James+Weldon+Johnson+2

=James Weldon Johnson=



By Solomon Kalapala Period: 1

=Biography=

Part 1 : Early life and the founding of //Daily American//
James Weldon Johnson was born in 1871 in Jacksonville, Florida. He was born during the optimism of the Reconstruction period. He was born and educated in Jacksonville, first by his mother, who taught for many years in the public schools, and later by James C. Walter, the well-educated but stern principal of the Stanton School. Graduating at the age of sixteen, Johnson was enrolled in Atlanta University, from which he graduated in 1894. After graduation, Johnson, though only twenty-three, returned to the Stanton School to become its principal. In 1895, Johnson found the //Daily American,// a newspaper devoted to reporting on issues relevant to the black community. The paper only lasted a year ( with Johnson doing most of the work) before it succumbed into financial hardship. Before it succumbed into financial hardship, it addressed racial injustice and, in keeping with Johnson's upbringing, asserted a self-help philosophy that echoed Booker T. Washington. Of the demise of the paper he wrote in his autobiography, //Along This Way//, "The failure of the //Daily American// was my first taste of defeat in public life. . . ." However, the effort was not a total failure. Washington and his main rival, W. E. B. Du Bois, became aware of Johnson through his journalistic efforts, leading to opportunities in later years.

Part 2: Johnson's role in the Harlem Renaissance
Johnson and his brother Rosamond, moved to New York, providing compositions to Broadway musicals. James's poems provided the lyrics for Rosamond's early songs. By the end of the decade, both brothers were in New York, providing compositions to Broadway musicals. There they met Bob Cole, whom Johnson described as a man of such immense talent that he could "write a play, stage it, and play a part." The brothers split their time between Jacksonville and New York for a number of years before settling in New York for good. However, their greatest composition, the one for which they are best known, was written for a Stanton School celebration of Lincoln's birthday. "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was a song that, as Johnson put it, "the brothers let pass out of [their] minds," after it had been published. This song was also adopted by the NAACP as the "Negro National Hymn." Johnson had, by this time, established himself as an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance. From his post as field secretary of the NAACP, Johnson was a witness to the changes taking place in the artistic sphere. As a prominent voice in the literary debates of the day, Johnson undertook the task of editing //The Book of American Negro Poetry// (1922), //The Book of American Negro Spirituals// (1925), //The// //Second Book of American Negro Spirituals// (1926), and writing his survey of African American cultural contributions to the New York artistic scene in //Black Manhattan// (1930). His own career as a poet reached its culmination in //God’s Trombones, Seven Negro Sermons in Verse,// published in 1927. Though not noted for playing the role of polemicist, through each of these literary enterprises Johnson worked hard to refute biased commentary from white critics while pushing African American writers toward a more ambitious vision of literary journey.

=Lift Every Voice and Sing= by James Weldon Johnson

Lift every voice and sing Till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise High as the listening 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. Stony the road we trod, Bitter the chastening 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 has brought us thus far on the way; Thou who has 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.

=Meaning of the poem= The poem’s theme is similar to that of the “Star-Spangled Banner,” the national anthem of the United States. Because of the history of African American slavery in America, the poem holds an additional layer of meaning for African American liberation, for which the brave fighters struggled against segregation, Jim Crow laws, and black codes. The stanzas in this poem show the true meaning of African American rights and how unfair the injustice against African Americans is. In the first stanza, “Lift every voice and sing, till earth and Heaven ring”, James urges the people to grow in faith from the dark past and "march until victory is won." He is asking us to not give up, which means to have faith, and to pursue freedom by not giving up. In the second stanza, “Stony the road we trod, bitter the chastening rod”, the speaker tries to tell all of us that their way wasn't easy, nevertheless, not a smooth ride. He mentions that even before the people could have hope, the hope seemed to have vanished. But still with “weary feet” and by unflagging courage, they have finally arrived at that place their forefathers had struggled hard to achieve. In the third stanza, “God of our weary years, God of our silent tears”, the speaker recites a thanksgiving prayer to God. The speaker acknowledges that God has always been with them as they have struggled for liberty through the “weary years” with “silent tears.” He recognizes that God has brought them “into the light,” and he prays that they will remain on the right path. All of the meanings in these three stanzas combine to create the poem, which shows the White Americans how African Americans are trying to express themselves in this country. They are showing how they worked hard and how far they achieved their goal trying to fight injustice and segregation. This is how James Weldon Johnson played a major role during the Harlem Renaissance time period.  Citations:  "James Weldon Johnson's Life and Career." //Welcome to English « Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. .  "Lift Every Voice and Sing by James Weldon Johnson." //TeachingAmericanHistory.org -- Free Seminars and Summer Institutes for Social Studies Teachers//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. .  "June Poet - James Weldon Johnson: 'Lift Every Voice and Sing'." //Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers' Network//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. .    