The author shares his views of black thought and the conditions of black life in America during the 1940's and early 1950's.

Introduction / --Acknowledgments -- Preface to the 1984 Edition -- Autobiographical Notes -- Everybody's Protest Novel -- Many Thousands Gone -- Carmen Jones: The Dark Is Light Enough -- The Harlem Ghetto -- Journey to Atlanta -- Notes of a Native Son -- Encounter on the Seine: Black Meets Brown -- A Question of Identity -- Equal in Paris -- Stranger in the Village. Introduction -- Acknowledgments -- Preface to the 1984 Edition -- Autobiographical Notes -- Part 1 -- Everybody's Protest Novel -- Many Thousands Gone -- Carmen Jones: The Dark Is Light Enough -- Part 2 -- The Harlem Ghetto -- Journey to Atlanta -- Notes of a Native Son -- Part 3 -- Encounter on the Seine: Black Meets Brown -- A Question of Identity -- Equal in Paris -- Stranger in the Village.