The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man

Summary

The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, published anonymously in 1912 and republished under James Weldon Johnson's name in 1927, is a novel written in the form of a confession by a man of mixed race who has decided to live as white. The unnamed narrator grows up in Connecticut with his mother, a seamstress, and does not know that he is considered black until a teacher tells the class that he is not white. The shock changes his view of himself. A gifted pianist, he hopes to attend Atlanta University, but his money is stolen and he goes instead to Jacksonville, Florida, where he works in a cigar factory and learns about the different classes of Southern black society. He moves to New York, where he plays ragtime in clubs and becomes absorbed in the nightlife. A wealthy white patron takes him to Europe as a private pianist, and in Berlin he resolves to use ragtime and spirituals as the foundation for great classical music that will honor his race. He returns to the South to collect folk songs and hears spirituals and sermons at a camp meeting. Then he witnesses a lynching, in which a black man is burned alive by a crowd. Overcome with shame that he belongs to a people who could be treated so, he decides not to identify as black, moves to New York, works in business, and lives as a white man. He marries a white woman, who loves him after he confesses the truth; she dies young, leaving him two children. At the end he admires the men who are working for the advancement of their race and fears that he has sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. Johnson's novel explores race, identity, music and the cost of passing, and it was an important forerunner of the Harlem Renaissance. Students should be prepared for its lynching scene and the language of the period.

Plot or Argument

• Childhood

  The narrator discovers that he is considered black.

• Jacksonville and New York

  He works in a cigar factory and then plays ragtime in New York.

• Europe

  He travels with a patron and resolves to compose music based on black folk music.

• The South and passing

  He witnesses a lynching and chooses to live as a white man.

Characters

• The narrator, protagonist

  A light-skinned man of mixed race and a gifted musician.

• His mother, mother

  A devoted seamstress.

• Shiny, schoolfriend

  A brilliant black classmate who becomes a teacher.

• The millionaire, patron

  A wealthy white man who takes him to Europe.

• His wife, wife

  A white woman who marries him knowing the truth.

Lessons

• Identity

  The narrator's sense of himself changes when others name his race.

  • How does the classroom scene change him?
  • Why does he finally choose to pass?
  • Can one choose one's identity?

• Music and heritage

  He sees ragtime and spirituals as great American art.

  • What does he admire in these forms?
  • Why does he give up his musical plan?
  • What did black music give American culture?

• The cost of choices

  He gains safety and wealth but feels he has sold his birthright.

  • What does he gain and lose?
  • Why does he admire the men working for their race?
  • What is a birthright?

Context

The novel appeared in the era of Jim Crow laws, legal segregation and frequent lynchings in the South, when many African Americans were moving north.

Composition

Johnson wrote it while serving as U.S. consul in Venezuela and Nicaragua; it was published anonymously in Boston in 1912 and reissued under his name in 1927 by Knopf.

Reception

Many first readers took it for a true memoir; the 1927 reissue made it an important work of the Harlem Renaissance.

Comparisons

• The Souls of Black Folk

  Du Bois's account of double consciousness.

• Cane

  Another early work of the Harlem Renaissance.

Quotes

For Students

A reading companion for classical Christian high school students. See the student guide.

Reading Guide

Watch for

• The classroom scene.
• His experience in Jacksonville.
• The discussion of ragtime.
• The camp meeting and its singing.
• The lynching and its effect.

Key terms and names

Passing

Living as a member of a different racial group.

Ragtime

A syncopated style of music popular around 1900.

Birthright

What belongs to a person by birth; see Genesis 25.

Spiritual

A religious folk song created by enslaved African Americans.

Seminar Questions

1. Comprehension How does the narrator learn of his race?
2. Comprehension What happens to his money for college?
3. Comprehension What does he see in the South that changes his life?
4. Interpretation Why is he ashamed after the lynching?
5. Interpretation Why does the narrator call himself an “ex-colored” man, and what does he mean when he says he has sold his birthright for a mess of pottage?
6. Big Question What do we owe to the community we come from?

Faith Connections

• Genesis 25:34 (Scripture)

  Esau despised his birthright, the source of the final image.

• Galatians 3:28 (Scripture)

  There is neither Jew nor Greek... ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Logic and Rhetoric

Central argument: A society that punishes people for their race forces painful choices; the narrator's safety comes at the cost of his gifts and his heritage.

Rhetorical device: confessional narration. The narrator addresses readers directly to reveal a secret.

Debate: Resolved: that the narrator was justified in choosing to pass.

Memory Work

I cannot repress the thought that, after all, I have chosen the lesser part, that I have sold my birthright for a mess of pottage

Writing Prompts

Essay: How does music express the narrator's divided identity?

Comparison with The Souls of Black Folk: Compare the narrator's experience with Du Bois's idea of double consciousness.

Creative Prompts

• Essay

  Why does the narrator choose to pass, and does he regret it?

• Dialogue

  Write a conversation between the narrator and his friend Shiny as adults.

• Classroom

  Listen to an early ragtime piece and a spiritual and discuss why the narrator valued them.

Further Reading

• God's Trombones, James Weldon Johnson