American Mercury
A monthly literary magazine founded by H. L.
MENCKEN, journalist, and George Jean Nathan,
theater critic, in 1924. The periodical, which of-
fered spirited and satiric articles on contemporary
American life and society, also published key writ-
ers of the Harlem Renaissance. Its November 1924
publication of COUNTEECULLEN’s “The Shroud of
Colour” resulted in good critical attention for the
emerging young poet.
Bibliography
Bontemps, Arna. The Harlem Renaissance Remembered:
Essays Edited with a Memoir. New York: Dodd,
Mead, 1972.
Singleton, Marvin Kenneth. H. L. Mencken and the
American Mercury Adventure.Durham, N.C.: Duke
University Press, 1962.
American Negro Academy (1897–1928)
Founded on March 5, 1897, the American Negro
Academy (ANA) was the first major African-
American learned society. Established in WASHING-
TON, D.C., by Alexander Crummell, its officers and
members represented the intellectual and profes-
sional elite of the day. Individuals associated with
the organization included Crummell, its first presi-
dent; Paul Laurence Dunbar, one of the five found-
ing members; W. E. B. DUBOIS,ALAINLOCKE,and
CARTERG. WOODSON. In addition to its platforms
on race, the ANAproduced biographical and social
history monographs including The Social Evolution of
the Black South(1911) by W. E. B. DuBois.
Bibliography
Cromwell, John W. “American Negro Academy,” African
Times and Orient Review2 (November–December
1913): 243–244.
Moss, Alfred A. Jr. The American Negro Academy: Voice
of the Talented Tenth.Baton Rouge: Louisiana State
University Press, 1981.
Amsterdam News
A leading New York City–based newspaper and the
first African-American newspaper to have union-
ized workers. James Henry Anderson, a native of
South Carolina, founded the paper in 1909. By the
late 1920s, it was highly respected for its coverage
of New York City issues and its uncompromising
analysis of racism. The name of the paper was in-
spired by the name of Anderson’s neighborhood
and the community in which he began publication.
Anderson was an extremely enterprising jour-
nalist. According to Clint Wilson, he “parlayed a
$10 investment, six sheets of paper and two pencils
into his venture and launched one of the most in-
fluential publications in the annals of the Black
press” (Wilson, 1). With the help of Edward A.
Warren, his business partner, Anderson was able to
expand the paper and its offices. On the eve of the
Harlem Renaissance, the Amsterdam Newsoffices
had moved from 135th Street to Seventh Avenue.
In 1921, Warren’s widow, Sadie, and his daugh-
ter Odessa agreed to maintain Warren’s financial
and professional commitments to the paper. The
newspaper staff included WILLIAMKELLEY,THELMA
BERLACK, and R. LIONELDOUGHERTY. Journalist
and writer EUGENE GORDONsuggested that the
Amsterdam Newswas the best African-American
newspaper in the country. The newspaper contin-
ues to be published out of its Harlem offices.Bibliography
Gordon, Eugene. “The Negro Press.” Annals[of the
American Academy of Political and Social Sience]
140 (November 1928).
Ottley, Roi, and William Weatherby, eds. The Negro in
New York: An Informal Social History.New York:
Praeger, 1969.
Pride, Armistead Scott, and Clint C. Wilson. A History
of the Black Press.Washington, D.C.: Howard Uni-
versity Press, 1997.
Wilson, Clint C. II. “History of Amsterdam News.” Avail-
able online. URL: http://www.amsterdamnews.org/
News/aboutus. Accessed December 2004.Anderson, Garland(ca. 1886–1939)
A Kansas-born playwright who was working as a
bellhop in San Francisco when he completed Ap-
pearances(1925), a sobering play about an African-
American man falsely accused of raping a white
woman. With this work, Anderson became the
first African-American playwright to see his full-
length work produced on BROADWAY. Following
his historic dramatic accomplishment, Anderson8 American Mercury