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James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938 / Florida/United States)
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James Weldon Johnson (June 17, 1871 – June 26, 1938) was an American author, politician, diplomat, critic, journalist, poet, anthologist, educator, lawyer, songwriter, and early civil rights activist. Johnson is remembered best for his leadership within the NAACP, as well as for his writing, which includes novels, poems, and collections of folklore. He was also one of the first African-American professors at New York University. Later in life he was a professor of creative literature and writing at Fisk University.
Johnson was born in Jacksonville, Florida, the son of Helen Louise Dillet and James Johnson. His brother was the composer John Rosamond Johnson. Johnson was first ... more »
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Quotations
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''It is from the blues that all that may be called American music derives its most distinctive character.''
James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938), U.S. author, poet. Black Manhattan, ch. 11 (1930).
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Lift every voice and sing till earth and heaven ring,
James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938), African-American hymn-writer. Published in The Hymnal (1982). "Lift every voice and sing," l. 1-4, Edward B. Marks M...
ring with the harmonies of liberty.
Let our rejoicing rise high as the listening skies;
Let it resound loud as the rolling se...
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You sang far better than you knew; the songs
James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938), U.S. author. O Black and Unknown Bards (l. 45-48). . . Poetry of Black America, The; Anthology of the 20th Centu...
That for your listeners' hungry hearts sufficed
Still live,—but more than this to you belongs:
You sang a race from wood and ston...
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''Whose starward eye
James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938), U.S. author. O Black and Unknown Bards (l. 13-16). . . Poetry of Black America, The; Anthology of the 20th Centu...
Saw chariot "swing low"? And who was he
That breathed that comforting, melodic sigh,
"Nobody knows de trouble I see"?''
I learned The Creation in high school in approximately 1966 - I have never forgotten it - back then, I had typed it out on a typewriter and it is still on my bookshelf. One of my most favorite poems ever.
James Weldon Johnson is one of the best poets in America's past.