at the Harlem Art Center, one of the largest
WPA-sponsored organizations of the day. Her in-
terests also included politics, and in 1933 she or-
ganized the Vanguard Club, a regular gathering of
intellectuals and artists. Savage ceased to sponsor
the group when it eventually became a haven for
Communists and their supporters.
At the end of the Harlem Renaissance, Savage
left New York City for the Catskill Mountains. She
established a studio in Saugerties, New York. Poor
health prompted her to move back to New York
City, where she could live with her daughter. Au-
gusta Savage died of cancer in March 1962.
Bibliography
“Augusta Savage, 62 [sic], Sculptor, Is Dead.” New York
Times,27 March 1962, 31.
Bibby, Deirdre. Augusta Savage and the Art Schools of
Harlem.New York: Schomburg Center for Research
in Black Culture, 1988.
Leininger-Miller, Theresa. New Negro Artists in Paris:
African American Painters and Sculptors in the City of
Light, 1922–1934.New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers
University Press, 2001.
Savage Rhythm Harry Hamilton and
Norman Foster(1931)
A play by Harry Hamilton and Norman Foster that
featured an African-American cast in the story of a
Harlem star who, upon her return to her southern
home, gains important powers through the conjure
magic of her female kin.
Savage Rhythmopened at the John Golden
Theatre on New Year’s Eve, 1931. This was the
same theater in which ZORA NEALE HURSTON
staged the single performance of her multi-genre
production entitled The Great Day.Produced by
John Golden, it was directed by Robert Burton.
The 16-member cast on opening night included
Mamie Carter, Georgette Harvey, Inez Clough,
Alvin Childress, and Ernest Whitman.
The play revolves around the Mississippi com-
munity of Tuckaloo, a town that, according to the
program guide’s author’s note, did in fact exist
under a different name. During a community bar-
beque, a deadly conflict breaks out, and the female
lover of a married man is stabbed to death. The
community decides to depend on itself in order to
identify and to punish the murderer. The matri-
archs of the community, two conjure women, who
have now tragically lost one of their granddaugh-
ters, endow Orchid, their surviving granddaughter,
with magical powers. She helps the people to
Tuckaloo to reveal the “sweetback” whose adulter-
ous actions prompted the deadly fight. Despite the
fact that he is not the actual murderer, the com-
munity gangs up on him and forces him into a
deadly swamp on the edge of town.
THENEWYORKTIMEStheater critic Brooks
Atkinson complimented the play, noting that it
was “an intelligent drama of Negro sorcery” that
was “respectably thought out and... respectably
produced.” Ultimately, though, Atkinson lamented
that “the authors have not given much signifi-
cance to their pictures of domestic life” and that
the play was “virtually themeless until the final
scene.” In closing, Atkinson referred to a popular
DUBOSEHEYWARDhit when he suggested that
the play “needs some of the Porgy rhythm.”
Atkinson’s review concluded with the damning
note that “[a]t the present moment most of the
savage rhythm in New York is scrambling and
jostling outside this office window” (NYT,1 Jan-
uary 1932, 30).
The play closed after 12 performances.Bibliography
Atkinson, J. Brooks. “The Play: ’Way Down South,”
New York Times,1 January 1932, 30.
“Theatrical Notes,” New York Times,31 December 1931,
21.Scarborough, Dorothy(1875–1935)
A white Texas-born writer, teacher, and folklorist
who supported the Harlem Renaissance in general
and the efforts of OPPORTUNITYeditor CHARLESS.
JOHNSONto direct attention to emerging African-
American artists in particular. Born in Mt. Carmel,
Texas, she was one of four children born to John
and Mary Ellison Scarborough. After graduating
from high school, she attended Baylor University.
She earned her B.A. in 1896 and her M.A. in 1898.
The university offered her a job, and she became
the first professor to teach journalism and creativeScarborough, Dorothy 469