Support the Fort Greene Richard Wright Project

Thanks to soulhead contributor Carl Hancock-Rux for bringing this important cause to our attention.

From Fort Greene Association:

Please be generous in supporting this worthy initiative lead by Fort Greene resident Carl Hancock Rux with the help of Howard Pitsch (former FGA Chair), and the support of the Fort Greene Association (FGA).

“For years I’ve had a very special dream–to honor the historical contributions of African Americans in New York City. That dream is legion. One way I am embarking upon realizing this dream is by joining a campaign to erect plaques on the still existing structures African American way-makers once called home. With the help of the writer Howard Pitsch (former FGA Chair), and the Fort Greene Association (FGA), this dream is finally coming true. We have contacted the Landmark District and have received approval to erect a plaque at 175 Carlton Ave. where writer Richard Wright lived between May and Oct. of 1938 with fellow Communist Party members, Jane and Herbert Newton. He wrote a substantial portion of his seminal book, “Native Son”, inspired by the true crime event of the 1938 arrest and trial of Robert Nixon, executed in 1939 following a series of “brick bat murders” in Los Angeles and Chicago before the publication of “Native Son”. Wright was significant in his efforts with the WPA Writers’ Project guidebook, “New York, Panorama” and wrote the book’s essay on Harlem. Wright became the Harlem editor of the Daily Worker and wrote over two hundred articles for the Daily Worker and helped edit a short-lived literary magazine New Challenge, during this time, after which he received a Guggenheim Fellowship, which allowed him to complete “Native Son”, selected by the Book of the Month Club as its first book by an African-American author.”

~Carl Hancock Rux

If you are interested in supporting the project please send a check or money order to the attention of the Fort Greene Association with Richard Wright noted in the memo. All donations received will go 100% towards the purchase of the plaque.

Fort Greene Association
Mailing Address: Telephone: 718-875-1855

Mail:
Fort Greene Association, Inc.
Box 170563
Brooklyn, NY 11217-0563
Phone: 718-875-1855

IMPORTANT:
A ceremony devoted to the Wright cultural medallion will take place
perhaps by autumn 2012.  Contributions to the $2,000 cost of the
medallion will be gratefully received by the Fort Greene Association
through the FGA’s website at www.HistoricFortGreene.org.  All
contributions will be tax deductible to the full extent of the law by
“Wright medallion” in the memo area of any check.

Thank you in advance for your consideration and generosity.

ABOUT FORT GREENE ASSOCIATION
The Fort Greene Association is devoted to historic preservation, neighborhood and park enhancement, as well as cultural, economic and housing advancement throughout the neighborhood of Fort Greene, Brooklyn. The Fort Greene Association, Inc. is an all-volunteer organization, operating as a non-profit 501(c) (3) charitable organization that supports and works in concert with the many other fine organizations that make our community so special and vital. Follow us on Twitter or become our Facebook Fan.

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