Literature Spotlights

James Weldon Johnson

An American writer , educator, lawyer, and civil rights activist best known for his work with the NAACP as well as being the writer of "Lift Every Voice and Sing". Johnson was born June 17, 1781, in Jacksonville, Fl. He graduated from Clark Atlanta University and was a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance, writing poetry and editing anthologies. He served as the executive secretary of the NAACP, the US consul to Venezuela and Nicaragua, and the first African American professor at New York University.