Black Boy

7 Pages 1763 Words

verty-stricken area, and one day, Richard witnesses a prostitute and a man in the room upstairs. They move again, and soon after, Aunt Maggie marries Professor Matthew, a mysterious black man who only comes to visit Maggie in secrecy. When Matthews kills a white woman, he and Maggie flee North to avoid trouble. Trying to earn money for food with only one steady income, Richard decides to sell his dog; Betsy; when a white woman agrees to pay a dollar for the dog, Richard refuses because he does not want to sell his dog to a white person. Richard is enrolled in school, where he is behind in his studies and too scared to participate.
Now older, Richard associates with a gang of other black boys with whom he converses. The gang also participates in fights against white boys, which sometimes turn into bloody battles. The family moves in and out of various houses. His mother's health begins to deteriorate, until one day, a stroke paralyzes her. Richard and his brother are sent to live with different relatives: Leon goes with Aunt Maggie to the North while...