author
John Wesley Cromwell
1846–1927
Born into slavery and later rising to become a lawyer, teacher, journalist, and historian, this pioneering Black intellectual helped document African American history while fighting for civil rights. His life links the struggles of the 19th century to the organized activism and scholarship of the early 20th.
2 Audiobooks
Papers of the American Negro Academy. (The American Negro Academy. Occasional Papers, No. 18-19.)
by Archibald Henry Grimké, John Wesley Cromwell, Lafayette M. Hershaw, William Pickens, Arthur Alfonso Schomburg, T. G. (Theophilus Gould) Steward
The Early Negro Convention Movement The American Negro Academy, Occasional Papers No. 9
by John Wesley Cromwell
About the author
Born in Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1846, he was freed with his family as a child and grew up in Philadelphia. He studied at the Institute for Colored Youth, served in education and public life after the Civil War, and went on to build a remarkably wide-ranging career.
Over the years, he worked as a teacher, school principal, lawyer, journalist, civil servant, historian, and civil rights advocate, much of it centered in Washington, D.C. He was associated with important Black intellectual and civic institutions, including the Bethel Literary and Historical Society and the American Negro Academy, and he wrote extensively to preserve and interpret African American history.
Remembered for both activism and scholarship, he stands out as someone who used public service, writing, and historical research to challenge injustice and make sure Black achievements were recorded for future generations.