their important role in raising public interest in the
arts and providing essential exposure to historical
subjects and contemporary issues. Lewis, who as-
sessed the careers of prominent performers such as
Charles Gilpin, also wrote about the evolving rela-
tionship between the African-American theater
and white theater. He noted the ways in which the
two traditions borrowed from each other and
noted what he regarded as a significant turning
point, the increasing use of African-American ma-
terial in white productions. Lewis also turned his
attention to films and offered early, forthright cri-
tiques of works by black directors such as Oscar
Micheaux.
The majority of Lewis’s works appeared in
THEMESSENGER,the journal that A. PHILIPRAN-
DOLPHand CHANDLEROWENestablished in New
York City in 1917. He also published in African-
American newspapers such as the Pittsburgh
Courier.In addition to his extensive theater-related
publications, Lewis wrote short fiction and coau-
thored with GEORGESCHUYLERa regular Messen-
gercolumn entitled “Shafts and Darts.” In 1928
Lewis was poised to contribute several drama re-
views to HARLEM:A FORUM OFNEGROLIFE,an
ambitious journal that WALLACETHURMANhoped
to establish. Lewis was one of several prominent
writers who contributed to the first issue; unfortu-
nately, the magazine failed.
Lewis combined his impressive writing record
with a lengthy career with the U.S. Postal Service.
In 1950 he was a founding member of the New
York City Commission on Human Rights.
Bibliography
Bontemps, Arna, ed. The Harlem Renaissance Remem-
bered.New York: Dodd, 1972.
Curtis, Susan. The First Black Actors on the Great White
Wa y.Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1998.
Krasner, David. A Beautiful Pageant: African American
Theatre, Drama, and Performance in the Harlem Re-
naissance, 1910–1927.New York: Palgrave Macmil-
lan, 2002.
Liberator
A literary magazine founded by MAXEASTMAN
and colleagues with whom he had worked at The
Masses,a political journal targeted under the ESPI-
ONAGEACT. The Liberatorwas established when
the Masseswas banned due to its defiant criticism
of the American World War I effort.
CRYSTALEASTMAN, the sister of the founder,
served as the editor of the Liberatorfor several
years. Poet CLAUDEMCKAY, whose verse began
appearing in the magazine in 1919, was a member
of the editorial staff and enjoyed a close and en-
during friendship with Max Eastman, a member of
the American Left who went on trial twice for
sedition. McKay’s stirring and frequently repub-
lished poem “If We Must Die,” prompted by the
bloody race riots during the summer of 1919, ap-
peared first in the Liberator.
The Liberatorwas transformed into The Work-
ers’ Monthlyin 1922 when Robert Minor and the
Communist Party took over the journal. The
change in editorial policy and focus prompted many
contributors to establish NEWMASSESin 1926.Bibliography
Cantor, Milton. Max Eastman.New York: Twayne Pub-
lishers, 1970.
Cooper, Wayne. Claude McKay: Rebel Sojourner in the
Harlem Renaissance.New York: Schocken Books,
1987.
Lewis, David Levering. W. E. B. DuBois: The Fight for
Equality and the American Century, 1919–1963.New
York: Henry Holt, 2000.
O’Neill, William. The Last Romantic: A Life of Max East-
man.New York: Oxford University Press, 1978.Liberty Hall
The name for the main venues of the UNIVERSAL
NEGROIMPROVEMENTASSOCIATION(UNIA), the
organization that MARCUSGARVEYfounded with
black nationalist colleagues. Garvey, who had a long-
standing interest in Irish political history, honored
the efforts of James Connolly, a Socialist labor leader
who established a Liberty Hall in Dublin, Ireland.
The first UNIA Liberty Hall was established
in Kingston, Jamaica. When Garvey established his
movement in HARLEM, he purchased an audito-
rium and named it Liberty Hall. This venue was
used for NEWYORKCITYoffices and UNIA events
such as the 1922 UNIA convention. The organiza-
tion also established businesses, such as restau-
rants, in these headquarters.312 Liberator