African American Novelists
Although some novelists, namely Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, and James Baldwin produced most of their important work during the period 1940-1960, it has really been since about 1970 that there has been truly national recognition of African American novelists. Certainly the civil rights movement served as an impetus for both the growth and widespread acceptance of these writers.
Today a relatively new group of Black novelists -- Toni Morrison, Ishmael Reed, Terry McMillan, and Alice Walker, to name just a few -- are among the leading figures of the new generation of writers who have gained wide popularity.