BIOGRAPHY

James Weldon Johnson (1871 – 1938) was an American writer, educator, and civil rights activist born in Jacksonville, FL. Johnson was a leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 1920-1930. He was known during the Harlem Renaissance for his poems, novels, and anthologies celebrating black culture. He wrote the lyrics for “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, which became known as the Black National Anthem. He was later the first African American to be hired as a professor at NYU.