S9.com / Biographies /
1871 - Born on June 17th in Jacksonville, Florida. A poet, diplomat, and anthologist of black culture.
1894-1904 - Trained in music and other subjects by his mother, a schoolteacher, Johnson graduated from Atlanta University with A.B. and M.A. degrees and later studied at Columbia University.
- For several years he was principal of the black high school in Jacksonville, Florida.
- He read law at the same time, was admitted to the Florida bar, and began practicing there.
- Went to New York with his brother, where they wrote some 200 songs for the Broadway musical stage.
1906 - President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him U.S. consul to Puerto Cabello, Venezuela.
1909-1914 - He became consul in Corinto, Nicaragua.
1916 - Johnson was a leader in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
1917-1926 - "Fifty Years and Other Poems" was followed by his pioneering anthology "Book of American Negro Poetry" and books of "American Negro Spirituals", collaborations with his brother.
1927 - He later taught at Fisk University. Meanwhile, he began writing a novel, Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man (published anonymously), which attracted little attention until it was reissued under his own name.
- His best-known work, "God's Trombones", a group of black dialect sermons in verse, includes “The Creation” and “Go Down Death.” Johnson's introductions to his anthologies contain some of the most perceptive assessments ever made of black contributions to American culture.
1933 - Wrote "Along This Way" an autobiography.
1938 - Died on June 26th in Wiscasset, Maine.
1894-1904 - Trained in music and other subjects by his mother, a schoolteacher, Johnson graduated from Atlanta University with A.B. and M.A. degrees and later studied at Columbia University.
- For several years he was principal of the black high school in Jacksonville, Florida.
- He read law at the same time, was admitted to the Florida bar, and began practicing there.
- Went to New York with his brother, where they wrote some 200 songs for the Broadway musical stage.
1906 - President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him U.S. consul to Puerto Cabello, Venezuela.
1909-1914 - He became consul in Corinto, Nicaragua.
1916 - Johnson was a leader in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
1917-1926 - "Fifty Years and Other Poems" was followed by his pioneering anthology "Book of American Negro Poetry" and books of "American Negro Spirituals", collaborations with his brother.
1927 - He later taught at Fisk University. Meanwhile, he began writing a novel, Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man (published anonymously), which attracted little attention until it was reissued under his own name.
- His best-known work, "God's Trombones", a group of black dialect sermons in verse, includes “The Creation” and “Go Down Death.” Johnson's introductions to his anthologies contain some of the most perceptive assessments ever made of black contributions to American culture.
1933 - Wrote "Along This Way" an autobiography.
1938 - Died on June 26th in Wiscasset, Maine.
  | Page last updated: 2:51am, 17th Mar '07 |
Related Books
  |
The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man (American Century Series) by James Weldon Johnson (Paperback - Mar 1, 1991) James Weldon Johnson's emotionally gripping novel is a landmark in black literary history and, more than eighty years after its original anonymous publication, a classic of American fiction. The...  Usually ships in 24 hours |
 |
  |
God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) by James Weldon Johnson (Paperback - Feb 1, 1990)  In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served. |
|
  |
The Books of the American Negro Spirituals by James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson (Paperback - Dec 3, 2002) In two elegant and masterly prefaces, James Weldon Johnson discusses the origin and history of more than 120 of the most significant spirituals known. Favorites like "Swing Low Sweet Chariot," "Deep... Usually ships in 24 hours |
|
  |
The Autobiography of an Ex-colored Man by James Weldon Johnson (Paperback - Jan 31, 2005) This remarkable novel documents the life of an American of mixed ethnicity who moves freely in society— from the rural South to the urban North and eventually, Europe. A revolutionary work... Usually ships in 24 hours |
|
  |
The Autobiography Of An Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson (Paperback - Nov 7, 2007) The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man was written by James Weldon Johnson who was an important 20th century author, journalist and poet. As one of the early American civil rights leaders he became a... Usually ships in 24 hours |
|
  |
The Creation by James Weldon Johnson and James E. Ransome (Hardcover - Mar 24, 1994) This illustrated edition of Johnson's 1919 poem, which won the 1995 Coretta Scott King Award, brings the story of Creation down to earth and into the grasp of young children. Alternating with the... Usually ships in 24 hours |
|
