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James Weldon Johnson ( June 17, 1871 - June 26, 1938) was a leading African American author, poet, early civil rights activist, and prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, he was the first African American accepted to the Florida bar. He served in several public capacities, including as consul to Venezuela and Nicaragua, but he is best remembered today for his writing, which included novels, poems, and collections of folklore.His first major literary sensation was The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man ( 1912), a fictional account of a light-skinned black man's attempts to succeed and survive in the early 20th century. Written while he was still serving in the diplomatic corps, he resigned shortly after, realizing that he had slim chances for further promotion.
It was while serving as executive secretary of the NAACP from 1920 through 1931 that he released God's Trombones , the work he is best remembered for today. For several years previously, he had collected and published anthologies of African American poetry and folklore, when he determined that "A good deal has been written on the folk creations of the American Negro; his music, sacred and secular; his plantation tales, and his dances; but that there are folk sermons, as well, is a fact that has passed unnoticed." Rather than collect the sermons, he transformed them into verse to capture the nuances of the "rhythmic intoning."
Other works by Johnson include an opera, Tolosa, and the lyrics for " Lift Every Voice and Sing", to which his brother wrote the music. The song later became known as the "Negro National Anthem." He also wrote Fifty Years and Other Poems ( 1917), The Book of American Negro Poetry ( 1922Events January 7 Dali Eireann ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64-57 votes. January 10 Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dail Eireann January 11 First successful insulin treatment of diabetes. January 12 British government releases Irish prisoners), The Book of American Negro Spirituals ( 1925Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 See also 1925 in aviation 1925 in film 1925 in literature 1925 in mu), and The Second Book of Negro Spirituals ( 1926Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 See also 1926 in aviation 1926 in film 1926 in literature 1926 in mu), the novel Black Manhattan ( 19301930 is the common year starting on Wednesday. see link for calendar) Events January-February January 6 The first diesel-engine automobile trip is completed ( Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York City). January 27 Miguel Primo de Rivera resigns January 30 G), his autobiography Along This Way ( 1933Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s Years: 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 See also 1933 in aviation 1933 in film 1933 in literature 1933 in mu), and Negro Americans, What Now? ( 1934Events January-April January 1 Alcatraz becomes a federal prison. January 7 First Flash Gordon comic strip is published. January 10 Execution of Marinus van der Lubbe January 24 Einstein visits White House January 26 The Apollo Theater opens in Harlem, Ne), a book calling for civil rights for African Americans.
Johnson was one of the first African-American professors at New York UniversityMotto Perstare et praestare ("To persevere and to excel") Established 1831 School type Private President John Sexton Location New York, NY, USA Enrollment 19,506 undergraduate, 18,682 graduate and professional Faculty 1,907 Campus Urban Athletics 18 sport. He died while on vacation in Wiscasset, Maine in 1938, when the car he was driving was hit by a train.
