Charlotte Osgood Mason, born Charlotte Louise Van der Veer Quick (May 18, 1854,
Franklin Park, New Jersey
Franklin Park is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Franklin Township, in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States.New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
), was an American socialite and philanthropist. She contributed more than $100,000 to a number of African-American artists and writers of the Harlem Renaissance, equal to more than $1 million in 2003. This was especially critical during the Great Depression, when foundation support declined. She helped young artists become established.
Biography
She was born Charlotte Louise Van der Veer Quick in
Franklin Park, New Jersey
Franklin Park is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Franklin Township, in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States.Rufus Osgood Mason on April 27, 1886. She came from a rich family and her wealth increased when she inherited the estate of her husband after his death.
Patronage
She used her wealth to become a literary and cultural patron, supporting such artists and writers as
Alain Locke
Alain LeRoy Locke (September 13, 1885 – June 9, 1954) was an American writer, philosopher, educator, and patron of the arts. Distinguished in 1907 as the first African-American Rhodes Scholar, Locke became known as the philosophical architect ...
Arthur Fauset
Arthur Huff Fauset (January 20, 1899 – September 2, 1983) was an American civil rights activist, anthropologist, folklorist, and educator. Born in Flemington, New Jersey, he grew up in Philadelphia, where he attended Central High School.
...
, and
Miguel Covarrubias
Miguel Covarrubias, also known as José Miguel Covarrubias Duclaud (22 November 1904 — 4 February 1957) was a Mexican painter, caricaturist, illustrator, ethnologist and art historian. Along with his American colleague Matthew W. Stirling, h ...
of the Harlem Renaissance. Zora Neale Hurston was another emerging writer she supported, at the recommendation of Locke, after Hurston published some short stories.
Hurston was also studying anthropology and, from 1928-1932, Mason supported the writer during her research into African-American folklore and culture in the Deep South, Haiti and
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
. Mason also supported Hurston during her writing of a book on
Cudjoe Lewis
Cudjoe Kazoola Lewis ( – July 17, 1935), born Oluale Kossola, and also known as Cudjo Lewis, was the third to last adult survivor of the Atlantic slave trade between Africa and the United States. Together with 115 other African captives, he was ...
, known then as the last survivor of the 1860 illegal '' Clotilda.'' For various reasons this was not published in 1931, when Hurston submitted it to a publisher. It was published posthumously in 2018 as '' Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo".'' After learning about Cudjoe Lewis from Hurston's 1928 article about him, Mason also helped support the elderly man, who lived in
Africatown
Africatown, also known as AfricaTown USA and Plateau, is a historic community located three miles (5 km) north of downtown Mobile, Alabama. It was formed by a group of 32 West Africans, who in 1860 were included in the last known illegal sh ...
, a neighborhood of Mobile, Alabama.
Mason has been criticized for trying to control the work of the writers she supported. She insisted on being called "Godmother", and she developed intricate and controlling relationships with the people she helped. She contributed a total of "more than $100,000 to African-American writers and artists during the Harlem Renaissance, the equivalent of more than $1,000,000 in 2003." She is cited in ''Zora and Langston: A Story of Friendship and Betrayal'' by Yuval Taylor (2020). Black feminist scholar bell hooks writes critically of the relationship between Mason and Hurston: "It is difficult to believe that Hurston was blind to the cultural imperialism, the white supremacy of her sponsor, Mrs. Mason. This 'world's most gallant woman' had compelled Hurston to sign a legal agreement which specified that all material she gathered would be the legal property of her patron and that Hurston could use such material only when granted permission."bell hooks, "Saving Black Folk Culture: Zora Neale Hurston as anthropologist and writer". In ''Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics''. Boston: South End Press, p. 138 Scholars such as Hooks and
Irma McClaurin Irma P. McClaurin is an American poet, anthropologist, academic, and leadership consultant.
She was the first female president of Shaw University, and is the author or editor of several books on topics including the culture of Belize, black feminism ...
argue that because of Mason's financial support of Hurston she enforced specific themes and subjects onto Hurston's work. One explicit area of interest Mason pushed on Hurston was the notion of finding the "authentic" Black life or culture and writing about it. McClaurin states though that by doing so the "authentic" Black life or culture is judged by Mason's white standard and understanding. She becomes the "arbiter of "authenticity".
Mason's controlling patronage can also be seen in her relationship with Langston Hughes. Beginning in 1927 Mason subsidized Hughes for three years. Mason believed that he could express her own ideas about the "primitive" in his writing. In their relationship, Mason controlled more than his writing by dictating the music he was allowed to listen to and the books he was allowed to read. Mason asked that he write only to her, further isolating him from any influence that was not her own. After three years of her patronage Hughes cut ties with Mason. When their relationship ended Mason predicted that Hughes would fall and reminded him that his accomplishments so far would have been nothing without her support. This "unpleasant goodbye" was "traumatic for Hughes and irrevocable for both concerned".