Novels

Scholars tend to agree that the first published Black novelist was William Wells Brown whose book Clotel; or, The President's Daughter (1853) was based on the then-rumour (now verified fact) of Thomas Jefferson’s sexual relationship/ abuse of his slave Sally Hemmings, and the resulting offspring. Since then, Blacks across the two countries have a long, rich tradition of using the Western literary form as a vehicle to address the nuanced, insidious nature of the systemic and individual intersectional oppressions they endure. Black novels in the UK and US engage in constructing new subject positions, reimagining and challenging traditional images of Britain and America—including the transgression of national boundaries—depicting racism, and representing, asserting, and normalising Black cultural power.

Short Stories

The form of the short story, though developed in the 19th century, has roots in oral traditions that span many cultures. Though often treated with less esteem than the novel, the form should be appreciated for the unique challenge it presents to authors; short story writers must create aesthetically unified narratives than can be read start to finish within a single sitting. For Black people, storytelling through oral traditions was vital in preserving their history. Enslaved Africans in places like the US, Brazil, and the Caribbean continued their ancestral traditions and carried forth memories of cultures which chattel slavery would have otherwise erased through storytelling. This oral literature was later adapted into written form, and as John Edgar Wideman notes, storytelling “preserves and expresses an identity, a history, a self-evaluation apart from those destructive incarcerating images proliferated by mainline culture.” As such, the short story has long been a vehicle for Black writers to address a variety of social, political, and cultural issues. A genre marked by self-reflexivity and alterity, the short story challenges traditional publishing expectations and provides a space for exploring Black representation.

Poetry

Poetry was amongst the earliest Black creative writing in the western tradition. Enslaved poets like Phyllis Wheatley and Jupiter Hammond condensed eloquent arguments similar to Quobna Ottobah Cugoano's Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil and Wicked Traffic of the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species (1787) down to brief verse. Poetry was the logical first form for Black subjects who were denied the time and space to write; the form’s brevity and minimal required resources enabled Black writers to express complex emotions and ideas concisely without requiring a room of one’s own with a lock and key and enough money to support themselves. Furthermore, poetry would have easily extended into and from the oral traditions which were vital amongst the enslaved. Thus like the Black Blues tradition and the songs that were sung and lost, what remains of Black poetry is undoubtedly a fragment of what was created.

Drama

By the 19th century, Black playwrights were challenging the racial stereotypes present in white Western drama and minstrelsy. The Civil Rights Era brought further urgency to Black drama, with plays like Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun (1959) and Amiri Baraka’s Dutchman (1964) and The Slave (1964) highlighting racial injustice and Black empowerment. In the UK, the post-WWII period saw the arrival of the Windrush Generation, sparking the rise of Black British playwrights such as Mustapha Matura and Errol John. Throughout the 1980s and beyond, both countries saw increasing visibility for Black dramatists such as August Wilson, Kwame Kwei-Armah and Winsome Pinnock. Contemporary Black drama continues this long tradition of exploring racial oppression, identity politics, and the psychological costs of being Black in the US and UK.

Graphic Novels and Comic Books

Like other mediums, the history of Black representation in Graphic novels and comics is a difficult and complex one. Becoming regular figures in comics from the 1930s onwards, characters like Little Black Sambo perpetuated stereotypes of Black people as subservient, marginal buffoons. The first Black superhero to appear in a comic didn’t arrive until 1966 in the form of Black Panther, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby as part of their Marvel universe. The early 1990s saw the first, mainstream entrance of Black graphic artists into the world of comics with the creation of Milestone comics. Likewise, independent artists like Aaron McGruder began publishing in Black-operated magazines like The Source, eventually gaining in such popularity that his comic The Boondocks was picked up by the Universal Press syndicate. In the 21st century, Black creators have continued to push the boundary of graphic novels, created work that is historically-situated, explicitly political and savvy in their social and cultural critiques. Black graphic novels do more than entertain; they educated and provoke debate (see, for example, the work of the duo known as Black Kirby and their exhibitions).

Children's and YA Literature

Black children's literature has undergone significant changes over time, moving from limited and often negative or stereotypical portrayals to more positive, diverse, and authentic representations created by Black authors and illustrators. During the 19th century, children's fiction rarely gave a full picture. The narrative around abolition was often framed for a white child audience, suggesting that freedom was a "gift" from white people and focusing on the potential for Black rebellion. After abolition the imagery shifted towards grotesque caricature. Minstrelsy alongside imagery from books like William Nicholson’s The Pirate Twins (1929) led to the creation of figures like the golliwog and Little Black Sambo. In the 20th century, the Harlem Renaissance and Windrush era led to a demand for more equitable representation in adolescent literature. In the US between the 1980s-2000s, authors like Virginia Hamilton, Mildred D. Taylor, and Walter Dean Myers helped establish a literary canon. In the UK Errol Lloyd's Nini at Carnival (1978) provided positive images of Black children, and figures like Grace Hallworth brought folktales from their homelands. The early 21st century saw a resurgence through the #WeNeedDiverseBooks movement, with authors like Jason Reynolds, Angie Thomas, and Jacqueline Woodson gaining mainstream success while, in the UK Grassroots organisations like the Afro Caribbean Educational Resource (ACER) Centre worked to get Black stories to children and help them write their own.