Autobiography of an Ex Colored Black man
Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Black Man In Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Black Man the author James Weldon Johnson tells the story of a black man passing as a white man. That is the major theme in this novel; “passing” in the early 1900’s in order to escape the horrors of racism towards the black race to succeed in white America. The crisis throughout the novel centers on the ex-colored man discovering his identity, and this uncertainty is the central idea of the novel. From the book, “I finally made up my mind I would neither disclaim the black race nor claim the white race; but that I would change my name raise a moustache, and let the world take me for what it would;…”(Chapter 10). By saying this, the ex-colored man can live his life free of fear from the white man and lead a better life than a black would. There are many causes that lead to his reasons for passing as a white man.