official publication of the NAACP. The prizes in
literature and art attracted numerous submissions
from established and emerging artists. Like The
Crisisand OPPORTUNITYliterary contests, the Sp-
ingarn awards competition involved judges who
were notable literary and public figures. In the first
year, judges included H. G. Wells, CHARLESCHES-
NUTT,MARYWHITEOVINGTON,LESLIEPINCKNEY
HILL, and EUGENEO’NEILL. First-place winners in
the first Spingarn literary contest were RUDOLPH
FISHERfor his short story “HIGHYALLER,” COUN-
TEECULLENfor his poem “Two Moods of Love,”
WILLISRICHARDSONfor his play “THEBROKEN
BANJO,” and MARITABONNERfor her essay “ON
BEINGYOUNG—AWOMAN—ANDCOLORED.” In
subsequent years, winners included ARNABON-
TEMPS,MAECOWDERY, and JOHNMATHEUS.
Spingarn also made specific contributions to
individual artists. After meeting with Langston
Hughes, she offered to help with his education. It
was she who financed his studies at LINCOLNUNI-
VERSITY. Spingarn also worked to raise public
awareness about vital issues such as LYNCHING.
She sponsored an antilynching art exhibit that
traveled to East Coast cities throughout the 1930s.
Bibliography
Van Deusen, Marshall. J. E. Spingarn.New York: Twayne
Publishers, 1971.
Spingarn, Arthur Barnett(1878–1971)
An attorney, civil rights activist, and member of
the influential Spingarn family who worked closely
with the NATIONALASSOCIATION FOR THEAD-
VANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE (NAACP).
Born in NEWYORKCITY, Arthur Spingarn was the
son of Elias and Sarah Barnett Spingarn. His father
was an Austrian Jewish immigrant and successful
businessman who hoped to see his son become an
attorney. He enrolled at COLUMBIAUNIVERSITY,
and by 1900 he had received his B.A., M.A., and
J.D. In 1918, in the midst of two years military ser-
vice in the U.S. Army, he married Marion Mayer.
He and his wife, who was a social worker, had no
children.
Shortly after the founding of the NAACP in
1909, Spingarn became counsel for the organiza-
tion. His brother Joel, a civil rights activist, editor,
and highly regarded horticulturalist, established
the SPINGARNMEDAL, the highest award given by
the NAACP, and later served as president of the
organization. Arthur Spingarn, spurred on by per-
vasive racial discrimination in America, became
one of the most active members of the NAACP. In
1911 he became vice president and also served as
chairman of the organization’s national legal com-
mittee. In 1940, following the death of his brother
Joel Spingarn, who was president at the time,
Arthur Spingarn became president. His tenure
lasted some 26 years, until 1966. He was an
earnest admirer of W. E. B. DUBOIS, who served as
editor of THECRISIS,and the two worked closely
during their association with the NAACP.
Arthur Spingarn developed a substantial col-
lection of materials by African Americans and in-
dividuals of African descent. In 1946 HOWARD
UNIVERSITY purchased his collection of some
5,000 items. His collection became part of the uni-
versity’s impressive Moorland-Spingarn Research
Center, a research library and archive that also is
named after donor Reverend Jesse Moorland.Bibliography
Arthur Spingarn Papers, Moorland-Spingarn Research
Center, Howard University, Washington, D.C.Spingarn, Joel Elias(1875–1939)
A civil rights activist, university professor, poet, lit-
erary critic, and respected horticulturist known
best for his leadership within the NATIONALAS-
SOCIATION FOR THEADVANCEMENT OFCOLORED
PEOPLE(NAACP) and his philanthropic support of
African-American excellence and leadership.
The oldest of four children born to Elias and
Sarah Barnett Spingarn, Joel attended Collegiate
Institute before enrolling at New York’s City Col-
lege. After one year there, he transferred to
Columbia College and graduated in 1895. He mar-
ried AMYSPINGARN, daughter of a wealthy New
Jersey landowner, David Einstein, in 1896. The
couple, who met while Amy was a Barnard student
and Spingarn was a member of the COLUMBIAUNI-
VERSITYfaculty, had four children, Hope, Honor,
Stephen, and Edward.
In the years preceding his work with the
NAACP, Spingarn pursued careers in politics and492 Spingarn, Arthur Barnett