Meek Mose Frank Wilson(1928)
The BROADWAY play by FRANK WILSON, who
would later see his play Walk Together Chillun
(1936) staged on Broadway at the LAFAYETTE
THEATRE.Meek Mosecritiqued residential segrega-
tion, black disenfranchisement, and race pride.
The story revolves around a community that
faces upheaval. Whites engineer the relocation of
the community from “Blacktown” to “Badtown.”
Meek Mose, the title character, encourages his
neighbors to accept the humiliating loss of their
homes. The play’s tragic plot ultimately evolves
into a triumphant story of a dispossessed commu-
nity that discovers oil and is able to profit from its
natural resources.
The play opened on 6 February 1928 at the
Princess Theatre and ran for some 24 perfor-
mances. The premiere included speeches by New
York City mayor Jimmy Walker and by Max Rein-
hardt, a theatrical producer from Europe. The di-
rector was George MacEntee, and the producer
was Lester Walton.
The cast on opening night included LAURA
BOWMAN, an actress who appeared in the cele-
brated 1923 productions of THECHIPWOMAN’S
FORTUNEand Salome,plays by the pioneering play-
wright WILLISRICHARDSON. Also appearing was
Alston Burleigh, who followed his Broadway debut
in Wilson’s play with an appearance in HARLEM,
the play by WALLACETHURMANand WILLIAM
JOURDANRAPP.
Mencken, Henry Louis(H. L. Mencken)
(1880–1956)
A well-known cultural critic, editor, and prolific
journalist who was editor of AMERICANMERCURY
and who established friendships with well-known
figures of the Harlem Renaissance such as JAMES
WELDON JOHNSON,CARLVAN VECHTEN, and
WALTERWHITE.
Born to August and Anna Abhau Mencken in
Baltimore, he attended the Knapp’s Institute, a
school for children of the city’s bourgeoisie, and
Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. He began his ca-
reer in journalism in 1899, just one day after his fa-
ther passed away.
Mencken’s views on racial matters included
contempt for the KUKLUXKLANand for ideas
that African Americans were inferior to whites. He
participated in events such as the legendary MAN-
HATTANCIVICCLUBdinner hosted by CHARLESS.
JOHNSON, editor of OPPORTUNITY,in March 1924.
Mencken regarded the Harlem Renaissance as
an opportunity for African-American writers to re-
taliate against white culture for its abuse and cari-
catures of people of color. He believed in the
necessity of the great African-American novel, a
work in which a writer would expound upon spe-
cific areas in which African-Americans excelled
above all others.
Mencken shared his ideas on the potential for
the Harlem Renaissance in several forums, includ-
ing an informative compendium of ideas on Negro
art initiated by W. E. B. DUBOISand published in
THECRISIS.CLAUDEMCKAYinitiated a correspon-
dence with Mencken in the hope that the latter
would publish his work. While Mencken never pro-
moted McKay, the two did share ideas about Rus-
sian history and other political matters. James
Weldon Johnson was attracted to Mencken’s use of
satire and recommended that African Americans
consider the narrative style as a weapon to use in
the fight against oppression. In October 1922 John-
son, writing in the the NEWYORKAGE,proposed
that “phases of the race question offer a great field
for some colored writer who could employ the
methods used by H. L. Mencken in attacking vari-
ous foibles of civilization in general and of the
American people in particular” (Scruggs, 58).
ALAINLOCKEchallenged Mencken about his ideas
and conceptions of the Harlem Renaissance but
was one of the many intellectuals of color who read
and discussed Mencken’s work. Novelist and social
critic GEORGESCHUYLERpublished frequently in
American Mercuryduring Mencken’s tenure. He
was appointed editor in 1924, when the journal was
founded, and held the position until 1933.Bibliography
H. L. Mencken Papers, New York Public Library.
Manchester, William. Disturber of the Peace: The Life of
H. L. Mencken. Amherst: University of Mas-
sachusetts Press, 1986.
Scruggs, Charles W. The Sage in Harlem: H. L. Mencken
and the Black Writers of the 1920s.Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins University Press, 1984.Mencken, Henry Louis 345