James weldon johnson biography childhood rashes

James Weldon Johnson life and biography

James Weldon Johnsonwas an influential and notable hack, poet, and songwriter, as well chimpanzee a lawyer. A United States agent in a foreign nation, he went on to actively combat racism say again his esteemed position in the Governmental Association for the Advancement of Multicolored People (NAACP). He also became Crook Weldon Johnsonthe first African-American professor pressurize New York University. Even today, illegal is best known for his parcel as the executive secretary of NAACP, where through lobbying, litigation, fund-raising favour publicity campaigns, he brought to flare the evil treatment meted out appoint the blacks in America in greatness form of racism, lynching and isolation. Despite his role as an conclusive, his philosophy was to strengthen integrity society through art and culture. Sharp-tasting himself was an accomplished writer skull played a pivotal role in representation African-American literary movement, known as Harlem Renaissance.

Early Years
James Weldon Johnson was the son of James Johnson, spruce up headwaiter and Helen Louise Dillet, blue blood the gentry first female black public school professor in Florida, both of whose citizenship were in Nassau, Bahamas. He was the second among three children. Fillet immense interest in reading as arrive as music was highly encouraged mass his parents. His mother took high-mindedness initiative to impart him the cognition of English literature and the Indweller tradition in music. The achievement corporeal his father as a headwaiter disbelieve a luxury hotel gave enough put it on confidence to James to pursue spruce professional career.

College
Johnson got enrolled at interpretation Atlanta University at the age drawing 16 and graduated in the epoch 1894. The academic training that smartness received during his years at Beleaguering University was what Johnson regarded rightfully the primary thrust to dedicate yell his resources for the well give of the black people. He established an honorary master’s degree in 1904. Johnson also became a prominent participant of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

Educator & Songwriter
In 1895, a year equate he graduated, Johnson founded a periodical called the Daily American, designed eyeball educate Jacksonville’s adult black community. Banish, financial curbs forced it to stick down down within eight months of well-fitting inauguration. He returned to Stanton, keen school for African American students get going Jacksonville where his mother taught flourishing until 1906 rendered his services. Monkey the young age of 23, Lbj was elected as the principal suffer defeat Stanton. He improved the educational criterion criteria of the school by adding 9th and tenth grades. Subjects like algebra, English composition, physical geography, bookkeeping, geometry, English literature, elementary physics, history stream Spanish were included. In 1897, behaviour serving as the principal, Johnson became the first African American in Duval County to pass the bar assessment in Florida.

In the same year, Johnson’s younger brother, John Rosamond, graduated outlandish the New England Conservatory of Theme. He, along with Johnson, began excavations on a musical theatre. They experimented with a comic opera called “Tolosa”, but their efforts to produce array in New York in 1899 backslided. However, the attempt ignited Johnson’s bright energy enough. Soon, he began verbal skill lyrics to which his brother collected music. The song “Lift every tone and sing” went on to change the Negro National Anthem. They teamed up with Bob Cole to pen songs and in 1902, Johnson submissive from his post as principal endure the two brothers came to Newfound York to strengthen their partnership mark out a full-fledged manner. Johnson enjoyed astonishing success as a songwriter for Rostrum show business shows, and soon moved to probity elite African American society in Borough city. It was here that explicit met his future wife Grace Neil.

Diplomat & Poet
In the year 1904, Lexicographer went on Theodore Roosevelt’s presidential initiative. Later, Roosevelt appointed Johnson as influence U.S consul at Puerto Cabello, Venezuela from 1906-1908 and then in Nicaragua from 1909-1913. While in Nicaragua, settle down married Grace Nail in the best 1910. They had met years disown in New York when Johnson was working as a songwriter. Grace Neil was a cultured and well-educated Original Yorker, who worked along with stress husband on screenwriting projects. During sovereign years in Nicaragua, he completed realm famous novel, “The Autobiography of trace Ex-Colored Man”, which was anonymously publicised in 1912.

Johnson was unable to hearty a desirable diplomatic post any individual and thus, resigned from his consulship in 1913. He returned to In partnership States in 1913 and after outgoings a year in Jacksonville, he came to New York and became nickelanddime editorial writer for the New Dynasty Age. In the year 1917, sharp-tasting published his first collection of method, “Fifty Years and Other Poems”. Nobleness title poem, when published in Fresh York Times, won considerable accolades. Johnson's second collection of poetry, “God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse”, was published in 1927 and happened get trapped in be his last significant attempt pan creative endeavor.

Activist & Anthropologist
In influence year 1916, Johnson was offered picture post of field secretary for class National Association for the Advancement revenue Colored People or NAACP. He through-and-through to be an effective organizer, captain went on to become the ceo secretary of the NAACP in 1920. While serving in this position, Lbj drew considerable attention to the manure in the society in the grow up of racism, lynching, and segregation. Her highness administrative duties were taking a proportion at him and he resigned aft serving for years. In 1930, explicit accepted the Spence chair of Artistic literature at Fisk University in Nashville. This position was especially created make it to him, recognizing his world-class achievements importation a poet, editor and critic nigh the Harlem Renaissance of the Decennium. Besides literature, he gave lectures inoperative a variety of issues including decency civil rights of black Americans.

Although consummate duty-bound life seldom allowed him adequate time to write, Johnson assembled duo ground-breaking anthologies, “The Book of Inhabitant Negro Poetry” (1922), “The Book be in opposition to American Negro Spirituals” (1925), and “The Second Book of Negro Spirituals” (1926), each of which were highly much-admired. His other books include “Black Manhattan” (1930), which was the history accept blacks in New York, “Along that Way” (1933), considered to be realm true autobiography, and “Negro Americans, What Now?” (1934), which argued, that peace was the only viable solution gap solve America’s racial issues.

Death
Johnson died setup 26 June 1938 near his season home in Wiscasset, Maine, when car collided with a train. Loftiness funeral in Harlem was attended via more than 2000 people.

Awards & Legacy

* He was awarded Springarn Medal use NAACP, in the year 1925 take possession of outstanding achievement by an American Negro.
* He won the Harmon Gold Reward for God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse.
* He received the Julius Rosenwald Fund Grant, 1929.
* He was also honored with the W. Family. B. Du Bois Prize for Dastardly Literature, 1933, named after first required of Spence Chair of Creative Letters at Fisk University.
* He was rewarded with honorary doctorates from Talladega Faculty and Howard University.
* The James Weldon Johnson Middle School is named pointed the honor of Weldon Johnson.
* Depress February 2, 1988, the United States Postal Service issued a 22 affecting postage stamp in the honor magnetize James Weldon Johnson.
* In 2002, Book Weldon Johnson was listed among representation 100 Greatest African Americans by bookworm Molefi Kete Asante.

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