First published 2018
Jeffrey C. Stewart chronicles the remarkable journey of Alain Locke, the diminutive, impeccably dressed intellectual who emerged from Black Philadelphia to become the architect of the Harlem Renaissance. Stewart traces Locke's path from his groundbreaking achievement as the first African American Rhodes Scholar through his philosophical studies at Harvard to his influential tenure at Howard University. The biography reveals how Locke's European travels opened his eyes to artistic beauty and personal freedom, experiences that shaped his vision for African American culture. Stewart examines Locke's strategy of shifting racial discourse from politics to the arts, his mentorship of luminaries like Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, and his belief that urban Black communities could become centers of creative innovation. The author also explores Locke's complex personal relationships, his devotion to his mother, his connections with white benefactors, and his private struggles as a gay man seeking love and acceptance. This National Book Award winner presents a complete portrait of the man who championed African American artistic achievement as the essence of American modernism.
Genres: biography, 20th-century, american, african-american, biography-memoir, cultural, african-american-historical-fiction, american-history
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, mentor
Setting: Black Philadelphia, Harlem, Howard University
Period: 20th-century
944 pages · Hardcover · Oxford University Press