James Weldon Johnson

James Weldon Johnson
James Weldon Johnson was an influential American author, educator, diplomat, and civil rights activist, best known for his leadership in the NAACP and his contributions to African American literature. His notable works include "The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man" (1912), a groundbreaking novel exploring racial identity and passing in early 20th-century America. Johnson also composed the lyrics for "Lift Every Voice and Sing," often called the Black National Anthem. Throughout his career, he championed racial equality and used his literary talents to advocate for civil rights and cultural recognition for African Americans.

Author's Books:


FIFTY YEARS & OTHER POEMS FIFTY YEARSO brothers mine, to-day we standWhere half a century sweeps our ken,Since God, through Lincoln's ready hand,Struck off our bonds and made us men.Just fifty years—a winter's day—As runs the history of a race;Yet, as we look back o'er the way,How distant seems our starting place!Look farther back! Three centuries!To where a naked, shivering... more...

I I know that in writing the following pages I am divulging the great secret of my life, the secret which for some years I have guarded far more carefully than any of my earthly possessions; and it is a curious study to me to analyze the motives which prompt me to do it. I feel that I am led by the same impulse which forces the un-found-out criminal to take somebody into his confidence, although he... more...

PREFACE There is, perhaps, a better excuse for giving an Anthology of American Negro Poetry to the public than can be offered for many of the anthologies that have recently been issued. The public, generally speaking, does not know that there are American Negro poets—to supply this lack of information is, alone, a work worthy of somebody's effort. Moreover, the matter of Negro poets and the... more...