The Brownies' Book
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''The Brownies' Book'' was the first magazine published for
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
children and youth. Its creation was mentioned in the yearly children's issue of ''
The Crisis ''The Crisis'' is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Mi ...
'' in October 1919. The first issue was published 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 ...
in January 1920, with issues published monthly until December 1921. It is cited as an "important moment in literary history" for establishing black children's literature in the United States.


Background

The magazine was created by three people, all of whom were also involved with ''The Crisis'', a magazine associated with the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.& ...
(NAACP). Its editor was
W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up i ...
, one of the founders of the NAACP, and its business manager was
Augustus Granville Dill Augustus Granville Dill (November 30, 1882 — March 8, 1956) was born in Portsmouth, Ohio. His parents were John Dill and Elizabeth Jackson. He received his B.A. from Atlanta University in 1906, received a second B.A. from Harvard in 1908, an ...
. The magazine's literary editor was
Jessie Redmon Fauset Jessie Redmon Fauset (April 27, 1882 – April 30, 1961) was an African-American editor, poet, essayist, novelist, and educator. Her literary work helped sculpt African-American literature in the 1920s as she focused on portraying a true image ...
. Each year, ''The Crisis'' published an issue referred to as the "Children's Number", which included stories, photographs, games, poetry, and educational achievements of black children. These issues also contained more serious information, particularly about political events and lynchings in the United States; Du Bois covered lynchings and violent attacks on black Americans because he was concerned about the effects that reports of these incidents would have on black children. In the October 1919 "Children's Number" issue of ''The Crisis'', Du Bois wrote a column titled "The True Brownies" announcing the impending publication of ''The Brownies' Book'', stating that the first issue would be released the following month. He also stated that it was "designed for all children, but especially for ours", with a target audience of children and youth between six and 16 years old. Dill and Du Bois established Du Bois and Dill Publishers in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to publish each issue of ''The Brownies' Book''. One of the goals of the magazine was to dispel the "grotesque stereotypes" of the "Dark Continent", a disparaging term used for
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and its people. Middle-class African-American children "consumed this propaganda along with the white children who were its implied audience" in children's literary works such as those of the magazine '' St. Nicholas''. The 1919 article "The True Brownies" included commentary by Du Bois discussing children, stating that "to seek to raise them in ignorance of their racial identity and peculiar situation is inadvisable—impossible", in which the use of the phrase "peculiar situation" is an
allusion Allusion is a figure of speech, in which an object or circumstance from unrelated context is referred to covertly or indirectly. It is left to the audience to make the direct connection. Where the connection is directly and explicitly stated (as ...
to the euphemism " peculiar institution", meaning slavery. Du Bois believed children should be taught their racial identity and social situation. The name of the magazine is derived from the folkloric brownies, creatures who were said to complete household chores at night in exchange for food, alluding to African Americans being used as servants, but the term is used as signification in the "oppressive literary-historical context". Specifically, the creators wanted to "make colored children realize that being 'colored' is a normal beautiful thing". Another goal was to expand the canon of black children's literature, in which fiction and fantasy were rare, and to encourage youth participation in the NAACP. It also intended to develop The Talented Tenth, capable African Americans in the top decile who could become leaders in the black community. The seven goals stated in "The True Brownies" were:


Content and editing

Each issue was published on good quality paper, the cover of each designed by prominent black artists. Its format and layout was similar to that of ''The Crisis'', and it contained little advertising. Illustrations and photographs complemented the varied content, which included poetry, literature, biographies of successful black people, music, games, plays, and current events. Biographies included those for Phillis Wheatley, the first published African-American woman, Bert Williams, a popular entertainer of the
Vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
era, and
Sojourner Truth Sojourner Truth (; born Isabella Baumfree; November 26, 1883) was an American Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist of New York Dutch heritage and a women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but esc ...
, an abolitionist and women's rights activist that had been born into slavery. The advertising it did include promoted black children's literature not typically available in bookstores. Each issue cost 15 cents, with a yearly subscription costing . Common elements in each issue were the column "As the Crow Flies", written by Du Bois to relate current events to the children, an advice column by Fauset titled "The Judge", a reader's letters section named "The Jury", and "Little People of the Month" featuring photographs and the artistic and academic achievements of children submitted by its readers. Content generated by Du Bois would exhibit his "opposition to the social philosophy" of
Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...
. His articles for "As the Crow Flies" were usually at "a level incredibly sophisticated for a children's magazine". The inaugural issue contained a photo of African-American children protesting violence against blacks by marching in the
Silent Parade The Negro Silent Protest Parade, commonly known as the Silent Parade, was a silent march of about 10,000 African Americans along Fifth Avenue starting at 57th Street in New York City on July 28, 1917. The event was organized by the NAACP, church ...
of 1917 in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Fauset solicited submissions from many notable authors, particularly those in the Harlem Renaissance movement. Among notable authors to have material published in ''The Brownies' Book'' were
Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, H ...
, Nella Larsen, Winifred Davidson,
Effie Lee Newsome Effie Lee Newsome (1885–1979), born Mary Effie Lee in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was a Harlem Renaissance writer. She mostly wrote children's poems, and was the first famous African-American poet whose work was mostly in this area. She edi ...
and
Georgia Douglas Johnson Georgia Blanche Douglas Camp Johnson, better known as Georgia Douglas Johnson (September 10, 1880 – May 15, 1966), was a poet. She was one of the earliest female African-American playwrights, and an important figure of the Harlem Renaissance. ...
. Some of the authors had read ''St. Nicholas'' as children, including Du Bois' daughter Yolande and Newsome. Hughes submitted a letter to the editor and his high school graduation photograph to the magazine, which published it in one of its summer issues with those of other high school graduates. In 1921, ''The Brownies' Book'' became the first publication to publish his poetry, and it would publish more of his works in subsequent issues. Fauset requested Hughes to write about life in Mexico because of its exotic appeal in the United States. Larsen's first literary works were two articles about games she claimed she learned and played during her youth in
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
, published in ''The Brownies' Book'' with the byline attributing Nella Larsen Imes. Although Fauset was the literary editor, she was also likely responsible for most of the managing editorial work, a role by which she was officially recognized in the second year of the magazine's publication. She also dealt with all correspondence, and wrote hundreds of the articles that appeared in the magazine. Fauset promoted the work of African-American women authors and illustrators, for some of whom it launched their career.


Legacy

The periodical magazine has garnered more critical attention than any other black children's literature produced during the Harlem Renaissance. The Du Bois and Dill Publishers ceased operations after publication of ''The Brownies' Book'' was discontinued. Its only other publication was the 1921 book ''Unsung Heroes'' by Elizabeth Ross Haynes.


Notes


References

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External links


''The Brownies' Book''
at the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Catalog record
an
digital image collection
at the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

"When Black kids – shut out from the whitewashed world of children’s literature – took matters into their own hands"
by Paige Gray, '' The Conversation'', February 5, 2021 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brownies' Book, The African-American magazines Children's magazines published in the United States Monthly magazines published in the United States Defunct magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1920 Magazines disestablished in 1921 Magazines published in New York City