West explores the domestic frustrations that
can undermine a marriage and hints at the earnest
potential of hardworking men and husbands.
“Hannah Byde” underscores the insidious damage
of racism and social alienation.
Bibliography
Jones, Sharon L. Rereading the Harlem Renaissance: Race,
Class, and Gender in the Fiction of Jessie Fauset, Zora
Neale Hurston, and Dorothy West.Westport, Conn.:
Greenwood Press, 2002.
West, Dorothy. The Richer, the Poorer: Stories, Sketches,
and Reminiscences.New York: Doubleday, 1995.
Wilson, Sondra. The Messenger Reader: Stories, Poetry,
and Essays from The Messenger Magazine.New York:
Modern, 2000.
Hapgood, Emilie Bigelow (unknown–1930)
An influential philanthropist and enterprising
advocate of African-American theater. The daugh-
ter of Anson Bigelow, a successful banker in CHI-
CAGO, married Norman Hapgood, a journalist who
went on to become a respected drama critic and
historian of the theater. Emilie Hapgood gained ac-
cess to New York’s diverse theater culture through
her husband. She frequently accompanied him
when he attended plays that he was assigned to re-
view. Norman Hapgood’s rise, from drama critic at
the New York Commercial-Advertiserto editor of
Harper’s Weekly,further increased the couple’s so-
cial standing and visibility.
Hapgood joined the New York Stage Society
and served as president for the years 1914 and
- It was during her tenure that RIDGELYTOR-
RENCE’s play GRANNYMAUMEE,one of the first
BROADWAYplays to explore African-American life,
was produced. According to the historian Susan
Curtis, Hapgood invested thousands of dollars in
the production of Three Negro Playsby Torrence.
When the plays were staged on Broadway in April
1917, the theater troupe, which included Inez
Clough and Opal Cooper, was referred to as the
EMILIEHAPGOODPLAYERS.
Despite her divorce from Norman Hapgood in
1915, Emilie Hapgood maintained her financial
commitments to the theater. Her interest in race
matters extended beyond the theater. She became
an outspoken supporter of African-American vet-
erans. In 1917 she founded the Circle of War Re-
lief for Negro Soldiers, an organization designed to
compensate for the lack of monies, services, and
support directed toward soldiers of color.
Emilie Hapgood died in Rome as a result of
complications from influenza and from apoplexy.
The New York Timesreport of her death noted her
successes as a director and producer. It did not
mention, however, her extensive work with Tor-
rence and, by extension, her support of emerging
African-American actors and writers. As Curtis
notes, the playwright MARYBURRILLsuggested in
a promotional flyer advertising Torrence’s plays
that “Mrs. Hapgood’s object is to show that there
is something beautiful, something truly artistic in
this neglected life of the Negro. In that she has
succeeded gloriously” (Curtis, 77). Hapgood was
an unwavering source of support for playwrights
and actors. She was committed to providing a
forum in which plays by and about African Ameri-
cans could be developed and appreciated.Bibliography
Curtis, Susan. The First Black Actors on the Great White
Wa y.Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1998.
“Emilie Hapgood Dies of a Stroke.” New York Times, 17
February 1930, 17.Hapgood Players SeeEMILIEHAPGOOD
PLAYERS.Happy Rhone’s Club
One of the popular nightspots in HARLEM. Located
at Lenox Avenue and 143rd Street, the cabaret
was one of the first venues to develop a floor show
and to hire waitresses. According to historian
Bruce Kellner, the club’s black and white decor sig-
naled owner Arthur “Happy” Rhone’s support of
integration.
The NATIONALASSOCIATION FOR THEAD-
VANCEMENT OFCOLOREDPEOPLE(NAACP) used
the club for parties and events. In 1924 LANGSTON
HUGHES, who had just returned from an eventful
European sojourn that included travel with ALAIN
LOCKE, attended an NAACP benefit at the club.
Shows included pianists such as Cliff Jackson, jazz
performers such as Bennie Morton, vocalists suchHappy Rhone’s Club 211