African American Literature

April 11th, 2010 by Dr. Pauline

James Weldon Johnson - African American Author

African American Literature covers every genre of writing. Probably the main reason for this is the fact that everyone has a story. The African American’s story is one of a strong people carving out a life in probably the most impossible circumstances ever recorded in the history of nations. Therefore, his literature chronicles the steps of a people from the slave ships, to a time of slavery showing the cruel oppression of one human to another, to the trickle of enlightenment from the one-room schools, and finally to the explosive years of the sixties. Each generation produced writers who assayed to tell the story of the sojourn of the African in America. Some writers attempted to discover the roots of a people left out of the history books, and when briefly included it was in a degrading way. Alex Haley’s research did not remedy the problem of racial identity but it did show the nations that African Americans have a proud history.

African American Literature contains the work of numerous artisans, novelists, poets, and musicians who wrote of the general culture of the American Negro (one of many names we have been called). James Weldon Johnson spoke about the contributions that the Negro has made to America as quite obvious.

Johnson said, “…his contribution of labor and their importance,
more or less, has long been recognized. But the idea of his being
a generous contributor to the common cultural store and vital
force to the formation of American civilization was a new
approach to the race question.

In speaking of James Weldon Johnson’s work it would be remiss of me not to mention two of his works, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, and, Lift Every Voice; I suppose any African American over forty have at least heard of this poem/song.
There are many early writers but this is not the time nor place to try to bring to your remembrance them all. However, we must not forget Lincoln’s Proclamation of Independence for the slaves; and how they received the news. The work of Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man and Juneteenth,is enlightening how these works came about, and how they speak to the heart of a people living as strangers in a land so far from home. A line from a Negro Spiritual says it all,
“Sometimes I feel like a motherless child, a long ways from home.”

African American literature tells of many giants before Johnson such as; Frederick Douglass, and W.E.B. Du Bois. As you know, Du Bois was the first African American to receive the Ph.D degree from Harvard.

These and many other firsts are recorded in African American Literature.

African American Literature is replete with writers of each century from the time we were packed in the belly of ships whose cargo consisted of rum and slaves. We would be hard-pressed to determine what or who was most important to the owners and clientele. The generation of the 19th century African American writers and artists produced a myriad of emotional works. Some brought tears of sadness to our hearts reminding us of the cruel road we had traveled and still had not found that Promise Land, way over yonder our fore parents sang about so fervently. Not all the history is tear-stained. Some brings one to outbursts of “belly laughter.” For instance, there is Langston Hughes’ stories of a character he called Simple. I suppose some of us can relate to the ups and downs of similar characters that have crossed our paths. Or perhaps we have had our own “simple” moments at various times. Richard Wright tells of his life in the story, Black Boy. This story gives a raw glimpse of life in the Deep South for African Americans. The reader is tossed along experiencing many emotions, sometimes anger, sometimes sadness, and sometimes a yearning to do something to change things more speedily. As some have said we cannot keep waiting for our change to come. We have waited, and waited and then waited some more while others came to the fountain of life and somehow drank deeply from the fresh, clean waters of opportunity. Waiting patiently has not been all bad when we look at the color of the White House today, there is an undeniable hint of color.