James Weldon Johnson chooses not to use dialect in his poems. What reason might there be for such a choice?

In what way is the title The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man misleading?

What controversial social phenomenon does Johnson expose in The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man? Explain.

In what ways does The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man implicitly question the nature of segregation and discrimination?

Johnson’s poem “Brothers” suggests a subtle kinship between the white man who lynches and the black man who is lynched. Explain.

In what ways is Johnson’s diverse, many-faceted life atypical of that of most African Americans of his day?

The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is a part of a long tradition of autobiography in African American literature. Explain.

James Weldon Johnson was known mainly for his poetry, but he also wrote a novel, The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man (1912), and an autobiography, Along This Way: The Autobiography of James Weldon Johnson (1933), as well as numerous essays.

James Weldon Johnson was the first African American in his county—and probably all of Florida—to pass the bar through an open state court examination since Reconstruction. Johnson was Fisk University’s first Adam K. Spence Professor of Creative Writing (1932-1938) and a visiting professor at New York University (1934-1937). He earned honorary degrees from Atlanta University, Talladega College, and Howard University. He received the Spingarn Medal for achievement from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He also earned the W. E. B. Du Bois Literature Prize, the Harmon Gold Award for God’s Trombones (1927), and a Julius Rosenwald Fellowship (1929). While he was principal at the Edwin M. Stanton School in Jacksonville, he began offering high school courses; this curriculum enabled African Americans to graduate from high school in Jacksonville for the first time.

Johnson’s writings brought increased respect to him and to African Americans everywhere. His Lift Every Voice and Sing—set to music by John Rosamond Johnson—became the theme song of the NAACP. In 1990, the Congressional Record entered “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as the official African American national hymn. After Johnson’s death, both his “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and his “The Creation” became picture books for children in 1993 and 1994, respectively. Yale University Library opened its James Weldon Johnson Memorial Collection in 1950, and the U.S. Postal Service honored Johnson with a twenty-two-cent stamp in 1988.