. Wrights vacation near Quebec City, and Wright lectures at the Bread Loaf writers' school. Wright helps James Baldwin win a fellowship. Wright begins a four month lecture tour, but withdraws from exhaustion after six weeks.