Skip to main content

Reporter Nathan McCall Discusses Growing Up Black in the U. S.

Reporter for The Washington Post Nathan McCall. He's written a new autobiography, "Makes Me Wanna Holler: A Young Black Man in America." (Random House). When McCall was twenty years old he was sent to prison for armed robbery. In his new book, McCall writes about growing up in a suburban neighborhood, and the anger he felt toward white's that made him and his friends go after and beat up white guys because it made them "feel good inside." After McCall was released from jail, he studied journalism and reported for the Virginian Pilot-Ledger Star and the Atlanta Journal Constitution. His book has been compared to Richard Wright's "Black Boy," and been described as "more than a coming of age story: it's a story of an America that should never have come to be."

22:32

Other segments from the episode on February 21, 1994

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, February 21, 1994: interview with Nathan McCall; Interview with Arthur Taylor; Review of Wendy Law-Yone's novel "Irrawaddy Tango."

Transcript

Transcript currently not available.

Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.

You May Also like

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Advertisement

Recently on Fresh Air Available to Play on NPR

52:30

In pursuit of 'Instagram face,' are we losing the imperfections that make us human?

Jia Tolentino is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the bestselling author of the essay collection "Trick Mirror." Seven years ago, she coined the phrase Instagram face, capturing the beauty ideal of the social media era. Her new essay asks what that face has become.

52:30

Broadway legend André De Shields helps bring 'Hadestown' to the big screen

De Shields made his Broadway debut in the 1975 original production of The Wiz. He won a Tony in 2019 for his performance in Hadestown and co-stars in the new film of last year's London revival.

42:18

Harriet Clark's novel 'The Hill' draws on her 37 years visiting her mom in prison

Clark was a baby in 1981 when her mother, a member of a radical left-wing group, acted as a getaway driver in the robbery of a Brink's truck. Her new novel is based on the years that followed.

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.

Let us help you find exactly what you want to hear.
Just play me something
Your Queue

Would you like to make a playlist based on your queue?

Generate & Share View/Edit Your Queue