James Weldon Johnson
James Weldon Johnson (June 17, 1871 – June 26, 1938) was an American writer and civil rights activist. He was married to civil rights activist Grace Nail Johnson. Johnson was a leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He started working there in 1917. In 1920, he was the first African American to be the executive secretary of the organization. This made him the person in charge.[1] Johnson held that position from 1920 to 1930. As a writer, he was known during the Harlem Renaissance for his poems and his novel. He also has a collection of both poems and spirituals of black culture. He wrote the lyrics for "Lift Every Voice and Sing". This was later known as the Negro National Anthem. The music for the song was written by his younger brother, composer J. Rosamond Johnson.
James Weldon Johnson | |
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_(LOC)_-_Flickr_-_The_Library_of_Congress.jpg) Photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1932 | |
| Born | June 17, 1871 Jacksonville, Florida, United States |
| Died | June 26, 1938 (aged 67) Wiscasset, Maine, United States |
| Resting place | Green-Wood Cemetery, New York City, NY |
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| Language | English |
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | Clark Atlanta University |
| Period | Harlem Renaissance (1891- 1938) |
| Subject | Civil Rights |
| Literary movement | Harlem Renaissance |
| Notable works | "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing", The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, God's Trombones, Along This Way |
| Notable awards | Spingarn Medal from NAACP, Harmon Gold Award |
| Spouse | Grace Nail Johnson |
Johnson was the U.S. consul in Venezuela and Nicaragua for most of the period from 1906 to 1913. In 1934. he was the first African-American professor to be hired at New York University.[2] Later in life, he was a professor at Fisk University, a historically black university.
James Weldon Johnson Media
Johnson lived here in the Logan Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C., while serving as national organizer for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Famously performed in the film Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), the song "Under the Bamboo Tree" was written by the Johnson brothers and Bob Cole for the Broadway show Sally in Our Alley (1902)
Aged around 30 at the time of this photo, Johnson had already written "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" and been admitted to the Florida bar.
Illustration of James Weldon Johnson by Charles Henry Alston
Related pages
References
- ↑ Gates Jr., Henry Louis; McKay, Nellie Y., eds. (2004). The Norton Anthology of African American Literature (2nd ed.). New York: Norton. pp. 791–792.
- ↑ "175 Facts about NYU: James Weldon Johnson". New York University. Archived from the original on April 21, 2016.