The name Hughes Allison isn’t widely known but at a time, he was one of the most promising Black writers of his era. Allison’s most notable milestone as a writer is that he crafted the first Black detective story, which was part of his larger aim to shatter Black stereotypes in mainstream white America.
Allison was born in 1908 in Greenville, South Carolina. In 1919, his family moved north to Newark, New Jersey, where he attended high school and college. Although he initially wanted to become a doctor, Allison found writing to be his true calling and he entered Upsala College in East Orange to undertake the task of studying English and literature. While in school, Allison worked as an elevator attendant and wrote short stories and poems, some of which were published. His first story was published in 1935.
