The book explains that in the early 20th century, New York was thought to be the promised land for African Americans, but life in Harlem was more challenging than migrants expected.
Although Dr. Papanek pushed him towards getting a better education, Brown still had criminal contacts at Wiltwyck and continued to be involved in street life.
In Manchild in the Promised Land, Brown blames his brother’s unhealthy lifestyle on not having been exposed to the horrors of Harlem early enough in life.
[2] Acknowledging the damaging effects of drugs such as heroin and gang violence on his community and his friends, Brown decided to leave.
For the first time in his life, he decided to get an education and began attending night classes at a high school downtown, supporting himself by working as a busboy and deliveryman and at other odd jobs.
A friend had told Brown about Reverend William M. James, who was interested in helping young men from the ghetto get into college.
[3] Brown graduated in 1965 from Howard University (where his professors included sociologists E. Franklin Frazier and Nathan Hare), and later went on to attend Stanford and Rutgers law schools.
"[8] Brown published a second book, Children Of Ham, which explores the lives of several black teenagers from Harlem who escape the clutches of heroin.