James Weldon Johnson

The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man

A man of mixed race passes for white and confronts identity in pre-civil rights America

About the author

James Weldon Johnson
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.

More by James Weldon Johnson