African American Poetry: A Digital Anthology

Chapter 2: 1900-1909. Introduction

General historical background: The first decade of the twentieth century was an important period in African American history. A growing number of activist groups and organizations were emerging at the time, the most prominent of which was the Niagara Movement (1905-1909), which advocated for a direct approach to civil rights (in contrast to the “Atlanta Compromise” promoted by figures like Booker T. Washington in the 1890s). The group associated with the Niagara movement, whose most prominent member was W.E.B. Du Bois, would go on to form the NAACP in 1910, beginning a new era of organized civil rights activism and advocacy. For women, this period was equally active. While the leadership of the Niagara Movement and the early NAACP did not include many Black women, Black women had their own parallel organization in the National Association of Colored Women (NACW), which would become the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs in 1904. 

Alongside some positive developments, this period was also marred by serious incidents of racialized violence, the most serious of which might have been the Atlanta Race Massacre of 1906. Another incident that was widely discussed in the Black press was the Brownsville Affair (also 1906), which led to the dishonourable discharge of 167 Black troops in Texas after a spurious investigation (the U.S. military later exonerated the troops). There were also many smaller incidents which took place elsewhere, including a race riot in Springfield Ohio in 1906 that inspired Charlotte Linden’s 1907 poem, “A Riot.”

There were a number of worthwhile books by African American women published in the first decade of the twentieth century (1900-1909). In our collection, we have been able to locate seven books, one of which is Frances E.W. Harper’s Idylls of the Bible – a reworking of her earlier book Moses: A Story of the Nile from 1870. Some notable books include Katherine D. Tillman's Recitations (1902) and Lizelia A.J. Moorer's Prejudice Unveiled, and Other Poems (1907)

However, the paucity of single-authored books in the archives is balanced by an increase in access to secular African American magazines. Two especially important magazines were The Colored American Magazine and Voice of the Negro.  Colored American Magazine was originally published in Boston, before being relocated to New York City; it is best-known in some ways today as the launching pad for the novelist Pauline Hopkins, who serialized a number of her stories in its pages. 

Another important magazine from this period was Voice of the Negro, originally published in Atlanta. After a horrific race riot leading to threats against its editors in 1906, the magazine moved to Chicago. Both magazines tended to publish many more poems by men than by women, though there are some very important and thoughtful poems by women in these magazines during this period nevertheless. 

While the number of books of poetry published by Black women in the 1900s was relatively modest, the ones we do have were quite high quality, including three books by the Thompson sisters of Ohio (Priscilla Jane Thompson and Clara Ann Thompson), as well as Charlotte E. Linden’s Scraps of Time, alongside the aforementioned titles by Harper, Moorer, and Tillman. 

Quite a number of the most interesting poems in these collections deal with questions of race and racism. There are some prominent poems dealing with “Racial Uplift” (continuing the pattern from the previous decade), but also some very compelling poems dealing with internalized racism by Priscilla Jane Thompson that we’ll explore in this chapter.  

We have also located several love poems that appear to have homoerotic or queer overtones by Priscilla Jane Thompson and Clara Ann Thompson. 

Introducing Some of the Poets of 1900-1909

Two of the most interesting poets to emerge during this decade are sisters from Ohio, Priscilla Jane Thompson (1871-1942) and Clara Ann Thompson (1868-1959).

Priscilla and Jane were born in Rossmoyne, Ohio. Their parents were John Henry Thompson and Clara Jane Gray – former enslaved people from Virginia. Both Priscilla and Clara Thompson were active in the local Black Church (Zion Baptist), and also joined the local NAACP chapter in Cincinnati. 

Clara Ann Thompson published two books of poetry, Songs from the Wayside (1908) and A Garland of Poems (1926). She also published a pamphlet in 1921 called “What Means This Bleating of the Sheep?” which took a strong activist stance against the American history of systemic racism. (We’ll save our discussion of that pamphlet for a later chapter.)

Priscilla Jane Thompson, we understand, never married, and lived with her parents and her sister for her entire life. Some sources indicate that Priscilla may have had health issues that limited her mobility and that required special care and assistance from others in her family. Priscilla published two books in the 1900s, Ethiope Lays (1900) and Gleanings of Quiet Hours (1907). Priscilla’s collections contain many thoughtful reflections on issues of race, racism, and the legacy of slavery (see “Freedom at McNealy’s,” “Address to Ethiopia” and “To a Little Colored Boy” especially). Indeed, to our eyes, Priscilla’s poetry is some of the most exciting writing in our collection from this period. 

Intriguingly, Priscilla Thompson’s poetry collections also contain a number of poems that appear to be directed to a same-sex love interest. In the subsequent section, we’ll explore some of those as well.

Charlotte E. Linden, who also wrote as Mrs. Henry Linden, was a successful businesswoman, community leader, and poet. Her collection and autobiography Scraps of Time (1907) contains poetry of tribute, reflections on womanhood and Christianity, and a retelling of racialized violence that occurred in Springfield, Ohio (see more on this later). 

 

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