Final answer:
Charles Waddell Chesnutt was the first African American writer of the Realist movement, known for integrating racial themes and challenges in his influential works that preceded the Harlem Renaissance.
Step-by-step explanation:
Charles Waddell Chesnutt was the first African American writer of the realist movement. Chesnutt explored themes of racial identity and social conflict within the Realist tradition. His success was solidified through publications in prominent literary magazines and collections of his stories, such as The Conjure Woman and The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories. Chesnutt's work deftly interwove the Local Color fiction style with subversive depictions of African American characters that challenged contemporary power structures and racial prejudices. His legacy as a path-breaker in American Literary Realism paved the way for writers like Hughes, Hurston, and McKay during the Harlem Renaissance, who further explored African-American experiences in literature.