Eugene Gordon (November 23, 1891 – March 18, 1974) was a journalist, editor, fiction writer, World War I officer, and social activist. He cofounded and edited the
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the t ...
literary magazine ''Saturday Evening Quill'' and edited a magazine put out by the Boston
John Reed Club
The John Reed Clubs (1929–1935), often referred to as John Reed Club (JRC), were an American federation of local organizations targeted towards Marxist writers, artists, and intellectuals, named after the American journalist and activist John ...
. He wrote primarily on subjects related to racial discrimination and social justice. He published some fiction under pseudonyms, using Egor Don (which combines his first initial and last name) and (more rarely) Clark Hall and Frank Lynn.
He was married to prominent Harlem Renaissance writer
Edythe Mae Gordon and mentored writers
Dorothy West and
Helene Johnson
Helene Johnson (July 7, 1906 – July 7, 1995) was an African-American poet during the Harlem Renaissance. She was also a cousin of writer Dorothy West.
Career
Johnson's literary career began when she won first prize in a short story competit ...
.
Education and personal life
Eugene Gordon was born on November 23, 1891
in
Oviedo, Florida
Oviedo ( ) is a city in Seminole County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 33,342, representing an increase of 7,026 (26.7%) from the 26,316 counted in the 2000 Census. It is part of the Orlando– ...
. He grew up in Hawkinsville, Georgia
and was raised in New Orleans, where he later recalled living through the
Robert Charles riots. Gordon writes about the challenges of growing up
in the South in the short story "Southern Boyhood Nightmares".
He attended
Howard University
Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...
and
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
where he studied English and journalism. At Howard, he met his first wife
Edythe Mae Chapman, a prominent writer and poet during the
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the t ...
. The two married on January 10, 1916.
They separated in 1932 and divorced in 1942. His second wife,
June Croll
June Croll (1901-1967) was a U.S. labor organizer most active during the interwar years.
Biography
June Croll was born Sonia Croll in 1901 in Odessa in the Ukraine region of Russia. During her girlhood, she emigrated illegally to Canada and then t ...
, was a noted labor organizer; they had a son together.
After graduating Howard in 1917, Gordon served as a U.S. Army second lieutenant in France during World War I.
He was awarded a World War I Victory Medal and returned to the U.S. in 1919. He moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts.
When he returned to the U.S., Gordon was frustrated by the poor treatment of Black veterans.
A few years later, he moved to New York and joined the
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
.
Writing career
Gordon became a staff writer for the ''Boston Daily Post'', rising to assistant feature writer in 1919.
During the 1920s, he began publishing both fiction and nonfiction in periodicals like
American Mercury
''The American Mercury'' was an American magazine published from 1924Staff (Dec. 31, 1923)"Bichloride of Mercury."''Time''. to 1981. It was founded as the brainchild of H. L. Mencken and drama critic George Jean Nathan. The magazine featured wri ...
, ''
Scribner's Magazine
''Scribner's Magazine'' was an American periodical published by the publishing house of Charles Scribner's Sons from January 1887 to May 1939. ''Scribner's Magazine'' was the second magazine out of the Scribner's firm, after the publication of ' ...
'', ''
The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
'', and ''
Plain Talk
''Plain Talk'' was an American monthly anticommunist magazine that lasted for 44 months (1946–1950). Its editor-in-chief was Isaac Don Levine.
Description
''Plain Talk'' featured articles by many conservative writers of the time, including J ...
'', as well as in the ''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science''. His fiction ranged from stories about African-American life to a war story set in France. His short story “Game” won first prize in ''
Opportunity
Opportunity may refer to:
Places
* Opportunity, Montana, an unincorporated community, United States
* Opportunity, Nebraska, an unincorporated community, United States
* Opportunity, Washington, a former census-designated place, United States
* 3 ...
'' magazine's 1927 literary contest.
Gordon was passionate about raising journalistic standards for Black media organizations. In 1924, he published a series of articles in the ''Opportunity'' the mediocrity of the Black press.
In 1925, Gordon organized an African-American literary group, the Saturday Evening Quill Club. Its founding members included fellow writers
Helene Johnson
Helene Johnson (July 7, 1906 – July 7, 1995) was an African-American poet during the Harlem Renaissance. She was also a cousin of writer Dorothy West.
Career
Johnson's literary career began when she won first prize in a short story competit ...
and
Dorothy West, and Gordon served as its president. Out of this grew an annual literary magazine, ''
Saturday Evening Quill
The ''Saturday Evening Quill'' was a short-lived (1928–1930) African-American literary magazine of the Harlem Renaissance. It was founded by the journalist Eugene Gordon.
History
In 1925, Boston-based journalist Eugene Gordon organized an Afr ...
'', which Gordon edited during its brief existence from 1928 to 1930.
[ It published two issues. In the second issue, Gordon published "Negro Fictionists in America" ] about the differences between the white and Black portrayal of Black characters in media.
Gordon joined the American Communist Party
The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...
in 1931 and co-founded the Boston John Reed Club
The John Reed Clubs (1929–1935), often referred to as John Reed Club (JRC), were an American federation of local organizations targeted towards Marxist writers, artists, and intellectuals, named after the American journalist and activist John ...
, becoming the first editor of the club magazine, ''Leftward''.[ He moved to the Soviet Union for a year (1937–38) and became a reporter for the ''Moscow Daily News''.][ On his return to the United States, he became a contributing editor, writer, and reporter for the leftist '']Daily Worker
The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, attempts were m ...
'' (1938–1946).[
Gordon's nonfiction writing about social issues increased after he became a communist. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, he wrote about such topics as black labor, the rape of black women, the limits faced by black writers in an oppressive culture, and African Americans' relationship to political radicalism; this last essay appeared in ]Nancy Cunard
Nancy Clara Cunard (10 March 1896 – 17 March 1965) was a British writer, heiress and political activist. She was born into the British upper class, and devoted much of her life to fighting racism and fascism. She became a muse to some of the ...
's 1933 book ''Negro: An Anthology''.[
By the 1950s, Gordon had joined the staff of the radical leftist weekly '']National Guardian
''The National Guardian'', later known as ''The Guardian'', was a left-wing independent weekly newspaper established in 1948 in New York City. The paper was founded by James Aronson, Cedric Belfrage and John T. McManus in connection with the 194 ...
'', for which he reported on the 1955 Bandung Conference in Indonesia, which was an important step in the development of the Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide.
The movement originated in the aftermath o ...
. In the late 1950s, he wrote a column for the black press that lasted for about two years, "Another Side of the Story."[
Gordon effectively retired from public life in the 1960s and turned his energies to watercolor painting.][
When Gordon died in 1974, Henry Winston—then the chairman of the American Communist Party—praised him as "a dedicated partisan in the fight on many fronts for Democracy and Socialism."][ A more recent commentator assesses Gordon as a "hard-working, if uninspired" journalist of admirable dedication.][ His papers, including correspondence and various unpublished writings, are held by the New York Public Library.][
]
"The Negro Press"
"The Negro Press" was first published in the ''American Mercury
''The American Mercury'' was an American magazine published from 1924Staff (Dec. 31, 1923)"Bichloride of Mercury."''Time''. to 1981. It was founded as the brainchild of H. L. Mencken and drama critic George Jean Nathan. The magazine featured wri ...
'' in June 1926. Gordon explained Black journalism was divided into three distinct phases: pre-Civil War, post-Civil War, and post-World War. The pre-Civil War era was marked by abolition journals. After the war, writing shifted to focus on gaining citizenship for the formerly enslaved. Finally, after World War I, Black publications wrote about democracy as it pertained to Black citizens.
Freedom's Journal
''Freedom's Journal'' was the first African-American owned and operated newspaper published in the United States. Founded by Rev. John Wilk and other free Black men in New York City, it was published weekly starting with the 16 March 1827 issue. ...
, established in 1827, was the first Black newspaper. It published the writings of formerly enslaved people and supported abolition. Gordon notes that early Black newspapers would not meet the journalistic standards of the 1920s. The content was well-written but opinionated. Publications at the time shared mostly essays, editorials, and biographies. Anti-slavery publications were influential but not profitable.
After the Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the Civil War. The Proclamation changed the legal sta ...
, abolition was accomplished and Black publications struggled to find new purpose. Pamphlets became a popular way to share information because they were inexpensive and effective. Gordon observes that churches sponsored the Black press at this time. Churches were "the units of Negro life" and used the press to "establish contact with their congregations." Controlling the press allowed churches to disseminate news and opinions and "propagandize" its followers. Some popular publications include ''The Christian Recorder
''The Christian Recorder'' is the official newspaper of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and is the oldest continuously published African-American newspaper in the United States. It has been called "arguably the most powerful black periodi ...
'' and '' Star of Zion''.
The arrival of World War I birthed new ideas in Black communities. Some men saw the war as an opportunity to improve race relations by fighting for America, while Black veterans, like Gordon, were not granted the respect they hoped for. The lack of change created a "so-called new Negro", who publicly desired complete equality and supported the Bolshevik Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolsheviks, Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was ...
(which abolished monarchy in Russia and created a communist government). '' The Messenger'' was a popular Black magazine that openly supported economic and social equality.
Gordon notes that at this time, journalism was beginning to be considered a profession by Black publications. Prior, it was seen as a part-time job at most. With comparisons to metropolitan daily newspapers mounting, Black editors held their publication to higher journalistic standards and began to visually resemble white newspapers. Gordon cites ''The Chicago Defender
''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against Jim ...
'' as the blueprint for this homogenized style of newspaper and compares its publisher, Robert S. Abbott, to William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...
.
He goes on to rank publications such as ''The Chicago Defender
''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against Jim ...
, Philadelphia Tribune
''The Philadelphia Tribune'' is the oldest continuously published African-American newspaper in the United States.
The paper began in 1884 when Christopher J. Perry published its first copy. Throughout its history, ''The Philadelphia Tribune' ...
, and the Pittsburgh Courier
The ''Pittsburgh Courier'' was an African-American weekly newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1907 until October 22, 1966. By the 1930s, the ''Courier'' was one of the leading black newspapers in the United States.
It was acqu ...
'' according to news, editorials, features, and appearance.
Selected publications
Fiction;[
* "Game" (as Egor Don, in ''Opportunity'', 1927)
* "Sarcophagus" (in ''The Saturday Evening Quill'', 1928)
* "Southern Boyhood Nightmares" (in ''International Literature'', 1934)
Nonfiction;][
]
"The Negro Press"
(in ''American Mercury'', v. 8, no. 30 (June 1926) 207–215)
* "Christianity and the Negro" (in ''The Lantern'', 1929)
* "The Negro Grows Up," (in ''Plain Talk'', 1929)
* " Negro Fictionists in America" (in ''Saturday Evening Quill'', 1929)
* “Blacks Turn Red” (in ''Negro: An Anthology'', 1933)
* "Negro Novelists and the Negro Masses" (in ''New Masses'', 1933)
* ''The Position of Negro Women'' (pamphlet, with Cyril Briggs
Cyril Valentine Briggs (May 28, 1888 – October 18, 1966) was an African-Caribbean American writer and communist political activist. Briggs is best remembered as founder and editor of ''The Crusader,'' a seminal New York magazine of the New Ne ...
, 1935)
* "How Prostitution Has Been Fought and Almost Completely Eliminated in the USSR" (in ''Moscow News'', 1937)
* "Who Is George S. Schuyler
George Samuel Schuyler (; February 25, 1895 – August 31, 1977) was an American writer, journalist, and social commentator known for his conservatism after he had initially supported socialism.
Early life
George Samuel Schuyler was born in ...
" (in ''Worker'', 1946)
* "Negro Labor Advances" (in ''Jewish Life'', 1953)
* “The Green Hat Comes to Chambers Street” (in ''Nancy Cunard: Brave Poet, Indomitable Rebel'', 1968)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Eugene
1891 births
1974 deaths
20th-century American non-fiction writers
American magazine founders
American magazine editors
Howard University alumni
Boston University alumni
People from Oviedo, Florida
Harlem Renaissance
20th-century African-American writers
The Boston Post people