Born: 17-Jun-1871
Birthplace: Jacksonville, FL
Died: 26-Jun-1938
Location of death: Wiscasset, ME
Cause of death: Accident - Automobile
Remains: Buried, Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY

Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: Black
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Author

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: God's Trombones

Wrote the lyrics to "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" (referred to as the Black National Anthem), set to music by J. Rosamond Johnson.

Father: James Johnson
Mother: Helen Louise Dillet
Brother: J. Rosamond Johnson (Harlem Renaissance composer)
Wife: Grace Nail (m. 3-Feb-1910)

    University: BA, Atlanta University (1894)
    Administrator: Principal, Stanton Grammar School, Jacksonville, FL
    University: MA, Atlanta University (1904)
    University: Columbia University
    Professor: Creative Literature, Fisk University (1930-)

    Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity
    NAACP Executive Secretary (1920-31)
    NAACP 1916
    Spingarn Medal 1925

Author of books:
The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man (1912, novel)
Fifty Years and Other Poems (1917, poetry)
Book of American Negro Poetry (1922, anthology)
God's Trombones (1927, sermons)
Along This Way (1933, memoir)
Negro Americans, What Now? (1934)
Saint Peter Relates an Incident: Selected Poems (1934, poetry)

Appears on postage stamps:
USA, Scott #2371 (22 cents, issued 2-Feb-1988)

Copyright ©2025