James Monroe Whitfield
James Monroe Whitfield (1822-1871) was an influential African American poet and activist born in Exeter, New Hampshire. Although much of his early life remains undocumented, Whitfield's later years were marked by his work as a barber and his dedication to advocating for racial justice. He lived in various states across the U.S., including a significant period in Buffalo, New York, from 1854 to 1859, before settling in California until 1871.
Whitfield is notable for his belief in the necessity of establishing a separate colony for black people to escape the pervasive racism and inequality of the time. He gained visibility through his writings, contributing to prominent publications such as Frederick Douglass's North Star and the San Francisco Elevator. His only published work, "America, and Other Poems," released in 1853, showcases his powerful, often angry poetry that critiques societal injustices and calls for racial equality. Poems like "America" and "How Long" reflect his profound discontent with the moral failures of a country that professed freedom while perpetuating oppression. Whitfield's legacy lies in his bold literary voice and his contributions to discussions around African American separatism during a pivotal era in U.S. history. He died of heart disease in San Francisco, leaving behind a body of work that remains impactful.
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James Monroe Whitfield
Poet
- Born: April 10, 1822
- Birthplace: Exeter, New Hampshire
- Died: April 23, 1871
- Place of death: San Francisco, California
Biography
James Monroe Whitfield was born in 1822 in Exeter, New Hampshire, but this is about the only information known about his childhood. In his later years, he supported himself by working as a barber. Whitfield moved around the country, living in different states in different regions of the United States for brief periods. Between 1854 and 1859, he lived in Buffalo, New York. He left New York and traveled across the country, settling in California. He would remain in California from 1861 until 1871. Toward the end of his life, while Whitfield was still living in California, he traveled to the neighboring states of Nevada and Oregon, and on to Idaho.
Whitfield strove for racial justice and an end to the inequalities that African Americans experienced on a daily basis. He believed the only way to end the racism and injustice in the United States was for black people to create their own colony, in which they could live a life of harmony, devoid of the strife and turmoil brought about by racial discord and tension. In 1854, Whitfield began writing and submitted his views to North Star, Frederick Douglass’s newspaper, and San Francisco Elevator, as well as other African American journals and periodicals. He gained some support for his colonization plan after he published the “Call for the National Emigration Convention” in North Star in 1854. Between 1859 and 1861, he traveled to Central America to search for a location for his colony.
America, and Other Poems, a collection of his militant poems and letters, was complied and published in 1853. This is his only published work and contains only a fraction of his writings. The poems in this collection were praised for their relentless strength, honest anger, metrical control, and treatment of historic references. The collection contains such biting poems as “America,” which questions a citizen’s allegiance to a country that provides liberty for a chosen few and enslavement for others. “How Long” exposes the moral corruption in the United States, viewing it as an extension of European history, customs, and culture.
Whitfield’s poems are often dark and angry, pointing out hypocrisies, injustice, and the estrangement of African Americans from American society. His four-hundred-line “Poem” points out the dichotomy between the progressiveness of New England and the slavery of the South and maintains that the United States must draft laws mandating racial equality before it can truly become a “country of the Free.”
Whitfield died of heart disease in San Francisco in 1871. He wrote with an unabashed anger that was both powerfully striking and artistically moving and was his greatest contribution to literature. His poems proposed African American separatism, a topic few other poets were tackling at the time.