Glossary
| Johnson, James Weldon | | Lawyer, lyricist, and social activist, James Weldon Johnson was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1871. After graduating from Atlanta University, he returned to Jacksonville and worked as a principal in Stanton Elementary School. Johnson collaborated as a lyricist with his brother on some 200 songs, including "Lift Every Voice and Sing," long considered to be the African American national anthem. Under Theodore Roosevelt's administration, Johnson was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela (1906), Nicaragua (1909) and Azores (1912). Upon his return to the U.S., Johnson joined the NAACP and served in numerous capacities with the organization for almost 15 years. He was one of the leading contributors to Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s, publishing anthologies of African American poetry as well as his own works. Johnson also taught at Fisk University and New York University. He died in 1938. |
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