Native Son?

OVER THE PAST couple of weeks there's been a murder spree in Chicago, not unsurprisingly. In America, its never surprising. Without knowing anything about it, you can make a few fairly safe guesses. The victims probably tended not to be upper middle class white people. Gangs may've been involved, and maybe minorities and poor run down neighborhoods. "Native Son", by Richard Wright, published in 1940, is one of those books every American should read, especially when attempting to better understand violence in, say, Chicago. Is the South Side of Chicago still inhabited by a disproportionate number of African Americans, and do they for the most part live in poverty, crowded into small apartments in crumbling buildings, while across town stand the stately mansions of the exceedingly wealthy? If so, "Native Son" becomes even more relevant.