James Weldon Johnson, Negro Americans, What Now?

Robert E. Fleming (University of New Mexico)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.3: American (US) Writing and Culture: The Early Twentieth-century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: J. Michael Duvall (College of Charleston), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Tony Papanikolas (San Jose State University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Domains

Race

Dates

First circulation or publication 1934

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Commentary / criticism
Essays/ Lectures (any)

Cultural Identities

African American

Resources

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Recommended Reading

Negro Americans, What Now?

is a book-length political address by James Weldon Johnson to his fellow African Americans. Although Johnson is best known for his poetry and fiction, he served as an officer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 1916 to 1930 and was well acquainted with the social and political problems facing his race. The world-wide depression of the 1930s had seen the loss of many of the gains that the black race had made in the early twentieth century.

Negro Americans, What Now?

was intended to address current problems and to suggest some solutions. Johnson divided his short book into three sections: “Choices”, “Forces and Resources”, and “Techniques and Policies”.

“Choices” sums up the results of two unsuccessful

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377 words

Citation: Fleming, Robert E.. "Negro Americans, What Now?". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 October 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=3253, accessed 24 November 2024.]

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