The Cinder Yard

Richard Wright's early home's backyard was filled with black cinders from the nearby railroad. He and his friends would have play-wars with these cinders.

Broken Milk Bottle

Wright describes how, when young, he and his friends tried to have a cinder war with white children, one of whom threw a broken milk bottle at him, seriously cutting his neck.

The Kilns

Big Boy, Buck, Lester and Bobo created earthen structures for burning fires and pretending they were train engineers. Big Boy hides in his kiln, and from this vantage point he sees Bobo tarred and burnt alive by the lynch mob.

Old Man Harvey's Swimming Hole

Lester, Buck, Bobo and Big Boy go to Old Man Harvey's swimming hole while playing hooky. The chain of killing that forces Big Boy to leave town begins at this muddy swimming hole.

Will's Truck

Elder Peters' son Will...