Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    A Dancer in the Revolution: Stretch Johnson, Harlem Communist at the Cotton Club
    A Dancer in the Revolution: Stretch Johnson, Harlem Communist at the Cotton Club
    A Dancer in the Revolution: Stretch Johnson, Harlem Communist at the Cotton Club
    Ebook323 pages4 hours

    A Dancer in the Revolution: Stretch Johnson, Harlem Communist at the Cotton Club

    By Howard Eugene Johnson, Wendy Johnson and Mark D. Naison

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    The life of Howard Johnson, nicknamed “Stretch” because of his height (6'5"), epitomizes the cultural and political odyssey of a generation of African Americans who transformed the United States from a closed society to a multiracial democracy. Johnson’s long-awaited memoir traces his path from firstborn of a multiclass/multiethnic” family in New Jersey to dancer in Harlem’s Cotton Club to communist youth leader and, later, professor of Black studies. A Dancer in the Revolution is a powerful statement about Black resilience and triumph amid subtle and explicit racism in the United States.

    Johnson’s engaging, beautifully written memoir provides a window into everyday life in Harlem—neighborhood life, arts and culture, and politics—from the 1930s to the 1970s, when the contemporary Black community was being formed. A Dancer in the Revolution explores Johnson’s twenty-plus years in the Communist Party and
    illuminates in compelling detail how the Harlem branch functioned and flourished in the 1930s and ’40s. Johnson thrived as a charismatic leader, using the connections he built up as an athlete and dancer to create alliances between communist organizations and a cross-section of the Black community. In his memoir, Johnson also exposes the homoerotic tourism that was a feature of Harlem’s nightlife in the 1930s. Some of America’s leading white literary, musical, and artistic figures were attracted to Harlem not only for the community’s artistic creativity but to engage in illicit sex—gay and straight—with their Black counterparts.

    A Dancer in the Revolution is an invaluable contribution to the literature on Black political thought and pragmatism. It reveals the unique place that Black dancers and artists hold in civil rights pursuits and anti-racism campaigns in the United States and beyond. Moreover, the life of “Stretch” Johnson illustrates how political activism engenders not only social change but also personal fulfillment, a realization of dreams not deferred but rather pursued and achieved. Johnson’s journey bears witness to critical periods and events that shaped the Black condition and American society in the process.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherEmpire State Editions
    Release dateApr 1, 2014
    ISBN9780823256556
    A Dancer in the Revolution: Stretch Johnson, Harlem Communist at the Cotton Club

    Related to A Dancer in the Revolution

    Related ebooks

    Historical Biographies For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    Related categories

    Reviews for A Dancer in the Revolution

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      A Dancer in the Revolution - Howard Eugene Johnson

      }Pabook_preview_excerpt.htmlu[˲6,#=a#&D"\$Ad-ߘ^v>_2d$Ji_H ϓ'O=}'{d􃍣yc<=}ԡMlo?C܎& 17>μh[4=yo}c^CB,uY/"=3SXH\(}ύ!Y gaj=j&cҧ& /Aɵÿ]Gpb+;ޘgylGU 3ھ7\7:@4jܘ z;9H)j0}fX= ;(}vuXA)pgFz76ГH;Wˍ=9!З`Ob\?fͯ&vxą!wx1UD|TDW9(ѴE:HdQ̀㽁a8߶5C?mƼJd!]3:{< [lJ pZ' _>DA-B5B4y( ,MAfs2JZeՒ*,ď ǫ}m]V=ٚ'_,4͓_^%TRL,s_GNtlZޅĀ4#J9j(Nc7ډȱ~':i٫]P<ӭjWZ|&TލwxQAp فsR%/38gWe[cܭg35Aj.!c*7d4>zz\[}PEo*z.A-yn.`֦@tc2hwۃ]LJBI}Po@CuY0I-SK8L% hz@vWۻ=w9\A>?6e7g(HȁKFsbcEwR R]Lsy]생Z1 VD,Dx}2j_!_.$̶U'*k*}(EN.4+|Ĩ8!֤ƣ@ @#3>1S@OHHtюEa:4g@K+ l3;N?!ʐ 89$ngF^jJ" U@i0 $ў@mjm[EkY^@n: ,#ZRBdאr+?H}2V13]Dg<ҋSM 5͔Ɩƅy|F%ؐM)*{gxd@fd~3mtrY8*UeAd 0]9u`+dw_)->:q3JDHΒC@3^”,!}MKap"UDg%iyn(wpVIy;>тs*TBm>AXGI@du雯"8'O~B*"s"Q/ū8ϴO|^@r)tfR{QaV/ϙ!ۙۖ>Ab-H*F-4m{ Ώph>GMi׹ (w|$-gW"x4ڃo 3.ѧ h>'\~s;U1A?"^=E,C/8 |mreكu>m[~ݟl^h'r馇HQ(_wܶȢr8C?Kyk$fNQhΑ "nLf} AGê?%%K;& L`R@1gJȉ=JyE$e޹ýE`)gᛣݽ"9:b%-v͈ϲ24 zB)^쾥.KUD4C+k7;s`U6. ,OM6ѡYݤYV05:Z6mG+"xocӽD>XP@oCI.=F26u_A |92>ي/_BY&B\`GTge’Y*{} Sνݤe&CsS*+W۳d{}Bȅ^Nq?]x4w"xP1-*hجl Fn LU'"8 lb];MPQ?gPtI^Ж8^n2,E#1{#&+[(t&oTD`;$St8ۡx1Iob6@mKGCAtz+M8f)fک`aivn/q).nI4D3x0+$Ȁ=و򋪐kB~~1%2M-ެ LK"$~nktЗE ua}/:]ȱr0(kuF!gqK={c o g%"H7 D8KXhn'c80'OQitg'\G2P G5jg.T.ЕVڷXَʭC.v?3FuQHO9OgǪYRU əd'mJz.#NjLsigp(^RĊd̙, j Eڟs/!0'd^(0! h|W(Ab8['0.~W2`^1hgI:K(3_CIY_ji&GpCzI _Ln*FY"̊Kb`Ol3, _BuH>KioiV״57I695T5d2%bv߶[E3J2!́ ܗI00J?Wl>7"siP(=pw;tG՝MLs'& 'Z=) }K vе+~T&waCjw$֏bQӨM0$1SdRg,/Q%tݻI}N0Tt{@gVg_*C1Tz)֌|W38$ aA Cьk"NvE '! -\Kxw9we#ᐿԒ39I+ڵ4%,E]3׍\5)qTz>1B_,9füR5g@xF^mrn@`-ynT$VOy " d!&ÐEqq!g}up_S B:9ݷ\?,<ڍ8#R=j>‰xF3/W.vP]Qs5z$ȕ 19THTl+U'h._S >0 @hsG~ɜ4FO Bb;[x[EKv Oձ& _$MvHkԋDhzȟ6z  Ze3A[G^]IroBҕXV27p8fX"'ճtIy)tGf`d2S]>#KI5+ #WR=Tl&%۬+b ro]28S4Szt0v Kg:iJ{og{i,%40++*lZ˃pWe.œvlO>sq_rQE(ZYlbzAFYy}ˠ0 cBUv+spbaZސFpB?QefH'YSF&7 [Qʅ 6tꄒX) 6n#Ҭ|$CE[4<Q_Uҫ\N`C5]=BP܍tU@,Zޛw`;'X n'ST$Q\]^kYP\zUY o_edϲ#֮y/iG&+(#7.S!wώ[MEAޫep(m̘YoZ瑵xʔ OE M:#\q,v\॓yU#_ͽ)o ۞P_ W.L4õ.y0-ݜ$x 1\OPIq<ȓt,46KmK39;Wѩϫd}"#!uN6/ G?i.jnGFS4~\nbq|+2&9\3)o䤯yb׆!4gWZ^b]t(ϙVo߼ F)7Z$-SY`z`B4Lծg%N/-܍lAqmNjT;% _Nn8L1_Eȴ/w;Y=Yѝ\n,ɥy?L]iᬃjBsY $6ЫFXtS{Dd.g=n|@-P9TdJWhNON2{˶AZh2jKr3#hnʭmCDU )RUƃuWq[_[)YJZO-Q1hw'$e6%i@࠙yI",%±\IRnOjv;*w" R3d,zrDZЇ?>~蕻ߨ/[f23(*w{e6 âח{M}OqN@U춁a%K4hx|^O^-PANMwЀ0D/Lg>268 mb\”P0 msB:
      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1