was an accomplished American literary debut and
identified McKay as a promising new leader in the
Harlem Renaissance movement.
Bibliography
Cooper, Wayne. Claude McKay: Rebel Sojourner in the
Harlem Renaissance.New York: Schocken Books,
1987.
Giles, James R. Claude McKay.Boston: Twayne Publish-
ers, 1976.
McKay, Claude. Harlem Shadows.New York: Harcourt,
Brace and Company, 1922.
Harlem Suitcase Theatre
The New York City–based theater that LANGSTON
HUGHESestablished in 1937. An amateur, rather
than professional, company, it catered primarily to
African-American audiences. Hughes, at the sug-
gestion of sociology scholar and activist LOUISE
THOMPSON, located the theater in the hall of the
International Workers Order (IWO) above an
eatery on West 125th Street called Frank’s Restau-
rant. The theater’s set design was simple. It in-
cluded an arena-type stage, and there were no
extensive props. The organization eventually
moved to the 135th Street Branch of the NEW
YORKPUBLICLIBRARY. This site was home to the
NEGROEXPERIMENTALTHEATRE, a troupe origi-
nally cofounded by REGINAANDREWSand W. E.
B. DUBOISas the CRIGWAPLAYERS. The Suitcase
Theatre thrived for two years and closed shortly
after its relocation to the New York Public Library
branch in Harlem.
The Harlem Suitcase Theatre enjoyed critical
support from a number of prominent writers, polit-
ical figures, and patrons. The membership lists of
various committees demonstrated the serious com-
mitment to realizing Hughes’s efforts. Among
those contributing time and advice were writer
GWENDOLYNBENNETT, artist ROMAREBEARDEN,
novelist WARINGCUNEY, actor Robert Earl Jones,
wife of NAACP chairman Grace Nail Johnson,
Louise Thompson, and the Harlem Communist
Party spokesman Max Yergan.
According to Hughes scholar Joseph
McLaren, the Harlem Suitcase Theatre was com-
mitted to performing interracial plays and to pre-
senting works at functions sponsored by labor
organizations such as the IWO. Hughes discussed
his plans in the press; his comments in the Com-
munist paper, Daily Worker,confirmed his desire
to showcase African Americans in situations
other than the stereotypical and confining do-
mestic or comedic roles into which they were fre-
quently cast.
The first season of the Harlem Suitcase The-
atre staged the theater’s most successful produc-
tion. Don’t You Want to Be Free? From Slavery
Through the Blues to Now—and Then Some.The
play, by founder Langston Hughes, enjoyed more
than 100 performances and included poetry, music,
and songs. Hughes drew from previously published
works such as THEWEARYBLUESand THEDREAM
KEEPER.Hailed as a good example of proletarian
theater, it showcased the talents of convincing ac-
tors, including Robert Earl Jones, the father of the
actor James Earl Jones. It has been revived to
much acclaim. Contemporary performances have
included shows at St. Louis University in 1998 and
at Oberlin College in 2001.
The second season again included works by
Hughes. Satiric skits such as The Em-Fuerher Jones,
Colonel Tom’s Cabin, Limitations of Life,and Scarlet
Sister Barryall had titles that played on well-
known or recent works in literature, theater, and
film. Thomas Richardson joined the staff during
the summer of 1939 and oversaw the first revival
of Hughes’s Don’t You Want to Be Free?
The Harlem Suitcase Theatre enabled Hughes
and the actors associated with the lively perfor-
mances to generate timely critiques of contempo-
rary issues and creative works. The organization’s
history and shared political visions also under-
scored the inextricable link between politics, race,
and art that prevailed during the Harlem Renais-
sance era.Bibliography
McClaren, Joseph. Langston Hughes: Folk Dramatist in the
Protest Tradition, 1921–1943. Westport, Conn.:
Greenwood Press, 1997.Harmon, Florence Marion(1880–1936)
A native of Lynn, Massachusetts, and a member
and officer of the SATURDAY EVENING QUILL
CLUB, an enterprising BOSTON-based literary220 Harlem Suitcase Theatre