Julian Mayfield
Julian Mayfield was an influential African American writer, activist, and educator, born on June 6, 1928, in Greer, South Carolina. His family moved to Washington D.C. when he was five, and after serving in the army, he attended Lincoln University, where he studied political science. Mayfield had a diverse career that included acting in stage productions and films in the 1940s, cofounding Mexico's first English-language radio station, and serving as an editor and theater reviewer. He became an African American activist in the 1960s, living in Ghana and working closely with President Kwame Nkrumah, later advising Prime Minister Forbes Burnham in Guyana.
Mayfield's literary contributions include his first novel, *The Hit*, published in 1957, which explores the struggles of an African American family through the lens of the numbers game. His subsequent novel, *The Long Night*, similarly addresses themes of poverty and resilience within the African American community. Mayfield's writing vividly depicted the barriers faced by African Americans in their pursuit of success and the American Dream. He passed away on October 20, 1984, in Tacoma Park, Maryland, leaving a legacy of highlighting social inequalities through his work.
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Julian Mayfield
Author
- Born: June 6, 1928
- Birthplace: Greer, South Carolina
- Died: October 20, 1984
- Place of death: Tacoma Park, Maryland
Biography
Julian Mayfield was born on June 6, 1928, in Greer, South Carolina, the son of Hudson Peter Mayfield and Annie Mae Prince Mayfield. When he was five years old, the family moved to Washington D.C. After graduating from high school, he served in the army and was stationed in the Pacific. When he returned to the United States, he enrolled at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, where he majored in political science.
Mayfield’s career was multifaceted. During the 1940’s, he acted in several stage productions, musicals, and films. In 1954, Mayfield married Ana Livia Cordero and the two relocated to Mexico, where she worked as a physician and Mayfield cofounded and was a newscaster on Mexico’s first English- language radio station. He also was the editor and theater reviewer for the Puerto Rican World Journal. Mayfield and Cordero had two children, Rafael Ariel and Emiliano Kewsi, before they divorced. Mayfield later married Joan Cambridge on July 10, 1973.
In the 1960’s, Mayfield became an African American activist and lived in Ghana from 1962 through 1966. While there, he served as the communications aide to President Kwame Nkrumah. During the early 1970’s, he lived in Guyana, where he was an adviser to Prime MinisterForbes Burnham. After he returned to the United States, he was a visiting professor at the University of Maryland from 1975 until 1978 and a writer in residence at Howard University from 1978 until 1984.
Mayfield wrote and produced his first play, 417, which he adapted as his first novel, The Hit, published in 1957. The Hit follows the Cooley family of Harlem as the father, James Lee Cooley, tries to provide a better life for his family by playing the numbers game, frequently borrowing money from the household to support his habit. When he hits his number, 417, Cooley goes to collect his winnings and finds that the numbers writer has fled town with the money. The novel offers insight into the barriers that African Americans faced in achieving the American Dream by traditional means.
Mayfield’s follow up novel, The Long Night, also features the numbers game as a means of revenue and hope for a downtrodden family. After Paul Brown abandons law school and his family and becomes a homeless alcoholic, Mae Brown plays the numbers to try to support the family. She sends her ten-year-old son, Steely, to collect her winnings from the game; on his way home, he is robbed and loses everything. Afraid to return home, Steely begins to beg and steal to try and recoup his loses. As he turns an unconscious man over to rob him, he realizes it is his long missed and dearly loved father, and he begins a family reunion.
Mayfield died from a heart ailment on October 20, 1984, in Tacoma Park, Maryland. His ability to capture the inequalities and the obstacles confronting African Americans was his greatest contribution to literature.