James Weldon Johnson
James Weldon Johnson was a polymath—lawyer, diplomat, songwriter, novelist—whose The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is a pioneering exploration of racial passing and Black identity in America. He was a central figure in the NAACP and the Harlem Renaissance.
Works
- The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored ManA man of mixed race passes for white and confronts identity in pre-civil rights America
- Along This WayAutobiographical account of a prominent Black poet's life and artistic development
- Black ManhattanHistory of African American cultural and social life in Manhattan during the Harlem Renaissance
- God's TrombonesVerse poetry interpreting African American spirituals and folk sermons
- Saint Peter Relates an Incident