Abstract:

The present research work takes into account the politics of racial in/visibility of Blacks in White dominated American society. Race is used as a mode of social hierarchy and identity formation in America which allows Whites to embark upon a superior pedestal as compared to Blacks in political, social, cultural, legal and economic milieus. The presence of Whites is visible and conspicuous in the society but the colored people are invisible and non-existent for the Whites. All the noblest attributes are attached with the Whites and they are also considered as the epitome of enlightenment; whereas, Blacks are stereotypically stigmatized as alcoholic, lazy, unintelligent and uncivilized in America and their merits are not applauded which generates invisibility syndrome. Multitudes of Blacks suffer from psychological trauma, emotional abuse, physical violence and economic instability if they try to get equal rights, to break the white canons and to surpass the whites. However, some of the colored people like Richard Wright and Maya Angelou stood against their oppression through their ceaseless resistance and defiance to earn respectable positions in the society. These dimensions are studied in this research work through the cardinal characters of Wright’s Black Boy and Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings with the help of Derek Bell’s Critical Race Theory as conceptual framework. By the in-depth probing into the two selected autobiographies, the readers are enabled to explore the insider’s view on the repercussions of penetrating racial discrimination and white supremacy in African-American society.

Keywords: