Harlem Renaissance

Author Ralph Ellison is perhaps best known for his 1952 landmark novel, “Invisible Man.” What some might not know is that Ellison was also a musician, educator, and a World War II veteran over the course of his rich life. Born March 1, 1914 in Oklahoma City, Okla., Ralph Waldo Ellison was named after journalist, […]

NEW YORK (AP) — Sixty years after her death, the story of Zora Neale Hurston is still not fully told. The fiction writer-anthropologist-folklorist died in a segregated Florida hospital in January 1960, so forgotten and impoverished that her work was out of print and her grave left unmarked. Starting in the 1970s, when Alice Walker […]

NEW YORK (AP) — Sixty years after her death, the story of Zora Neale Hurston is still not fully told. The fiction writer-anthropologist-folklorist died in a segregated Florida hospital in January 1960, so forgotten and impoverished that her work was out of print and her grave left unmarked. Starting in the 1970s, when Alice Walker […]

Zora Neale Hurston was a novelist, folklorist and anthropologist most famous for her 1937 novel, “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” Hurston’s path to prominence came by way of hardship and savvy ingenuity, helping her become one of the most beloved literary figures of all time.’ SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER:  Hurston was born on January […]

James Weldon Johnson achieved many high marks in his life, including becoming chosen as the first Black Executive Secretary of the NAACP. The co-author of the “Negro National Anthem” was born June 17, 1871, in Jacksonville, Florida. Their musician mother exposed Johnson, and his brother, composer John Rosamond Johnson, to music and literature at an […]

Gerri Major was a true Renaissance Woman, holding many important duties over the course of her long life. Major was a writer, publicist, and journalist that found fame in Harlem and crafted a journalism career that spanned decades. Born Geraldyn Hodges on July 29, 1894 in Chicago, the University of Chicago graduate had dreams of […]

Nella Larsen was a novelist who found fame during the Harlem Renaissance. She was the first African-American woman to be awarded the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship. Larsen’s career was short-lived, however, but recent interest in her work has placed her in the conversation as one of the period’s most important voices. Larsen was born Nellie Walker […]

At 102-years-old, it’s hard to witness anything new in life. But when Alice Barker saw film of herself dancing in a chorus line during the…

  Alain Leroy Locke is recognized as one of the leading Black philosophers and educators, and was instrumental in bringing attention to the Harlem Renaissance. Among Locke’s many achievements, one of his most notable is he being the first African-American awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. Born in Philadelphia, Pa. on September 13, 1866, Locke was […]

African-American dancer Leonard Harper is acknowledged as the father of cabaret. In the 20’s and 30’s, Harper and his dancing Harperettes were an international sensation. Leonard Harper started off performing in medicine shows (shows that included the selling of various medical remedies during intermissions) as a child. As he got older, he started working with […]