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. Many influences give the idea onto the character, that in order to be successful in life you must be white. Since the ex-colored man was well educated unlike most, of the black culture it was easy for him to adapt to the whit culture. In the book the ex-colored man experiences the good and the bad of both races and perceives

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