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Georgia Douglas Johnson

Plays

“The Ordeal”

In Georgia Douglas Johnson’s poem “The Ordeal”, cosmopolitanism and racial differences in society is visible as she describes African Americans and their mindset when having faced prejudice towards them and how they deal with it, in this case the speaker explains how being black is a burden. Then the speaker of the poem explains the mentality of the African American with “I neither cry, nor cringe, nor hate”, presenting the idea that racism is a burden given by God. Finally, the speaker explores the idea that Judith L. Stephens outlines in his article, “Art, Activism, and Uncompromising Attitude in Georgia Douglas Johnson’s Lynching Plays," as Johnson believes everyone has the right to control their own fate, the African Americans toleration in this case emphasizes their strength in dealing with prejudice during this time period.

Anti-Lynching Activism

Georgia Douglas Johnson is promoted by Gloria Hull in her book, “Color, Sex, and Poetry”, as she argues that her work ought to be placed in an exceedingly distinguished place within the Harlem Renaissance and for African American women writers, “they desperately need and deserve long overdue scholarly attention”. Hull, through a black feminist critical perspective, appointed herself the task of informing those within the dark of the very fact that African American women, like Georgia Douglas Johnson, are being excluded from being thought of as key voices of the Harlem Renaissance. Johnson's anti-lynching activism was expressed through her plays like "The Ordeal" that was printed in Alain Locke's anthology: The New Negro. Her poems describe African Americans and their mental attitude once having faced prejudice towards them and the way they modify it. Isolationism and anti-feminist prejudice however prevented the sturdy African American women like Johnson from getting their remembrance and impact with such contributions.

Rudolph Fisher

Principal Works

"City of Refuge"

The story is centered around King Solomon Gillis, a Southern black man, and his migration to Harlem, New York from North Carolina to escape lynching. Gillis is amazed by the opportunity and freedom he sees when he first arrives to Harlem. Gillis meets Uggam who helps him settle in Harlem and gets him a “job”. Fisher presents the idea of a migrant’s adjustment to the city during “Negro Harlem” (58) and the race relations along the way. The story concludes with Gillis being duped by Uggam into selling “medicine” (drugs) for him and gets ratted on, leading him to being arrested. (citation)