Jackman, Harold(1901–1961)
A London-born teacher, model, and director who
inspired both WALLACE THURMAN and CARL
VANVECHTENto model characters based on their
friend and associate. Jackman was one of the clos-
est friends of poet COUNTEECULLEN, a correspon-
dent with ZORA NEALE HURSTON, and a
well-known presence in the social world of the
Harlem Renaissance. A student in the New York
public school system, Jackman went on to graduate
from NEWYORKUNIVERSITYin 1923. He earned a
master’s degree at COLUMBIAUNIVERSITYshortly
thereafter.
An Alpha Phi Alpha brother, Jackman also
was a member of the NATIONALASSOCIATION
FOR THEADVANCEMENT OFCOLOREDPEOPLEand
the Urban League. He also was a high-ranking
member of the Negro Actors Guild and an active
member of the Ira Aldridge Society and the Amer-
ican Society of African Culture.
Some scholars speculate that his close friend-
ship with Countee Cullen may have contributed to
the breakdown of Cullen’s short-lived marriage to
YOLANDE DUBOIS, the only child of W. E. B.
DUBOIS. Jackman, an openly gay man, was Cullen’s
best man, and the two men sailed for Europe, with-
out Cullen’s bride, two months after the wedding.
The DuBois-Cullen marriage was officially over less
than two years later. Cullen dedicated “Heritage,”
one of his most powerful poems, to Jackman.
Jackman and Zora Neale Hurston were good
friends. In the winter of 1934 and spring of 1935,
Hurston, a Columbia University graduate student
at the time, lived in Jackman’s Manhattan Avenue
apartment. The two discussed her work, friends,
and events of the period in their letters. In a 1944
note to Jackman, Zora Neale Hurston suggested
that he and Cullen “come down for a few weeks
this summer and rough it some.” She continued,
noting, “I could use two men to pull on ropes when
coming into a dock.” She was living on a house-
boat in Daytona Beach at the time.
Jackman’s participation in the Harlem Renais-
sance revolved around his involvement with theater
and popular culture. He moved in some of the most
visible and celebrated social circles. He was a fre-
quent guest of Carl Van Vechten and also was a
close friend of A’LELIAWALKER, the daughter of
millionairess Madam C. J. Walker, both of whom
were especially influential and high-profile society
figures.
In 1924 the artist WINOLDREISSpainted a
portrait of Jackman just after his college gradua-
tion. Reiss, who titled the portrait A College Lad,
captured the image of an impeccably dressed, seri-
ous, and handsome young man who embodied the
TALENTEDTENTHin whom DuBois, Locke, and
other intellectuals believed. The image was in-
cluded in the acclaimed issue of SURVEYGRAPHIC
that was dedicated to African-American matters
and edited by ALAINLOCKE. Locke then reprinted
the image in HARLEM:MECCA OF THE NEW
NEGRO,the volume based on the journal issue.
Jackman was committed to preserving the
legacy of Harlem Renaissance writers. It was he who
worked with Carl Van Vechten to establish the Yale
University James Weldon Johnson Memorial Collec-
tion of Negro Arts and Letters. In 1942 Jackman es-272