Abstract

Gilliams pairs the works of James Weldon Johnson and August Wilson in an interdisciplinary course on the Harlem Renaissance. Gilliams’s essay explores Johnson’s Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man as an exemplar of the Harlem Renaissance writer’s need for artistic freedom. In pairing Johnson’s and Wilson’s texts, she offers a unique approach for exploring thematic concerns, cultural traditions, and artistic expressions during the Harlem Renaissance.