Invisible Man was written during a time when black people were being mistreated or treated as if they were inferior. African Americans were becoming angry about the lack of social equality in the nation. Racial segregation was prominent and court cases such as Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and Brown v. Board (1954) were only adding fuel to the fire. The novel may have stirred up the already boiling emotions of the black community and acted as a call to action. The novel may have also played a major part in the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. The movement started in 1954, two years after Invisible Man was published. Many people may have seen the novel as a call to action during this time
