options for qualified men of color. Johnson’s return
to the United States was marred by the violent
racial targeting of veterans of color and by race
riots such as the Chicago Riot of 1919. His first-
hand experiences of war abroad and at home only
prompted him to redouble his studies of race rela-
tions and methods by which African Americans
could succeed in such a volatile nation. He was ap-
pointed to serve on the Chicago commission
charged with investigating the riot and, after much
research, published his substantial assessment of
the race riot and his first major scholarly work, The
Negro in Chicago(1922).
Johnson’s role in the literary and cultural fo-
rums of the Harlem Renaissance grew out of his
involvement with the National Urban League.
The organization was founded in 1911. Johnson,
who joined the organization in Chicago, served
as director of research and investigations from
1917 to 1919. He and his family relocated to
New York City in 1921 when Johnson was ap-
pointed research director of the organization. In
1923 he established and became the first editor
of OPPORTUNITY,the organization’s official jour-
nal. That venue soon emerged as one of the most
important vehicles through which scholars,
artists, and writers could share their work and
contribute to the unprecedented advance in
African-American art and letters.
Like JAMESWELDONJOHNSON, director of the
NATIONALASSOCIATION FOR THEADVANCEMENT
OF COLOREDPEOPLE, Johnson published collec-
tions that showcased the work of Opportunitywrit-
ers and underwrote events that encouraged and
rewarded creative productions. His 1927 anthology
EBONY ANDTOPAZ:A COLLECTANEA,which ap-
peared two years after ALAINLOCKE’s NEWNEGRO
and five years after Johnson’s BOOK OFAMERICAN
NEGROPOETRY,underscored further the breadth
and diversity of African-American talent and intel-
lectual interests. In his introduction to the volume,
which the Urban League itself published, Johnson
frankly declared that the collection “strangely
enough, does not set forth to prove a thesis, nor to
plead a cause, nor, stranger still, to offer a progress
report on the state of Negro letters. It is a venture
in expression,” he stated, “shared, with the slightest
editorial suggestion, by a number of persons who
are here much less interested in their audience
than in what they are trying to say, and the life they
are trying to portray.” The volume was divided into
four sections that dealt with African-American
folklife, the diverse careers of African-American
scholars, contemporary race issues, and essays on
the future direction of African-American life. L.
HOLLINGSWORTHWOOD, who provided the fore-
word for the volume, characterized it as a “chal-
lenging collection” that “focuses, as it were, the
appraising eyes of white folks on the Negro’s life
and of Negroes on their own life and development
in what seems... a new and stimulating way.” The
volume’s 29 entries included an array of works,
ranging from poems by STERLINGBROWN, Eliza-
beth Barrett Browning, COUNTEECULLEN,GEOR-
GIADOUGLASJOHNSON, and Phillis Wheatley, to a
one-act play by ZORANEALEHURSTON, and stories
by ARTHURHUFFFAUSETand JOHN MATHEUS,
and biographical and historical narratives by
ARTHURSCHOMBURGand JULIAPETERKIN.
Johnson, whom scholar Richard Robbins de-
scribes as “the entrepreneur of the Harlem Renais-
sance,” (53) hosted two key social events that
facilitated key alliances among artists, writers, edi-
tors, and patrons. At the urging of GWENDOLYN
BENNETTand JESSIEFAUSET, Johnson organized the
legendary Civic Club Dinner of March 1924. Origi-
nally planned as a celebration of Fauset’s just-
published novel THEREISCONFUSION,the party
included a rousing call from CARLVANDOREN,
CENTURYMAGAZINEeditor and a prominent critic,
for fresh, new work from the younger artists of the
day. The special Harlem edition of SURVEY
GRAPHICthat appeared shortly thereafter grew out
of the Civic Club event as did The New Negro,
Alain Locke’s book version of the magazine edition.
Johnson’s overtures to publishers and potential
patrons of the arts benefited many writers and the
Harlem Renaissance movement as a whole. He suc-
cessfully courted Casper Holstein, a St. Croix na-
tive and the head of a profitable Harlem gambling
organization, to sponsor prizes for what would be-
come annual Opportunityliterary competitions. In
addition, he solicited African-American and white
authors to serve as judges in the competitions, thus
providing invaluable opportunities for beneficial ex-
posure, potential collaborations, and contracts.
Johnson worked closely with numerous promi-
nent figures of the Harlem Renaissance during and280 Johnson, Charles Spurgeon