after his tenure as editor in chief of Opportunity.It
was Johnson who encouraged Zora Neale Hurston,
newly arrived in New York City, to submit her
work for consideration in the Opportunityliterary
contests and to relocate to New York City. Hurston
corresponded with him from time to time. She re-
garded Johnson as “an excellent man and full of
zeal” (Kaplan, 109). Hurston’s letters to him and
the Johnson family, such as the December 1950
note written from New York City in which she an-
nounced, “I hate snow!”, often were engaging and
witty. In the mid-1930s, Hurston imagined herself
“work[ing] out some of [her] visions at Fisk Uni-
versity” alongside Johnson, a man whom she be-
lieved had demonstrated “[h]is tremendous love of
Negro creative instincts” and whose work “pulsates
with the life of his people” (Kaplan, 318).
As the editor of Opportunity,Johnson was a
contemporary of two other major editors, W. E. B.
DUBOISof THECRISISand A. PHILIPRANDOLPH
of THEMESSENGER. Although scholars consider
Johnson the least emphatic and strident of the
three major figures, he remained a consistent race
man and social critic. His unwavering belief in the
power of literature and the arts also gave Opportu-
nitya distinctive edge over the other two journals.
Although The Crisisand The Messengerlater in-
cluded literature and creative work, Opportunity
set aside significant space for such material from its
beginnings. During its first year of publication, is-
sues included articles such as “Our Young Negro
Artists,” book reviews by Alain Locke, and poems
by Countee Cullen, ANGELINA GRIMKÉ, LESLIE
PINCKNEYHILL, EUNICEHUNTON, and ERICWAL-
ROND, and artwork by Meta Warwick Fuller. John-
son hired Countee Cullen as assistant editor and
also to produce a popular monthly column on con-
temporary events and the vibrant literary and arts
world of Harlem and beyond entitled “Dark
Tower.” Johnson also developed a close friendship
with ARTHURSCHOMBURGand was instrumental
in Schomburg’s 1929 appointment to Fisk as cura-
tor of the university’s library. Johnson also earned
the respect of many writers with whom he corre-
sponded during his tenure as editor. His careful
notes and informed responses to authors such as
Walter White and Angelina Grimké confirmed his
deep commitment to maintaining productive rela-
tionships with the writers and artists whose work
was extremely important and propelled the race to-
ward greater social and political advancement. His
secretary ETHELNANCEalso was a key figure in
the day-to-day operations at the journal. Her close
relationship with REGINAANDREWS, who was a
dynamic librarian and writer at the 135th Street
Branch of the NEWYORKPUBLICLIBRARY, also en-
riched the arts agendas of the journal.
Johnson’s tenure at Opportunityended in the
spring of 1928. Later that year he joined the fac-
ulty at Fisk University, where he joined the sociol-
ogy department and became chair of the social
science department. In 1946, after 17 years on the
faculty, he became the first African-American
president of the historically black university where
E. FRANKLINFRAZIER, James Weldon Johnson, and
Elmer Imes, husband of NELLALARSEN, also had
taught and conducted research. He served through
1956 and was committed to establishing the school
as a premier research institution and as the best of
the historically black colleges and universities in
the nation.
Johnson’s own scholarship flourished during
the Harlem Renaissance period and in the years
following. He published several sociological stud-
ies, including The Negro in American Civilization
(1930), Shadow of the Plantation(1934), The Negro
College Graduate(1938), Growing Up in the Black
Belt: Negro Youth in the Rural South(1941), and Ed-
ucation and the Cultural Crisis(1951). His promi-
nence and continued professional and scholarly
efforts also resulted in several honorary degrees
and prizes. In addition to earning the Harmon
Gold Medal in Science in 1930, he received hon-
orary degrees from Virginia Union University, the
University of Glasgow, Howard University, and
Columbia University. In 1957 he was honored
posthumously when he was admitted to the Ebony
Hall of Fame.
Johnson was 63 years old when he died on 27
October 1956. The university president collapsed
at the train station in Louisville, Kentucky, just be-
fore reboarding for his journey to a meeting of Fisk
University trustees in New York City. THENEW
YORKTIMESeulogized him as “one of the most
profound observers of interracial matters.” John-
son’s legacy as a social scientist, civil rights activist,
and race man made an undeniable impact on the
Harlem Renaissance.Johnson, Charles Spurgeon 281