Writer James Weldon Johnson
James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938) - author, educator, lawyer, diplomat, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Weldon was born in Jacksonville, Florida and after graduating from Atlanta University, Johnson worked as a principal in a grammar school, founded a newspaper, The Daily American, and became the first African American to pass the Florida Bar. He and his brother, a composer, moved to New York City where they successfully wrote music on Broadway. After this Johnson went on to be a US Consul in Venezuela and Nicaragua. Johnson was also the first black person to be the executive secretary of the NAACP and the first African American professor at NYU.
Beauty that Is Never Old
When buffeted and beaten by life's storms,
When by the bitter cares of life oppressed,
I want no surer haven than your arms,
I want no sweeter heaven than your breast.
When over my life's way there falls the blight
Of sunless days, and nights of starless skies;
Enough for me, the calm and steadfast light
That softly shines within your loving eyes.
The world, for me, and all the world can hold
Is circled by your arms; for me there lies,
Within the lights and shadows of your eyes,
The only beauty that is never old.
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