The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man

Johnson, James Weldon

ISBN 10: 1420952366 / ISBN 13: 9781420952360

Published by Digireads.com, 2016

Gently used with minimal wear on the corners and cover. A few pages may contain light highlighting or writing, but the text remains fully legible. Dust jacket may be missing, and supplemental materials like CDs or codes may not be included. May be ex-library with library markings. Ships promptly! Seller Inventory # DBV.1420952366.G

Synopsis:

First published anonymously in 1912, “The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man” is James Weldon’s Johnson fictional account of a young biracial man living in America during the second half of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century. The so-called “Ex-Colored” man makes his living as a jazz pianist playing ragtime music at a popular New York club. It is here that he catches the attention of a wealthy white gentleman who takes a curious interest in him and employs him to play at his parties. While he becomes friends with the man a feeling of subservience reminiscent of slavery prompts him to part ways. He travels to the south where he intends to work on his music in an attempt to glorify the artistry of his race. After witnessing a terribly horrific lynching he abandons his desire to embrace his black heritage opting instead to “pass” as a white man. “The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man” masterfully explores the complexity of race relations between whites and blacks in America and the search for racial identity by one of mixed ethnicity. Through the experiences of its unnamed protagonist the issues of class, race, and discrimination are discussed with an openness uncommon to literature of the time, and which would establish it as a pivotal work of the Harlem Renaissance. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

About the Author: James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938) was an American author, politician, diplomat, critic, journalist, poet, anthologist, educator, lawyer, songwriter, and early civil rights activist. Johnson is remembered best for his leadership within the NAACP, as well as for his writing, which includes novels, poems, and collections of folklore. He was also one of the first African-American professors at New York University. Later in life he was a professor of creative literature and writing at Fisk University. During a six-year stay in Hispanic America he completed his most famous book The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man which was published anonymously in 1912. It was only during 1927 that Johnson admitted his authorship — stressing that it was not a work of autobiography but mostly fictional. Other works include The Book of American Negro Spirituals (1925), Black Manhattan (1930), his exploration of the contribution of African-Americans to the culture of New York, and Negro Americans, What Now? (1934), a book advocating civil rights for African Americans. Johnson was also an anthologist. His anthologies concerned African-American themes and were part of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s. He also wrote the melody for the song Dem Bones.

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
Publisher: Digireads.com
Publication Date: 2016
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: good