Known as the “Midwife of the Harlem Renaissance,” Jessie Redmon Fauset was an important member of the literary and artistic movement. For seven years, Fauset helped promote the work of writers such as Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Claude McKay, Georgia Douglass Johnson and Zora Neale Hurston through her editorial positions at The Crisis and The Brownie’s Books, both published through the NAACP.
Her ability to speak french fluently allowed Fauset to translate texts of African and Caribbean writers as well–offering these men and women the opportunity to have their voices heard in America. In addition, these translations offered African-American readers insight to the issues present in the lives of others in the African Diaspora.
Throughout her career as an editor, writer and educator, Fauset worked to improve the opportunities for African-Americans to express themselves through the arts.
Suggested Reading
Literary Timeline of the Harlem Renaissance
Article source: http://afroamhistory.about.com/b/2012/07/31/jessie-redmon-fauset-literary-editor-of-the-crisis.htm
