Pulitzer Prize Biography Winner
The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke
by Jeffrey C. Stewart
Summary
Stewart presents a sweeping portrait of Alain Locke, the philosopher and critic who became a guiding force of the Harlem Renaissance. The book follows Locke from his education at Harvard and Oxford to his role nurturing a generation of Black artists and writers. It explores his aesthetics, his closeted personal life, and his vision of a renewed African American identity.
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Historical Context & Significance
Locke was the first African American Rhodes Scholar and edited the 1925 anthology The New Negro.