The inaugural episode of Wizarding Black Lit by Joseph Vivens. Recorded in early 2023 for an African American Lit class, Joseph wanted to bring to life a short story written by Chester B. Himes.
Set in 1942, Cotton Gonna Kill Me Yet revolves around a big-city pool hall hustler named High-C, who is offered the opportunity to avoid the draft by picking cotton in northern California. His resolve is tested in this tragic comedy that challenges the notion of freedom under capitalism.
The youngest of three sons, Chester B. Himes, was born in 1909 in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Himes’ mother was a light-skinned woman named Estelle Bomar Himes, and his father was a dark-skinned man named Joseph Sandy Himes. Himes observed how their respective worldviews and racial philosophies were different. In his autobiography, The Quality of Hurt, Himes writes about this difference, saying: “My father was born and raised in the tradition of the Southern Uncle Tom; that tradition derived from an inherited slave mentality which accepts the premise that white people know best, that blacks should accept what whites offer and be thankful, that blacks should count their blessings. My mother, who looked white and felt that she should have been white, was the complete opposite; She was a tiny woman who hated all manner of condescension from white people and hated all black people who accepted it.”
When Himes was 11 years old, his brother was injured and blinded at a school assembly. Seeking medical attention, he was turned away from white hospitals because of Jim Crow.
This experience shaped his view of his life. As a young adult, he found it difficult to manage at Ohio State, ultimately getting expelled and turning to a life of crime. While incarcerated, Himes became a writer and published several stories in Esquire and other outlets.
Once released from prison, Himes wrote several novels, including If He Hollers Let Him Go.
Not finding love for his writing in the United States, Himes discovered that he had notoriety in France and left his homeland for money-green pastures. Ultimately, his legacy was cemented on the world stage, as even U.S. papers couldn’t deny his talent.
Later, film producer and studio executive Sam Goldwyn contacted Himes to adapt his book Cotton Comes to Harlem to be co-written and directed by Ossie Davis.
Himes passed away from complications of Parkinson’s disease in 1984.
Visit us: AreYouAFanYet.com
