James+Weldon+Johnson

James Weldon Johnson was born on June 17, 1871 in Jacksonville, Florida as James William Johnson, but changed his middle name to Weldon. James was just a normal person growing up. He was very smart and loved baseball. His mother was a teacher, and she taught him all that she could so he became a very smart person. When he was old another he went to college to get an even further education. He cared vary much about all blacks having a good edjication, so he went into teaching after he got his Bachelor’s degree, and expanded his old school to all 12 grades. He taught for a while, but then his brother Rosamod asked him to help him with his song writing. James cared very much about the education of kids so in the summer he went to New York to work with his brother, but when school started again he would go back and teach. Soon though he quit as principle of his school and went to work with his brother full time.

Soon after he wrote the song “lift every voice and sing” this became the Negro national anthem. He wrote it as part of a speech for Abraham Lincoln. He wanted to make a song that all people (including children) could sing and remember. James was also a poet. He became very inspired be listening to bible stories and started writing poems about them. He compiled all his sermon-poems into a book called God’s Trombones. It became an award winning book. James also became the US consul to Venezuela and Nicaragua. James started to become a powerful spokesman. He helped to Rally African Americans to be the best that they can be. In 1938 on a vacation with his wife Grace Nail, his car was hit by a train. His wife suffered severe injuries and James Weldon Johnson was dead. James is still a very famous person today. His Biography was a best seller, and he became featured on a 22-cent postal stamp as part of the “Black Heritage” series.



James Weldon Johnson, Contemporary Black Biography Vol.5, Detroit 1993, Gale Biography in context, web, 2/15/11 Egypt, Ophelia, James Weldon Johnson, New York, Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1974, print James Weldon Johnson, SC University libraries, University of SC, web, 2/17/11 Picture, Harlem Timeline 1900-1940 Picture, Streamline

J.E.F 2B

=**__James Weldon Johnson__**=  James Weldon Johnson, named James William Johnson at birth, was a very talented author, songwriter, and scholar. He was also a very strong and vocal civil rights activist. James was born on June 17, 1871 in Jacksonville, Florida. He attended a small school up until junior high school. There was not a high school for African- Americans in the area, so his parents sent him to Atlanta University; there he received a high school and a college education. He graduated in 1894. In 1897, James became the first African-American to be admitted to the Florida bar through examination in a state court. In 1901, he moved to New York City. He was appointed consul at Puerto Cabello, Venezuela in 1906. He married Grace Nail of New York City in 1906. In 1916, he was appointed as field secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP. W.E.B Du Bois thought that since James had done so much to try to end racial segregation that he would be a great addition to the NAACP. Johnson traveled around the country giving speeches and writing about what he saw. He wrote many books in his life, including __The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man__, about the life of a man facing racial discrimination so he decides to pass for a white man. In 1916 he won the Spingarn Medal for his achievements. Johnson was also a lover of music and poetry. He wrote the poem __Lift Every Voice and Sing__, which he later put into music. It is now celebrated as the African-American national anthem. On June 26, 1938, at the age of 67, James Weldon Johnson passed away. He is remembered for his works of literature and song as well as his voice against racial discrimination.

Lift Every Voice and Sing performed by Ray Charles code Lift ev'ry voice and sing, Till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise High as the list'ning skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us; Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, Let us march on till victory is won.
 * Lift Every Voice and Sing ||||  ||
 * by [|James Weldon Johnson] ||

Stony the road we trod, Bitter the chast'ning rod, Felt in the days when hope unborn had died; Yet with a steady beat, Have not our weary feet Come to the place for which our fathers sighed? We have come over a way that with tears has been watered. We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered, Out from the gloomy past, Till now we stand at last Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way; Thou who hast by Thy might, Led us into the light, Keep us forever in the path, we pray. Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee, Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee; Shadowed beneath Thy hand, May we forever stand, True to our God,True to our native land. code || = __Work Cited__ = "James Weldon Johnson" //Dictionary of American Biography.// Charles Scribner's "Sons, 1944. Gale Biography in Context. Web Feb.15 2011

Johnson, James Weldon. "Lift Every Voice And Sing." //poets.org.// .np. n.p. web 2/16/11\

Hardy, Stephen and Hardy, Sheila. "James Weldon Johnson". //Extraordinary People of the Harlem Renaissance.// 200. np. print

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