To America by James Weldon Johnson

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend June 21, 2014   To America   James Weldon Johnson

How would you have us, as we are? Or sinking ‘neath the load we bear? Our eyes fixed forward on a star? Or gazing empty at despair? Rising or falling? Men or things? With dragging pace or footsteps fleet? Strong, willing sinews in your wings? Or tightening chains about your feet?            This poem is in the public domain. About This Poem   “To America” by James Weldon Johnson was first published in the 1917 issue of The Crisis, a magazine founded by W. E. B. Du Bois to be the premier crusading voice for civil rights.   James Weldon Johnson was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on June 17, 1871. Johnson was not only a poet but also a major leader in the NAACP and the first African American professor to teach at New York University. He died in 1938. Poetry by Johnson   James Weldon Johnson (Library of America, 2004) “I, Too, Sing America” by Langston Hughes “Harlem Shadows” by Claude McKay “Reapers” by Jean Toomer Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038