James Weldon Johnson was the first Black American author to treat Harlem and Atlanta as subjects in fiction, in his 1912 novel The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. ... James Weldon Johnson was the first African-American poet to adapt the voice of the Black folk preacher to verse.

Why was James Weldon Johnson important?

A key figure of the Harlem Renaissance, James Weldon Johnson was a man of many talents. Not only was he a distinguished lawyer and diplomat who served as executive secretary at NAACP for a decade, he was also a composer who wrote the lyrics for "Lift Every Voice and Sing," known as the Black national anthem.

Where is James Weldon Johnson from?

James Weldon Johnson, (born June 17, 1871, Jacksonville, Fla., U.S.—died June 26, 1938, Wiscasset, Maine), poet, diplomat, and anthologist of black culture.