Bright and Morning Star

Bright and Morning Star is the 1940 novella written by African-American author Richard Wright. Originally published in 1938 in the liberal periodical The Masses, Bright and Morning Star was included in the 1940 reprinted edition of Wright’s Uncle Tom’s Children. Set in the rural south during the 1920s, the story is divided into six parts as it follows Sue, a proud elderly black woman whose sons serve as communist party organizers. With one son named Sug already in prison, Sue awaits her other son Johnny-Boy to return home. When the sheriff arrives at Sue’s house in search of Johnny-Boy for his communist affiliation, Sue refuses to cooperate. As Sue stands up for herself and her beliefs, she is beaten so badly by the police that she is forced to name her communist comrades. Knowing she’s the only one who can protect Johnny-Boy and save the comrades from the authorities, Sue confronts the sheriff and becomes a martyr. Wright was involved with the Communist Party while writing the story.

Narrated in the omniscient third-person perspective, part one begins in the rural south during the 1920s. An elderly black woman named Sue stares at the rain through the window, worried about her son, Johnny-Boy, who is late to arrive home. Sue is fearful because Johnny is an organized member of the Communist Party, a role that landed her other son, Sug, in prison. Still, Sue is proud of her sons because they’re brave enough to keep secret information regarding members of the Communist Party. Sue descends from slaves owned by whites in the Jim Crow south during an era when blacks were severely mistreated and denied civil liberties. Sue is destitute, living in fear of whites because of her lack of agency. As a child, Sue found solace in religion and comfort, knowing she would be rewarded upon death, provided she avoids sin. As a result, Sue is kind to her white oppressors at first. Conversely, Sue’s sons take the opposite approach. They believe they must seize their own power back from their oppressors and adhere to the socialist teachings of the Communist Party. As Sue awaits Johnny-Boy, she hears footsteps on her porch. A young white girl named Reva has come to see Johnny-Boy, whom she has a crush on and helps organize community rallies. Sue tells Reva Johnny is running late. Reva tells Sue that a secret group member has informed the sheriff of an upcoming meeting. Reva leaves and Sue wonders why Reva would risk an interracial relationship with Johnny-Boy given its illegality.

Part two begins with Sue hearing footsteps in the mud outside her home, which she recognizes as Johnny-Boy’s. He enters quietly and shares a tacit moment with Sue, who worries about his relationship with Reva. Sue feeds Johnny-Boy and washes his clothes before informing him that the sheriff knows about the secret meeting. They get into a brief argument, and Sue tells Jonny-Boy not to trust white people so much. She assumes a white person tipped off the sheriff, but Johnny-Boy insists whites and blacks must cooperate in order to incite change. Before departing, Johnny-Boy gives Sue a wad of cash belonging to the Communist Party and tells her to keep it in case anything bad happens to him. Sue says Johnny-Boy should keep the money, as she has enough saved up for Sug’s bail to spend in case of an emergency. When Johnny-Boy leaves, Sue is certain he’ll never return.



Part three begins with Sue asleep. A group of white men barge into her house and begin hurling racist epithets. As they begin to eat the food in Sue’s house, the sheriff arrives to remind them they’re in search of Johnny-Boy. Sue storms out of bed and confronts the men, who toss collard-greens in her face with another verbal insult. Sue verbally defies the white men. When Sue refuses to tell the sheriff where Johnny-Boy is, he slaps her twice. The narrator explains that Sue was overcome with such pride that she vowed to never tell the police anything no matter what they did to her. The sheriff is about to leave when Sue presses her luck and provokes him one more time. The sheriff climbs the stairs and beats Sue unconscious. The sheriff tells Sue that if she fails to get Johnny-Boy to talk, she ought to bring a white sheet to cover his dead body.

Part four begins with Sue lying in a dark alley alone. As she regains consciousness, she notices a figure standing beside her. Sue soon realizes the figure is Booker, a new white member of the Communist Party. Paranoid at first, Sue’s mind is put to ease when Booker claims someone must inform the other members that the sheriff is after them. However, being new, Booker doesn’t know their names. Booker helps clean Sue’s wounds. As reward, Sue gives Booker the names of the members. When Booker departs and Sue’s mind clears, she regrets naming names, fearing it was a terrible mistake.

Part five begins with Sue at home pondering the horrible things she’s done. Reva returns and helps dress Sue’s wounds. Reva also confesses that her father told her that it was Booker who informed the police of the secret meeting. Sue is mortified, as she’s given the informant the names of all the communist members. Unwilling to tell Reva the truth, Sue implores Reva to go to sleep. Afterwards, Sue retrieves an old gun, wraps it in a white sheet and goes looking for Booker. Sue intends to kill Booker before he can expose the members’ names.



Part six begins with Sue approaching the sheriff and his men. When the men see Sue carrying a white sheet, they assume it’s to collect Johnny-Boy’s corpse. The men tell Sue Johnny-Boy is not dead yet. Sue finds her son bound in mud. The sheriff concludes that his scare tactics must have worked, hence the white sheet. The men press Johnny-Boy to give up names of Communist members and when they plan to meet next. Johnny-Boy remains quiet and is beaten senselessly. The men break Johnny-Boy’s legs over a log with a crowbar and the sheriff pops his eardrums. Witnessing all of this, Sue waits for Booker to arrive. When Booker shows, Sue shoots him in a preemptive act the narrator describes as giving up “her life before they took it from her.” The sheriff’s men shoot Johnny-Boy dead before shooting Sue. As Sue lies dying, she realizes that she has satisfied her life’s purpose. Her final words to the sheriff are “yuh didnt git whut you wanted!”