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.

Historical Context & Significance

Locke was the first African American Rhodes Scholar and edited the 1925 anthology The New Negro.