| Booker T. Washington |
| Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) was an author,
educator, editor, and orator. One of his most famous works is his autobiography,
Up From Slavery, which is considered a postbellum narrative which depicts
slavery as a "school" which taught slaves and others valuable lessons.
He advocated that African Americans should try to achieve their own economic
advancement and not social equality. |
| Charles Chesnutt |
| Charles Chesnutt (1858-1932) was a short story writer,
novelist, and essayist. His first collection of short stories, The Conjure
Woman, was written in dialect and depicted slavery. His second volume,
The Wife of His Youth, and Other Stories of the Color Line, presents the
subject of racial identity and African Americans' attempt to achieve success
in a world of racial discrimination and class distinctions. |
| W.E.B. Du
Bois |
| W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) was an essayist, journalist,
poet, critic, editor, philosopher, historian, and sociologist. The Souls
of Black Folks is a collection of essays on African American culture. One
of the most famous essays in the collection is entitled "Of Mr. Booker
T. Washington and Others" in which he criticizes Washington's proposal
for economic advancement. |
| James Weldon Johnson |
| James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938) was a poet, editor,
and novelist. His only novel, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, was
published anonymously and told the story of a light-skinned African American
man who passes for white and rejects his heritage. Johnson reveals his
interest in African American history in many of his poems that illustrate
how his ancestors survived slavery with courage and optimism. |
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