Along This Way by James Weldon Johnson
"Along This Way" is the autobiography of James Weldon Johnson, a prominent African American figure recognized for his multifaceted contributions as an educator, songwriter, writer, and civil rights activist. In this work, Johnson clarifies that his earlier novel, "The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man," does not reflect his life story, but rather serves as a vehicle to explore broader themes of race and identity. The narrative is characterized by a controlled and sometimes ironic tone, through which Johnson presents insights into his personal experiences alongside a celebration of African American achievements amidst a challenging social landscape.
Despite his middle-class upbringing and significant accomplishments, including being the first African American to pass the Florida bar exam, Johnson's commitment to uplifting the African American community remained central to his endeavors. He emphasizes the importance of African American cultural heritage and spirituality, viewing them as vital resources for the United States. Johnson's advocacy for racial justice, particularly during his leadership in the NAACP, reveals his belief that true progress for African Americans hinges on a moral revolution rather than merely political or legal changes. Through "Along This Way," Johnson articulates his lifelong dedication to the cause of racial equality and the artistic expression of the African American experience, making it a significant contribution to the literature of social justice and cultural identity.
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Subject Terms
Along This Way by James Weldon Johnson
First published: 1933
The Work
James Weldon Johnson claimed that one of the reasons for publishing his autobiography, Along This Way, was to finally make clear that his novel The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man (1912) was not a record of his life. A public figure as important as Johnson hardly needed, however, a justification for adding another book to the growing shelf of autobiographies of distinguished African Americans, such as Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, and W. E. B. Du Bois. In a controlled and often ironic narrative tone, Johnson not only provides insights into his life and times but also focuses on African American accomplishments in the hostile social climate that he battled against all his life.
Despite a middle-class upbringing, a university degree, and immediate success first as a school principal, in passing the Florida bar examination—the first African American to do so—and then as songwriter, writer, consul, and civil rights activist, Johnson always committed himself to the cause of African Americans. When on university vacation, he spent three months teaching African American farmers’ children in rural Georgia, realizing “that they were me, and I was they; that a force stronger than blood made us one.” Accordingly, all his artistic work was committed to improving the social situation of African Americans and to exploring African American art forms. When embarking on his composing and songwriting career, he “began to grope toward a realization of the American Negro’s cultural background and his creative folk-art.” In much of his poetry, too, Johnson built on African American folk traditions. He did so because he believed in the uniqueness of the African American heritage, based as it was on a deep spirituality. Thus, he implies that African Americans are a main resource for the United States in matters of artistry and spirituality, and that, in turn, the United States will be measured by how it treats African Americans. He pithily summarizes this belief in saying “that in large measure the race question involves the saving of black America’s body and white America’s soul.”
A considerable part of the book is devoted to Johnson’s fight for racial justice and his time in the leadership of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Johnson reveals explicitly that his program for improving the social status of African Americans, despite his own artistic, legal, and political efforts, is really a moral one: “The only kind of revolution that would have an immediately significant effect on the American Negro’s status would be a moral revolution.” As Along This Way makes clear, Johnson did his best on all fronts.
Bibliography
Butterfield, Stephen. Black Autobiography in America. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1974.
Fleming, Robert E. James Weldon Johnson. Boston: Twayne, 1987.
Levy, Eugene. James Weldon Johnson: Black Leader, Black Voice. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973.