![]() ![]() Set in Harlem in the 1940s, Petry's novel paints a grim picture of life for African Americans in the ghettos of New York. Other famous works that did focus on the experiences of poor, urban African Americans often neglected the female experience. Until publication of The Street, novels written about urban African American women, such as Nella Larsen's Quicksand (1923) or Jessie Fauset's Plum Bun (1929), focused primarily on the experiences of middle-class protagonists. ![]() Unlike the works of her contemporaries, Petry's novel paints a picture of urban ghetto life from a female perspective. Inspired by her experiences working in the ghettos of Harlem, Ann Petry's first book joined the growing number of African American voices that called attention to the horrific impact of racial and gender inequality in the United States-a chorus whose message was ignored by many until the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Published in 1946, The Street was the first novel by a female African American writer to sell over one million copies. ![]()
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