Harlem-born public figure has been hailed for contributions to the image of African Americans and women in the arts
In the January and February issue of Essence magazine excerpts from a newly released autobiography by Cicely Tyson, Just As I Am, provide insights into the nearly one century life’s journey of a legend within the entertainment and cultural milieu in the United States.
Essence, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2000, is a publication designed to illustrate the role of African women in history and the modern world. Tyson, 96 years old, passed away on January 29 of natural causes.
She was born to immigrant parents from the Caribbean island of Nevis. Tyson came into existence in 1924 during the period that is popularly known as the Harlem Renaissance. Beginning in the first decade of the 20th century, Harlem was rapidly transforming from a European immigrant community to one which became largely occupied by Black and Latin American peoples.
Black History Month 2021: Personal connections to books on history
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This excerpt originally appeared in the January/February issue of ESSENCE magazine, available on newsstands now.
The era I grew up in both deepened my racial wound and soothed it with the healing balm of the arts. My childhood spanned the 1920s and 1930s, two of the most economically memorable and culturally rich decades in American history a period when Negro literature, music and culture flourished. The Roaring ’20s rollicked joyously with jazz, decadence and illegal whiskey, while the thunderous market crash of 1929 rattled nerves throughout the ’30s. What these shifts meant to daily life, or whether they had any noticeable consequence at all, depended upon where you lived and how much you were able to earn, both of which were inextricably tied to the color of your skin.
By Madeleine Muzdakis on January 17, 2021
1925 first edition copy of “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, cover illustration by Francis Cugat. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons [Public domain])
In intellectual property law, public domain is a term used to denote a work free from copyright or whose copyright has expired. There are many ways a work of art, literature, or film may enter the public domain. Each year, many classic works become public simply due to the passing of time. Works published between 1923 and 1977 pass into the public domain on January 1, 95 years after their respective year of publication. This year, a batch of celebrated works from 1925 are now open to free public use, distribution, and adaptation. These works include F. Scott Fitzgerald s
WASHINGTON Lift Ev ry Voice and Sing, a civil rights hymn that speaks to the faith and resilience of African Americans, was sung for the first time in 1900 at the height of segregation and lynching.
A century later, Rep. James Clyburn is introducing a bill in Congress to make it the official national hymn, alongside the national anthem. Lift Ev ry Voice and Sing has come to be known as the Black national anthem. Meanwhile, The Star-Spangled Banner has been widely criticized in recent years because it contains lyrics that glorify slavery. To make it a national hymn, I think, would be an act of bringing the country together. It would say to people, You aren t singing a separate national anthem, you are singing the country s national hymn, the South Carolina Democrat told USA Today. The gesture itself would be an act of healing. Everybody can identify with that song.
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