Quick Facts
- NAME: James Weldon Johnson
- OCCUPATION: Scholar, Civil Rights Activist, Songwriter, Diplomat, Journalist
- BIRTH DATE: June 17, 1871
- DEATH DATE: June 26, 1938
- EDUCATION: Atlanta University, Columbia University
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Jacksonville, Florida
- PLACE OF DEATH: Wiscasset, Maine
Best Known For
James Weldon Johnson was an African-American writer, politician, educator and lawyer. He was also an early civil rights activist and leader of the NAACP.
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Play NowJames Weldon Johnson. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 08:31, May 18, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/james-weldon-johnson-9356013.
James Weldon Johnson. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/james-weldon-johnson-9356013 [Accessed 18 May 2013].
"James Weldon Johnson." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 18 2013, 08:31 http://www.biography.com/people/james-weldon-johnson-9356013.
"James Weldon Johnson," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/james-weldon-johnson-9356013 [accessed May 18, 2013].
"James Weldon Johnson," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/james-weldon-johnson-9356013 (accessed May 18, 2013).
James Weldon Johnson [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 18] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/james-weldon-johnson-9356013.
James Weldon Johnson, http://www.biography.com/people/james-weldon-johnson-9356013 (last visited May 18, 2013).
James Weldon Johnson. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/james-weldon-johnson-9356013. Accessed May 18, 2013.
Profile
James Weldon Johnson was born on June 17, 1871, in Jacksonville, Florida. He founded the Daily American newspaper in 1895. In 1897, he passed the bar and, two years later, wrote the song, "Lift Every Voice and Sing." In the early 1890s, he wrote an autobiography. He published his first poetry collection in 1917. In 1920, Weldon became the first black manager of the NAACP. He died on June 26, 1938, in Wiscasset, Maine.
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Famous Black Writers
View groupThey are the famous African-American writers who have fearlessly examined cultural stigmas, provided intimate life details, presented new ideas and created remarkable fiction through literary works. For their prophetic genius, these men and women have received Pulitzer Prizes, NAACP awards and even Nobel Prizes, among other honors. Our list of prominent African-American authors includes Toni Morrison, who has detailed the lives of black characters who struggle with identity amidst racism and hostility; Langston Hughes, a founder of the Harlem Renaissance; and Maya Angelou, who has eloquently chronicled various eras of her life through her autobiographies.
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