THE CRISIS Literary Contest. CHARLES CHES-
NUTT, Otelia Cromwell, and Ernest Poole selected
“Swamp Moccasin” as the first-place winner.
Matheus adapted his one-act play TI YETTE
(1929) for high school and college students.
Matheus wrote the libretto for Ouanga!, an
opera dedicated to JULIUS ROSENWALD. Funds
from Rosenwald, a well-known philanthropist, sup-
ported Matheus and celebrated violinist and com-
poser Clarence Cameron White as they traveled to
HAITIto complete their research on Jean-Jacques
Dessalines, the first Haitian emperor and the figure
whose life inspired their musical work. The opera,
whose title means “voodoo charm,” was billed as a
work in four acts and was based on Matheus’s
“Haitian Drama.” Ouanga!premiered in Chicago
in 1932. Later productions of the prizewinning
opera included the first stage performance in 1949
by the Burleigh Musical Association in South
Bend, Indiana, and productions in Philadelphia
and in NEWYORKCITYat Carnegie Hall and the
Metropolitan Opera House.
Works by Matheus were selected for inclusion
in prominent literary collections such as the an-
thology NEW NEGRO (1925), edited by ALAIN
LOCKE;PLAYS OFNEGROLIFE:A SOURCEBOOK OF
NATIVE AMERICAN DRAMA (1927), edited by
Locke and T. MONTGOMERYGREGORYwith illus-
trations by AARONDOUGLAS; and Negro Caravan:
Writings by American Negroes(1941), edited by
STERLINGBROWN,ARTHURDAVIS, and ULYSSES
LEE. He also published widely in academic periodi-
cals such as the Modern Language Journaland the
JOURNAL OFNEGROHISTORY.
Matheus worked alongside Opportunityeditor
CHARLESS. JOHNSONin the late 1920s and early
1930s when the two men traveled to Liberia as
part of a U.S. League of Nations Commission
charged with investigating enslavement in Liberia.
In the mid-1940s he was appointed director of the
Inter-American Educational Foundation program
that oversaw the teaching of English in Haiti.
Bibliography
Fleming, G. James, and Christian E. Burckel. Who’s Who
in Colored America: An Illustrated Biographical Direc-
tory of Notable Living Persons of African Descent in
the United States.Yonkers-on-Hudson, N.Y.: Chris-
tian E. Burckel & Associates, 1950.
Matthews, Ralph, Sr.(1904–1978)
One of the best-known American journalists of
color, Matthews became editor of the Baltimore
Afro-American,one of the oldest African-Ameri-
can newspapers still in circulation. He joined the
staff in 1924 and worked as a reporter until 1935,
when he was appointed editor in chief. By the
1940s, the newspaper enjoyed a readership of more
than 200,000.
Matthews was one of the cofounders of the
Capital Press Club. The organization, founded in
1944, is the oldest African-American communica-
tions association. Its was established to combat
racism and segregation in American journalism. At
the time, African-American journalists were de-
nied access to vital forums such as the National
Press Club and the White House press groups.
Matthews and other leading newspaper figures,
such as Alfred Smith, founder of the Chicago Daily
Defender,St. Claire Bourne of New York’s AMSTER-
DAMNEWS,and Ric Roberts and J. Hugo Warren
of the PITTSBURGHCOURIER,worked to provide
journalists of color with access to political figures
and other newsmakers.
In 1977 Matthews was recognized by the Na-
tional Newspaper Publishers Association for his
commitment to civil rights and his lifelong efforts
to use newspapers to draw public attention to the
struggle for equal and civil rights.Bibliography
Farrar, Hayward. The Baltimore Afro-American: 1892–1950.
Westport Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998.
Pride, Armistead. A History of the Black Press.Washing-
ton, D.C.: Howard University Press, 1997.
Vincent, Theodore. Voices of a Black Nation: Political
Journalism in the Harlem Renaissance.Trenton, N.J.:
Africa World Press, 1990.
Vogel, Todd. The Black Press: New Literary and Historical
Essays.New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University
Press, 2001.McBrown, Gertrude Parthenia
(1902–unknown)
A teacher and writer who developed poetry and
plays for children. A native of Charleston, South
Carolina, McBrown attended schools in BOSTON
before immersing herself in Harlem RenaissanceMcBrown, Gertrude Parthenia 337