Watson, Steven. The Harlem Renaissance: Hub of
African-American Culture, 1920–1930.New York:
Pantheon Books, 1995.
Figgs, Carrie Law Morgan(1878–1968)
A published poet and playwright who was born in
Valdosta, Georgia, to the Reverend James and Lu-
cinda Morgan. She attended Edward Waters Col-
lege in Jacksonville, the first Florida college
founded for African Americans and the oldest in-
dependent school of higher learning in the state.
Following graduation, she married William Figgs, a
porter and a Mason, in Jacksonville and worked as
a schoolteacher in the city for just over 20 years.
After the Figgs family moved to CHICAGOin 1920,
Figgs became an increasingly prominent member of
the African Methodist Episcopal church, a leading
community activist, and a respected entrepreneur
and owner of the Commonwealth Real Estate Em-
ployment Company, based in the family home. In
Chicago, Figgs rose through the ranks of the Hero-
ines of Jericho, an organization that was open only
to the wives of Masons.
In 1920 Figgs published POETICPEARLS,her
first work and first book of poems with the Edward
Waters College Press, the publishing house of her
alma mater. The 25 poems included works dedi-
cated to her parents, and religious meditations, as
well as commentaries on social relations and fam-
ily dynamics. In her introduction to the volume,
Figgs noted that during her years of travel and ser-
vice as a teacher and Masonic officer, she had “ob-
serve[d] much” and was “[t]herefore... sending
this little book out into the world.” The work re-
ceived favorable reviews from various figures in-
cluding the president of WILBERFORCE
UNIVERSITY, who characterized the book as “a
very fine contribution.” Figgs proved herself an
advocate of unsung heroes in poems such as “Why
Slight the Working Girl” and “After the Honey-
moon,” in which she championed earnest but mis-
treated working persons. Figgs also included “The
Bull Frog’s Song,” a poem written when she was
14 years old. Like other poems in the collection, it
had four-line stanzas and an irregular rhyme
scheme. The “Tribute to the Business Men of
Jacksonville” and “The Negro Has Played His
Part” revealed Figgs’s earnest contributions to
racial uplift and efforts to exhort African Ameri-
cans who, she claimed, had “boldly played [their]
part” in American history.
One year later, in 1921, Figgs self-published
NUGGETS OFGOLD,a collection of poems priced at
fifty cents. Included in the preface were excerpts
from letters she had received from readers of Poetic
Pearls. It was these positive responses and the
“enormous sales” and “popular favor” of her first
book that she said “inspired me to send to you
Nuggets of Gold.” Figgs noted that the encouraging
assessments of her first work had prompted her to
generate another volume. This collection of 20
poems maintained her focus on African-American
progress, positive work ethics, and the importance
of faith and morality. It began with a celebration of
her own family in the title poem, “My Nuggets of
Gold,” in which she declared, “I own three golden
nuggets. / Two boys and a girl; / Who fondly call me
mother; / I’m the happiest woman in the world.”
Two years later, in 1923, Figgs produced the
self-published collection SELECTPLAYS:SANTA
CLAUS LAND,JEPTHAH’S DAUGHTER,THE
PRINCE OF PEACE,BACHELOR’S CONVENTION.
The title page made a pointed note that “Produc-
tion of these Plays is FREE to Amateurs, but the
sole Professional Rightsare reserved by the Author.
Moving Picture Rights reserved.” Two of the four
works were based on biblical stories, one was a
children’s play, and another was a contemporary
“comedy drama.”
Santa Claus Landwas a short, two-act play for
children that emphasized the value of curiosity and
useful virtues such as patience. In Bachelor’s Con-
vention,Figgs crafted a pointed satire of patriarchal
society and suggested that women needed to have
more freedom from domestic responsibilities. Select
Playsalso included two biblical plays that exam-
ined inspiring stories from the Old and New Testa-
ments about self-sacrifice, sanctification and
holiness, and female virtue.
Figgs’s contributions to the Harlem Renais-
sance reflected the ongoing interest in racial uplift
that peaked in the late 1890s with the formation of
the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COLORED
WOMEN. Her philanthropic work and religious
outreach manifested themselves in her writings
and further secured her reputation as a respected
elder in her Chicago community.Figgs, Carrie Law Morgan 157