Our Namesake

James Weldon Johnson was a teacher, poet, songwriter and civil rights activist.  He was the second of three children.  His father was a headwaiter and his mother was the first female black public school teacher in Florida.  His interests in reading and music were encouraged by his parents.

Johnson was a dedicated and talented  student.  He went on to graduate from Atlanta University.  After graduation, Johnson went on to become the principal of the Jacksonville, Florida school where his mother had taught.  While serving as a principal, Johnson studied law and became the first African-American to pass the bar exam in Florida.

When his brother , John Rosamond graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in 1897, the two began collaborating on musical compositions.  James Weldon wrote the lyrics and his brother, John composed the music for “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, which later came to be known as the “Negro National Anthem”.

James Weldon Johnson went on to write many books and works of poetry including The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man(1912), Fifty Years and Other Poems(1917) , The Book of American Negro Poetry(1922), Black Manhattan(1930), and Along This Way(1933) as well as many, many more.

James Weldon Johnson traveled many places and held a variety of prestigious positions.  In 1906 he obtained a consulship position at Puerto Cabello, Venezuela and Corinto, Nicaragua.  Johnson later moved back to the United States and became an editorial writer for The New York Age.  In 1916 he held the post of field secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and later became the organization’s general secretary.  Johnson was an advocate and activist for racial equality and integration.  Johnson died on June 26, 1938 near his home.  His funeral in Harlem was attended by more than 2000 people.