How a Black writer in 19th-century America used humor to combat white supremacy

Charles Chesnutt was one of the first widely read Black fiction writers in the U.S. RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Any writer has to struggle with the dilemma of staying true to their vision or giving editors and readers what they want. A number of factors might influence the latter: the market, trends and sensibilities.

But in the decades after the Civil War, Black writers looking to faithfully depict the horrors of slavery had to contend with readers whose worldviews were colored by racism, as well as an entire swath of the country eager to paper over the past.