Genre: Claude McKay

CHRIS ZHANG

The Struggles of Claude McKay       Claude McKay was born on September 15, 1889 in Jamaica to a family who was educated and well off. When McKay was four he started to go to basic school at his church. At the age of seven McKay was sent to live with his brother, who Read more…

SOPHIA SU

Mr Watt´s Literary Services

Claude McKay wrote poetry, articles, and novels to depict the unfair life of a Negro in America. How did he discriminate in choosing friends? In one of his autobiographies, A Long Way from Home, McKay documented his emotions, personality, and experiences as he traveled from Harlem to London to Russia to France to Africa and back to America. Along the way, he met many influential people and made many dear friends. Some of these friends were revolutionists, most involved in advancing Communism. McKay fought the war against discrimination with these people and others. Figues such as James Weldon Johnson, Walter White, other leaders of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), black radicals of Harlem, and the Japanese Communist Sen Katayama. He was not racist when making friends, and he was aware that there were plenty of whites who supported his cause. Some white associates of McKay, such as Frank Harris and Max Eastman, were major figures of the time, but McKay also had personal companions. A prime example is Michael, McKay’s white friend who was also a thief and a gangster.