to and illuminated the labor and lives of African-
American laborers. Jessye published three addi-
tional books, including The Life of Christ in Negro
Spirituals(1931) and The Chronicle of Job(1936)
and saw at least one poem, “The Maestro,” pub-
lished in Opportunity.
Jessye donated her considerable collection of
personal papers to Pittsburg State University in
Pittsburg, Kansas, in 1977. Two years later, she was
appointed artist-in-residence there. In 1976 the
University of Michigan celebrated Jessye’s accom-
plishments with a degree of determination. She re-
ceived honorary degrees at Wilberforce University
and Southern University and in 1988, an honorary
doctor of art from Eastern Michigan University. A
member of Sigma Gamma Rho, Jessye also be-
longed to the Songwriters Hall of Fame and to the
American Society of Composers, Authors, and
Producers (ASCAP).
After a stunning 75-year career in music and
education, Jessye passed away in Ann Arbor,
Michigan, on 21 February 1992.
Bibliography
The Eva Jessye papers are housed at the University of
Michigan and at Pittsburg State University in
Kansas.
Abdul, Raoul. Blacks in Classical Music.New York:
Dodd, Mead, 1977.
Lanker, Brian. I Dream a World.New York: Stewart, Ta-
bori and Chang, 1989.
Southern, Eileen. Music of Black Americans.New York:
Norton, 1971.
Jim Crow
The term that was used to describe the laws that
enforced racial segregation in America. The name
“Jim Crow” was based on the contorted racist
minstrel character and performances inaugurated
by T. D. Rice in the 19th century. The laws upheld
segregation in many public areas, schools, hospi-
tals, restaurants, libraries, theaters, telephone
booths, and cemeteries, and on buses, trains, and
other modes of public transportation. The segre-
gation legislated social relations as well, including
restrictions on intermarriage, social interaction,
athletics, and housing.
“John Redding Goes to Sea”Zora Neale
Hurston(1926)
The first published story by ZORA NEALE
HURSTON. It was published first in the May 1921
issue of STYLUS,the HOWARDUNIVERSITYliterary
magazine. The piece was republished five years
later in the January 1926 issue of OPPORTUNITY.
The tender and heartbreaking account of a young
man’s wanderlust is set in a northern Florida vil-
lage near on the banks of the St. Johns River and
near the city of Jacksonville. The story is enriched
by details that link it to the author’s family life and
experiences.
The story revolves around John Redding,
who as a boy would imagine himself “a prince rid-
ing away in a gorgeous carriage... a knight be-
stride a fiery charger prancing down the white
shell road that led to distant lands. At other times
he was a steamboat captain piloting his craft
down the St. Johns River to where the sky
seemed to touch the water.” John’s parents, Al-
fred and Matty, have conflicting opinions about
their son’s penchant to dream and to think be-
yond the narrow social expectations of his com-
munity. His father responds gently to John’s vivid
descriptions of the world around him and does
not dismiss the young boy’s unique visions. It is
John’s melancholy mother, a woman prone to self-
pity and sobbing fits, who delays his journey out
into the world. A spontaneous marriage to a
beautiful village girl further distracts him from re-
alizing his childhood goal of going out to sea and
exploring distant lands. Ultimately, he decides to
join the Navy. His wife and mother protest loudly
and refuse to speak to him. On the eve of his de-
parture, he volunteers to help a construction
crew reinforce a bridge over the St. Johns River.
The ensuing storm ends up destroying the bridge
and injuring many of the workers. John Redding’s
family finally locates him, floating in the St. Johns
River, killed by falling timber or steel. When
crews prepare to retrieve his body, Alfred Redding
commands them to stop. “Leave him g’wan. He
wants tuh go. Ah’m happy ’cause dis maw’nin’
mah boy is goin’ tuh sea,” he says earnestly, “he’s
goin’ tuh sea.”The story closes as John Redding,
the young man who used to float twig ships in the
river that flowed near his home, finally realizes
his dream of exploration.“John Redding Goes to Sea” 277