Wallace Thurman

A groundbreaking, yet controversial novel of the Harlem Renaissance about a young, dark-skinned Black woman reckoning with colorism as she navigates 1920s Harlem, reissued and repackaged for the Herald Classics line. Emma Lou Morgan’s dark complexion is a source of sorrow and humiliation—not only to herself, but also to her lighter-skinned family members and the white community of her hometown, Boise, Idaho. Hoping to find a safe haven, Emma travels to New York’s Harlem, the Black Mecca of the 1920s. Wallace Thurman brings to life this legendary time and place in rich detail, describing Emma’s visits to nightclubs, dance halls, and house-rent parties, her sex life and catastrophic love affairs, her dreams and her disillusions—and the momentous decision she makes to survive. A lost classic of Black American literature, The Blacker the Berry is a compelling portrait of the destructive depth of intra-racial bias in the Black community.  

Celebrating the finest works of the Harlem Renaissance, one of the most important Black arts movements in modern history. 'Why not? She's just as a good as the rest, and you know what they say, "the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice"' Growing up, Emma Lou Morgan stuck out - her skin was the darkest in every room, even within her own home. With the encouragement of her uncle, Emma flees smalltown Idaho firstly to study in Los Angeles before travelling to Harlem. Though she enjoys the glamour of attending the theatre and the buzz of cabaret, every excursion is tinged with the fear of discrimination. Even in big cities, Emma cannot escape the bigotry of colourism, but can she change how it makes her feel about herself? The Blacker the Berry is an arrestingly vivid portrayal of how very deeply every facet of prejudice runs.