The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man Presented by Reed Wolonsky   James Weldon Johnson, The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man Presented by Reed Wolonsky

Author’s Background: Born June 17, 1871 in Jacksonville, Florida, his father was a headwaiter and his mother an elementary school teacher. Neither of his parents had been slaves. American author, politician, diplomat, poet, educator, lawyer and songwriter. Graduated from Stanton High School at the age of 16. After graduating from Atlanta University returned to become the principal of Stanton High School at the young age of 23. In 1895, he founded the Daily American, a newspaper that reported issues of the black community. His paper addressed racial injustice and promoted Booker T. Washington’s self-help philosophy. Was one of the first African American professors at New York University. In 1906 he became the U.S. Consul in Venezuela. Wrote the anonymous autobiography, The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man, in 1912. Wrote, with his brother John, the words to “Lift Every Voice and Sing” which became known as the “Negro National Anthem”. In 1920 he became the first executive secretary for the NAACP. Became a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance movement in New York City. In 1938, James William Johnson was killed in a car accident. 

Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man: James Weldon Johnson originally published The Autobiography of an Ex- Coloured Man in 1912 as an anonymous autobiography. This novel is the story of a man whose birth parents were a “wealthy white” Southern man and a “coloured” seamstress. It is a story of light skinned mixed-race man who chooses to go thorough life as a white man. The story portrays the inter conflict of a person wanting the opportunities afforded white people and the guilt of forsaking his African American heritage.

Characters: Ex-colured man whose name is never revealed in the story, nor are names given to any other characters in order to protect their identity. The ex-colured man maintains a secret throughout the novel and you only find out at the end of his story that he is an African American man passing as a white man. His skin tone is so light that no one ever suspects that he would have a colored mother. He ends up marrying a white woman, has two children and lives in an all white community. He continues to maintain this secret in order to protect his children and wants to belong to what he considers at the time to be a higher class then that of poor African Americans. Conflict sets in when he comes to believe that he was wrong to have given up his heritage. Father, is a man that he knows only visits his mother a few times a week. He does not know his name and only after he and his mother move, when he is 9 years ago, does he find out that his father is white and his mother is not. Three years later he finds out who is father is and is told by his mother that because of their racial differences they had to keep their relationship secret. The Girl, is a young white woman who is introduced him by friends, all who assume that he is white. They fall in love and before he proposes marriage he tell her his secret. She breaks off the relationship until they meet months later when she states her love for him despite his secret. The millionaire is a white man that visits night clubs where the ex-colured man is playing the piano. The millionaire both befriends and hires him. They travel all over Europe living the high society life style. When he decides to return to the U.S. the millionaire tries to point out that as a black man he will never realize his dreams.

This novel was not well received until James Weldon Johnson came out in 1927 as the Author: He admits that it was not an autobiography but was a fictional novel. But, his Novel tells a powerful story of: The struggles of a young man living in two different worlds, one as Negro and one as white The complexity of race in American history The double standard that African Americans endure This novel is still important today when race relations are still tense and many times awkward.

Because his novel was so strong and realistic many readers thought that it was about author himself. Years later, Johnson wrote his own autobiography, “Along This Way” in order to demonstration that his own life was not the story of the ex-coloured man. James Weldon Johnson was a successful musician, poet, writer who had a tremendous influence on race relationships through his works. Both his poetry and writings focused on the history of black life in New York and his feeling that integration was the only answer to racial problems in the United States. He advised writers and other artists to use their life experiences as an African American in their works also.

 Works Cited Beavers, Herman. "James Weldon Johnson's Life and Career." James Weldon Johnson's Life and Career. Modern American Poetry, n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013. <http://www.english.illinois.edu/Maps/poets/g_l/johnson /life.htm>. "James Weldon Johnson, 1871-1938." University Libraries Rare Books & Special Collections. University of South Carolina, n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. <http://library.sc.edu/spcoll/amlit/johnson/johnson.html >. Johnson, James W. "The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man." The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, J. W. Johnson, 1912. Boston: Sherman, French & Company 1912, n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2013. <http://www.eldritchpress.org/jwj/auto.htm>.