The leading role was played by Richard Barry
Harrison. Harrison was a formerly enslaved man
who in 1895 became the first African-American
graduate of the Chicago Conservatory of Music.
He later became a celebrated actor during the
Harlem Renaissance. THENEWYORKTIMESde-
scribed Harrison’s performance as “a brief engage-
ment in an otherwise unimportant play” (NYT, 15
March 1935). Historian Bruce Kellner suggests
that Wilson’s work was a substantial contribution
because it presented African-American issues in a
serious rather than comedic and stereotypical
fashion.
Pen Pictures of Pioneers at Wilberforce
Hallie Quinn Brown(1937)
The last of several important histories published by
HALLIEQUINNBROWN, influential educator and
reformer. The volume was a substantial tribute to
the pioneers of WILBERFORCEUNIVERSITY, Brown’s
alma mater. Completed when she was 82 years old,
Pen Pictureswas an earnest tribute to the founders
of Wilberforce, its beloved and influential profes-
sors and their wives, and the school itself. As
scholar Robin Kilson notes, the volume shed light
on the tight-knit community that encouraged its
scholars and students in their efforts to achieve
academic and professional excellence.
Brown dedicated the work to “the pioneers
and to perpetuate the beginnings of Wilberforce—
Who wrought more wisely than they knew.” Brown
provided engaging profiles of Bishop Daniel Payne
and Bishop James Shorter, rich descriptions of the
extended families who taught and were involved
with the school, and memorable narratives about
homes on the campus and in the nearby commu-
nity. The volume closed with an earnest tribute to
Shorter Hall, one of the historic campus buildings
that had been destroyed recently by fire. Brown
ended the work with a call to rebuild and to
“make of this a blessing instead of a calamity.”
Brown’s work and legacy reveal an important
aspect of the race pride that was nurtured during
the Harlem Renaissance. Social histories such as
Pen Pictures grounded contemporary writers and
scholars and provided Americans with access to an
all-too-frequently overlooked history of African-
American achievement.
Bibliography
Kilson, Robin, ed. Hallie Quinn Brown—Pen Pictures of
Pioneers at Wilberforce.New York: G. K. Hall &
Company, 1997.Perlman, William J.(ca. 1889–1954)
A playwright and the owner of the Mayfair The-
atre, the BROADWAYvenue in which a revival of
the EUGENEO’NEILLplay THEEMPERORJONES
was held in 1926. The Mayfair Theatre was lo-
cated on West 44th Street. In addition to staging
the O’Neill production, the theater also was used
for performances of Sarah Hyman’s The Seventh
Heart(1927), Sean O’Casey’s Juno and the Paycock
(1926), and Perlman and John Tucker Battle’s The
Bottom of the Cup(1927).
The Mayfair production of The Emperor
Jones,which ran for some 61 performances, was
directed by Charles Gilpin, who also starred in
the leading role as Brutus Jones. Other cast mem-
bers included Moss Hart, Arthur Ames, Hazel
Mason, and Mae Ford.Peterkin, Julia Mood(1880–1961)
A white South Carolina writer who published
sketches of African-American life, plantation cul-
ture, and southern society. Peterkin was one of sev-
eral white writers known during the Harlem
Renaissance period for their writings on race and
African-American life.
The daughter of Julius and Alma Archer
Mood, she was raised in Laurens County, South
Carolina. The death of her mother prompted her
physician father to turn her care over to an
African-American nanny. Peterkin’s exposure to
her nurse’s Gullah community and traditions
sparked a lifelong interest in African-American life.
Peterkin became a teacher after a chaotic stint at
Columbia College, from which she was expelled,
and from Converse College, where she earned both
bachelor’s and master’s degrees in 1896 and 1897,
respectively. She married William Peterkin, member
of a wealthy plantation family, in 1903. The couple,
had a son named William George. Julia Peterkin
weathered her husband’s debilitating illness, agri-
cultural disaster, and the deaths of workers. Ulti-
mately, she prevailed as mistress of Lang SynePeterkin, Julia Mood 417