Walter Everette Hawkins
Walter Everette Hawkins was an influential African American poet born on November 17, 1883, in Warrenton, North Carolina, to parents who were former slaves. Growing up on a family farm, he pursued education at Kittrel College, graduating in 1901. After moving to Washington, D.C., Hawkins worked as a mail clerk, a role that afforded him the opportunity to develop his poetic voice. His early works, published in notable literary journals, often reflected a strong attachment to family and nature, but as he matured, his poetry began to address political themes and racial injustices, highlighting his increasing social consciousness.
Notable for his poem "Mob Victim," which critiqued the lynching of African Americans, Hawkins's writing evolved to confront harsh realities of racism and prejudice. His poetry not only emphasized the importance of African American pride as a means for social advancement but also critiqued religious and capitalist institutions for perpetuating inequality. While not a direct participant in the Harlem Renaissance, Hawkins's work laid the groundwork for the movement, championing African American culture and issues. His legacy as a persistent leftist voice in the 1930s reflects his commitment to social justice and the documentation of the African American experience.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Walter Everette Hawkins
Writer
- Born: November 17, 1883
- Birthplace: Warrenton, North Carolina
- Died: Unknown
Biography
Walter Everette Hawkins was born November 17, 1883, in Warrenton, North Carolina. He was born one generation after slavery was abolished. His parents who were both former slaves. They owned farmland, and the entire family worked the farm.
Hawkins and his older brother, John R. Hawkins, attended Kittrel College in North Carolina. Hawkins graduated in 1901. After completing their education, his brother taught at, and served as president of, Kittrel College, while Hawkins moved to Washington, D.C.
While in D.C, Hawkins worked as a mail clerk in a post office, which allowed him time to work on his poetry. His poetry began to be published in literary journals such as the African Times and Orient Review and the Messenger, a journal devoted to African American issues.
Hawkins had a strong attachment to family and nature, a constant theme throughout his poetic works. As he matured, he became increasingly involved in politics, African American culture, and the racial inequalities and injustices that occurred within America. His growing social consciousness is seen throughout his later poems as his writing becomes more militant.
Although Hawkins was not a part of the Harlem Renaissance, his work paved the way for this movement by bringing African American issues and culture into prominence and challenging the country’s cultural mindset and racial attitudes. His poems always stressed the importance of African American pride as a way to obtain equality and social advancement. He was a member and avid supporter of the Negro Society for Historical Research, which sought to document the African American historical experience.
In 1919, with the publication of his poem “Mob Victim,” Hawkins received notoriety when the poem was deemed by the United States Department of Justice to “display a radical political ideology.” The charges brought a welcome celebrity to Hawkins’s poetry.
In the collection Chords and Discords, the reader experiences the evolution of Hawkins’s poems from an infatuation and celebration of nature to the harsh realities of racism and prejudice. “Mob Victim” appears in the collection, detailing the outrage felt when an African American man is lynched in the South. The poem simultaneously condemns the act and the “Christian Land” that condoned such violence. Another significant poem, “Too Much Religion,” explores the multitude and power of religious institutions. Hawkins maintained that religion and capitalism allowed for racism and inequality.
Hawkins relocated to New York City, and published the volume Petals from the Poppies. In the collection, his poetry becomes more political, expressing his leftist leanings. Hawkins has been referred to as the most persistent leftist African American poet in the 1930’s.
Hawkins’s strong African American voice, which spoke of inequalities and social prejudice in the literary realm in the early 1900’s, helped to usher in the Harlem Renaissance.