James Weldon Johnson Influence on the Harlem Renaissance - Essay Example

James Weldon Johnson influence on the Harlem Renaissance Harlem Renaissance dominated in the 1920’s hence marked as a cultural movement of the time. It categorically carried the name New Negro Movement. James Weldon formed part of this era, being the first African American to get enrollment to the Florida bar. James called this period as the flowering of Negro Literature (Williams 44). As part of the large group that spanned this period with their exemplary writing, James’s writing contributed a lot in this black movement. As a black writer, he had shown his intellect by engaging the masses and the society in a powerful debate questioning African American life and its place. More of his point centered on highlighting the role and identity of African-American artists. James’s contributions show the not merely the life of African American, but also the largest concentration of history as representing the diverse elements of Negro life. As a songwriter, poet, critic, journalist, novelist, as well as an autobiographer, much like his collaborators W.E.B Du Bois, James bridged numerous historical and literary trends (Brown 54). His contribution is undisputed in the history of the Harlem Renaissance. First, over the stretch of his sixty-seven years, James and his brother John Rosamond composed a song titled ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ (Williams 66). The song grew in fame to become the Negro National Anthem as it joyfully intonated hope and faith. This epitomized the glow of his ever-enduring and influential touch within the life of the Harlem Renaissance. As part of his diction prowess, it stands out that James’s poems provided the lyrics to his brother’s early songs. In this song, the role, power and position of the African-Americans is highly enjoined. Even though his song celebrated the birth of Abraham Lincoln, it spread out to community of Jacksonville uncontrollably. Within a period of ten years, all the black schools in America had formed NAACP (Williams 48). Scholars have documented that the song became the binding tool, as it reflected James’s evolution as a black activist. The unparalleled contributions through this song upon fellow African-Americans were the infusion of Booker .T. Washington’s creed to African Americans. As a result, James seemed to emphasize and create awareness. His creed was that all the Black Americans had no option rather than focus fully on advancing economically and professionally (Bloom 44). As an example, James seemed to have cut himself a place in the white dominated society, and thus, with the other pioneers of the movement, their agitation was to empower the African-Americans to stand out in order to earn some respect from the whites. He wanted the blacks to brace themselves with the philosophy of self-help. Just like Booker, James disregarded the idea of active politics and a civil movement (Gosselin 38). What seemed paramount was the need to secure an education, hold steady jobs, own property, and live a conventional middle class life for all blacks. To him, the former needs would follow automatically if what was important took the first priority. Suggestively from the song, James seemed to remind his fellow blacks that there was more work left to do, and more battles ahead to fight. Because of that single song, James proved African Americans ability in the production of literature. Through James’s philosophy, a more robust approach on the position of blacks in American seemed to take new positive turns (Gosselin 42). There were demonstrations against lynching, and a relentless lobby on congress for an anti-lynching bill. This came due to James’s literary idea in the song ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’. Second, pioneering the Daily America Newspaper also stands out as the other major contribution of James Weldon towards Harlem Renaissance. It was a forceful move that its mandate in addressing the needs of the have notes was key. In this paper, as the most outstanding pure black paper, it devoted its space into reporting issues and the turbulent conditions that black Americans lived. At this time, the black community languished in the furrows of segregation and discrimination, and few of these ordeals seemed a bother to the white ruling class. In search for a place to air their cries, James seemed to have provided the African-Americans with a means with which they could voice out. Some of the issue voiced in this newspaper included the sore of social injustices meted to Black Americans, segregation and discrimination in reference to color, and the need for black Americans to portray a spirited fight towards their own achievements (Gosselin 45). At least, one of their own was well informed. Before the great depression dealt a blow to what James had conceived as the arsenal in agitating the blacks’ issues, the Daily American Newspaper had operated for twelve months with James doing the first eight months writing (Bloom 38). The financial hardships led to the operations and production of the newspapers collapse. In contribution to the Harlem Renaissance, the Daily American Magazine captured the well spread out racial injustice facing the blacks. It served as an awakening call and a trumpet in blowing out the issues that seemed to seal the fate of blacks as unequal. As a result, there was a general awareness, and all blacks came into light with what they deterred most. James also brought the relevance of his personal upbringing to call for all the African-Americans embrace the solitary philosophy of self-help. The Newspaper entirely centered in the spirit of Booker. T, it generally empowered blacks not to accept complacency. It rather advocated the need of blacks to soldier on, and create life in the white dominated culture. James Johnson’s activists influence also contributed a lot to the growth of the Harlem Renaissance. All this had come after the long journey’s of struggle (Bloom 44). It is this zeal to establish him as a professional black that his literary command landed him as a professor at New York University. Just like what you would expect of an activist, James earlier years in Atlanta University gave him the much preferred qualities and confidence in his activism role. His years in university, he had grown out as an influential speaker. For an activist, especially during the Harlem period, proper boldness to articulate black issues was a necessity. During this period, the desire to voice African America petitions was widely captured in his Daily American Newspaper, which authored many political and racial issues of those times (Gosselin 46). James’s spirit of active activism reached its zenith when his own Newspaper could not withstand the financial strain of the great depression. In order to keep the fire of Harlem Renaissance burning, he joined the arena as an activist. For example, having seen the suffering of his fellow blacks, he joined the political scene in 1904. This came through the joining of the Colored Republican Club (Williams 42). As he rose to the position of the presidency, James’ role as an activist was to organize political rallies. This is what the pioneers of Harlem Renaissance fought for relentlessly. His position lessened the way rallies and dissemination of information went on uninterrupted. As this was not enough, in 1914, James took over the editorial page of the New York Age. This was one of the influential African American Weekly Newspaper. Having had an experience voicing blacks’ issues in his earlier Newspaper, the same issues got the prominence. James notably painted the issues of blacks as raised by the Harlem crew of intellectual and this was widely read all over, including the white community. He really worked to boost the motives of the Renaissance era. Because of pointing out the biting issues of blacks, James understandably found himself listed among the prominent people in America at the time. Being among the Harlem pioneers, James gave this movement a much relevant heighten. His national prominence epitomized the voice of blacks, which for long years went unheard. Further, towards strengthening the Harlem movement, in 1916, he changed the old scenario of rowdy demonstrations into a more proactive and silent parade (Williams 56). This overshadowed the race riots, which painted the blacks as uncivilized. James brought sense back in the moves used to fight for African rights. For example, the massive gathering of African American on July 28 of 1917 posed James as such an influential leader. This prompted him to the zenith as the first African to be in the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). His contribution towards Harlem Renaissance stands undisputed. In conclusion, this paper has presented facts beyond doubt as to why James is up to date reckoned for his unflappable integrity. Thus, as a distinguished man devoted to human service and his collections as presented in the above analysis, James influenced the likes of Claude McKay and Langston Hughes who later prospered to become renowned black writers. Arguably therefore, James’ fame and intellect just made the Harlem Renaissance much stronger, as new empowered came after him. He was such an impact during this period of Black revolution. References Bloom, Harold. The Harlem Renaissance. Philadelphia, Pa: Chelsea House Publishers, 2004. Print. Brown, Lois. Encyclopedia of the Harlem Literary Renaissance. New York, NY: Facts On File, 2006. Print. Gosselin, Johnson J. Beyond the Harlem Renaissance: The Case for Black Modernist Writers. Modern Language Studies, Vol. 26, No. 4, Colorizing Literary Theory (Autumn, 1996), pp. 37-45. Williams, Ella O. Harlem Renaissance: A Handbook. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2008. Print. Read More