Judith Louise Stephens

Georgia Douglas Camp Johnson

This volume collects twelve of Georgia Douglas Johnson's one-act plays, including two never-before-published scripts found in the Library of Congress. As an integral part of Washington, D.C.'s, thriving turn-of-the-century literary scene, Johnson hosted regular meetings with Harlem Renaissance writers and other artists, including Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, May Miller, and Jean Toomer, and was herself considered among the finest writers of the time. Johnson also worked for U.S. government agencies and actively supported women's and minorities' rights. As a leading authority on Johnson, Judith L. Stephens provides a brief overview of Johnson's career and significance as a playwright; sections on the creative environment in which she worked; her S Street Salon; The Saturday Nighters, and its significance to the New Negro Theatre; selected photographs; and a discussion of Johnson's genres, themes, and artistic techniques.

From the New Negro Renaissance to the Civil Rights Movement

The Plays of Georgia Douglas Johnson

Kathy A. Perkins

"These lynching dramas may not present the picture that America wants to see of itself, but these visions cannot be ignored because they are grounded—not only in the truth of white racism's toxic effect on our national existence but also in the truth that there exists a contesting, collective response that is part of an on-going and continually building momentum." —Theaatre Journal "A unique, powerful collection worthy of high school and college classroom assignment and discussion." —Bookwatch This anthology is the first to address the impact of lynching on U.S. theater and culture. By focusing on women's unique view of lynching, this collection of plays reveals a social history of interracial cooperation between black and white women and an artistic tradition that continues to evolve through the work of African American women artists. Included are plays spanning the period 1916 to 1994 from playwrights such as Angelina Weld Grimke, Georgia Douglas Johnson, Lillian Smith, and Michon Boston.

Judith Louise Stephens

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