Harlem. Editor PAUL KELLOGG invited ALAIN
LOCKEto organize and serve as guest editor for the
issue’s that appeared in March 1925. “The Gist of
It,” an explanatory article by Kellogg, prefaced the
special issue’s contents and provided brief remarks
about some of the contributors. Kellogg thanked
Locke for his “painstaking collaboration in its
preparation, for the full length study of The New
Negroand for many smaller pieces in the mosaic of
this number.” In addition, Kellogg celebrated
Locke for being “a brilliant exemplar of that poise
and insight which are happy omens for the Negro’s
future.”
The journal issue was divided into three sec-
tions. The first, entitled “The Greatest Negro
Community in the World,” began with “Harlem”
and “Enter the New Negro,” two articles by Locke.
The four other submissions in the section included
works by CHARLESS. JOHNSON,JAMESWELDON
JOHNSON,RUDOLPHFISHER, and W. A. Domingo.
Section Two, “The Negro Expresses Himself,”
was a mix of creative writing and documentary
pieces. The section began with artwork by WINOLD
REISS. Locke’s preface to the work noted that
“Concretely in his portrait sketches, abstractly in
his symbolic designs, [Weiss] has aimed to portray
the soul and spirit of a people.” “Youth Speaks”
showcased poems by COUNTEE CULLEN,ANNE
SPENCER,JEANTOOMER,LANGSTONHUGHES, and
ANGELINAGRIMKÉ.ALBERTBARNES, and Winold
Reiss contributed essays on “Negro Art and Amer-
ica” and “Harlem Types,” respectively.
Section Three, “Black and White—Studies in
Race Contacts,” anchored the issue. Prominent
thinkers and activists such as MELVILLE HER-
SKOVITS,KELLYMILLER, and WALTERWHITEof-
fered strong sociological and anthropological
analyses of race and culture. Winold Reiss submit-
ted four evocative drawings entitled “Four Por-
traits of Negro Women.” In addition to images of
“A Woman from the Virgin Islands,” “The Librar-
ian,” and “Two Public School Teachers,” he in-
cluded a portrait of GERTRUDEELISEJOHNSON
MCDOUGALD, a New York City educator and so-
cial worker.
Reviews were positive and reflected the broad
appeal of the material. The journal, eager to publi-
cize its success, included a number of review com-
ments from writers, scholars, and activists in its
May 1925 issue. “It is full of valuable stuff,” de-
clared H. L. MENCKEN, editor of AMERICANMER-
CURY.Philanthropist JOELSPINGARNcharacterized
the issue as “superb” and praised the “picture of
the almost unparalleled achievement of a race.”
WALDO FRANK, a novelist and close friend of
Jean Toomer, described the journal as “a most fer-
tile, meaty, fascinating magazine.” MARCUSGAR-
VEY did not gush about the work but strove
instead to place it in the larger context of infor-
mative works about African-American life. “The
effort you have made to present partially the life
of the race as it strikes you in Harlem is com-
mendable,” he wrote.
Alain Locke used the well-received Survey
Graphicissue as the foundation for his New Negro
Anthology,a volume that appeared at the end of
1925.Bibliography
Harlem: Mecca of the New Negro. Survey Graphic.Available
online. URL: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/harlem/.
Accessed May 20, 2005.Harlem: Negro MetropolisClaude McKay
(1940)
A history of HARLEMby poet and novelist CLAUDE
MCKAY. Produced after the poet’s tenure with the
Works Progress Administration ended, the volume
represented McKay’s deliberate decision to com-
plete a work of nonfiction and a comprehensive
account of Harlem, its history, and its communi-
ties. The book was published by E. P. Dutton and
Company, and McKay used his advance from the
press to revise materials on Harlem that he had
collected during his work with the Federal Writers’
Project. The BOOK-OF-THE-MONTHCLUBchose
Harlemas an alternate selection, but reviews of the
work were neither plentiful nor overwhelmingly
positive.
Chapters included “The Negro Quarter Grows
Up,” “Harlem Politician,” “The Occultists,” and
“The Business of Amusements.” These contributed
to McKay’s argument that the area needed sub-
stantial revitalization and that its residents would
benefit from a significant economic redevelopment
plan. The last chapters of the book focused on is-
sues relating to communism and its impact onHarlem: Negro Metropolis 217