Violent Disruptions examines two authors who have powerfully predicted the formation of racial identities and its surrounding discourse in the United States today: William Faulkner (1897-1962) and Richard Wright (1908-1960). Using the works of Faulkner and Wright, this text argues that race becomes visible only through image production and exchange. Further, it argues that following the dismantling of our legally upheld racial inequality and everyday racist language, it is precisely the visual register wherein we see most acutely the continued present-day operation of racial inequality. Violent Disruptions thus places William Faulkner and Richard Wright at the center of our current dramas in the 21st century in popular television, political theater and criminal justice.

Linda Chavers obtained her doctorate in African American Literature from Harvard University and is a graduate of The Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University. She is Assistant Dean of Harvard College and Lecturer in African American Literature at Harvard University.