Richard Wright Best Quotes

Wright may not be Martin Luther King jr, but his dedication to emancipating his fellow black countrymen and women through his writing is well recorded in history and appreciated by not only the elites of his time but also now the global world. His input helped change the American racial narrative of the mid-20th century. Richard Wright’s opinions – through his work – have made our society a better place, which is why this article has beamed the light on some of his best – even controversial – quotes of all time. 

Richard Wright’s Quote on Social Responsibility

Throughout the duration of his career, Richard Wright consistently wrote about social issues that he perceived to have needed redress – with racism and black oppression being his major focus as such issues were prevalent during his time. One obvious fact about Wright was that he was stubborn, informed, and would stand up and speak against what wasn’t right – which is what separated him from his learned contemporaries. 

Beyond his endless tirades about racism and Black maltreatment, Wright was one who cared deeply about social responsibility and believed that every person had to live up to it for society to see a significant progressive transformation. The author nailed his ideals on this subject with a number of quotes which have been included here.

Never Be Afraid To Stand for Truth 

If you possess enough courage to speak out what you are, you will find you are not alone.

One of many important pieces of wisdom coming from the mind of Wright, this quote quite simply summarizes Wright’s personality and approaches to his beliefs. Wright didn’t just show up in Harlem with all the hype and a larger-than-life reputation. No. He came as a nobody who would become somebody in the midst of a crowd of intellectually superior men and women. 

Wright did this simply because he followed the ethics of this quote: he found the courage to speak up about the unfair treatment and oppression of his black countrymen. Wright stood up alone, but it wasn’t long until people who shared his view began speaking out too.

Togetherness is Needed to Advance Society 

Public peace is the act of public trust; it is the faith that all are secure and will remain secure.

Wright showed what public peace meant to him when he began taking pig-headed approaches to extract some actions from the authorities, to which he was indirectly beckoning to do something about the racial injustice in America. 

The author had seen that America had a better chance to advance both politically and economically if all of its ethnicities – black, white, Asian, Jewish, and Latino Americans – worked together rather than fight and victimize each other. Of course, we can look at America today – being one of the world’s strongest nations – and know instantly that Wright was right eighty-something years ago. 

Quotes on Books and Literature 

Richard Wright’s passion and love for books was one attribute no one could take away from him, not even family. The illiteracy of his father could not hold sway over his desire to educate himself and stand out in his family. Although his mother was a teacher when Wright was a child, he faced objections from his maternal grandmother who had the mindset that books were evil and corrupt and wanted to protect him from them, but the author never stopped chasing books and learning from them. 

There exists an array of great quotes about books, literature, and the art of writing created by Richard Wright, and we will take a look at a few of them. 

Literature Unlocks Truths 

Literature is a struggle over the nature of reality.

To say that books are repositories of knowledge may come off as cliche, but as far as human society is concerned, much of the growths and developments that have transformed society – and continue to do so – are all tied to the information and knowledge in books, so the expression may well never get stale. 

With this quote, Wright attempts to draw a connection between the concept of literature and reality. He believes literature works to uncover truths that reality fails to take cognizance of – and of course, man (mostly those in power) is the architect of that. 

Books are Perfect Hiding Grounds From the Issues of Life 

Whenever my environment had failed to support or nourish me, I had clutched at books…

When you pick up a book that is interesting and gripping, the feeling becomes the same – much as it was for Mr. Wright. The author once again points out another importance of books aside from their primary functions of informing and educating. Books also provide a sort of gateway that filters out life’s issues when you fly into them. Wright felt the same, and this quote expresses them.   

Quotes on the Sad Reality of Life 

Richard Wright’s proactiveness cut across beyond just the literary industry to include politics and sometimes even the economic situation of his time. However, he weighed into these sectors not as a candidate to control them but merely as a voice that checked and offered some oversights to pressure the leaders to do the right thing. 

In all of his experiences, Wright found some sad realities of life that appear to never change no matter what you do about them. These quotes shared next are Wright’s take on the subject.

Suffering Will Always Be Part of Humanity 

If laying down my life could stop the suffering in the world I’d do it. But I don’t believe anything can stop it.

While Richard Wright’s selfless activism contributed towards freedom and emancipation for millions of people in America and across the world, it didn’t fix the problem of suffering – not even a narrowed down race-related suffering to then begin to talk of a general kind that comes from all other aspects of life. 

Yes! These revolutionary artists like Wright helped create – to an incredibly large extent – a stable and inclusive environment for all races, yet in today’s world, several countries still record reports about people suffering from systemic racial issues and the like even though it’s not as bad as it used to be. 

The World Needs More Selfless Leaders

How soon will someone speak the word the resentful millions will understand: the word to be, to act, to live?

Whether it was in Wright’s time or in today’s reality, the world has so many issues begging for attention and there seem to be more people willing to sheepishly follow than there are people seeking to selflessly lead. This is a sad reality and has been so for generations. 

A large contingency of the world’s so-called leaders care more about their personal gains and pushing their cause than about what is really important for the people. They appear to be doing everything right except that one thing that millions are suffering for and are looking for peace over. This quote of Wright’s was triggered by his frustrations from putting up with such similar issues of his time.

Quotes on Dying

The theme of death is very prominent in Richard Wright’s books, and this goes to show how quickly – and easily – life can be snapped out of people, especially the oppressed black people, a race for which he activated through his many writings. Here are some of his quotes that either directly or subtextually hammer the subject. 

It’s Hard to Live With Death Lurking

How could one find out about life when one was about to die?

As are most of his quotes, this quote is a subtle remark on the reality of life for black people in the early 1900s. The hate, the oppression and the unwillingness to cooperate reached peak levels and even Wright himself endured part of the brunt at different points in his life – one of the being when he was physically attacked within his own communist party by the white left while his fellow blacks betrayed him, as he claimed. 

With this quote, Wright instils a general plea not only for himself but also for the casualties of racial conflicts who face threats to their precious lives because they found better – lawful – ways to survive but are not allowed to explore them because of some flaws shoehorned in our social system.

Sometimes the Truth Hurts Than It Sets Free

… a knowledge of how to live was a knowledge of how to die.

Truth is likened to knowledge, and having knowledge or knowing the truth about something should help a person have a normal, happier life unless, of course, such a person is living in the time of Richard Wright when those were too risky to have. Wright uses this quote to stress how precarious life was in his days – especially if you were black or a person of colour. 

People lived in the dark and were completely shut out from the truth. Those who knew the truth were afraid to express it for fear of how it would impact their life or their family life. Thankfully, Eright was one of the few people who spoke out so that could be a better place for all races. 

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