James Weldon Johnson: “Race Prejudice and the Negro Artist”

While noting that considerable progress had been made to address the race problem through various approaches, including religious, educational, political, industrial, ethical, economic, and sociological, James Weldon Johnson argued that an artistic approach was especially practical. While other measures had the potential to be divisive, Johnson argued that art, writing, and music were a unifying factor that reached across the racial divide. For instance, music that was created by Black artists was later adopted by whites who integrated it into their own culture. Jazz clubs were a melting pot of races that saw both white and Black people bonding despite their racial differences. Art and music grew out of the struggles of Black people but also showed their hopefulness and resilience, qualities that were evident in their artistic expressions.