Gwendolyn Bennett
An early entrant into Harlem Renaissance society Gwendolyn Bennett was a professor, editor, and a prolific poet whose writing appeared in nearly all the prominent Black publications of her time. She was a contributor to The Crisis, the journal of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She also wrote for the Opportunity, the magazine of the National Urban League. Bennett was born on July 8, 1902 in Giddings, Texas. At the age of four, she moved along with her parents to Washington, D.C, where her father worked as a clerk for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Gwendolyn enrolled in the Howard University School of Law. However, soon after the family arrived, Bennett’s mother divorced her father and took custody of her, but she was kidnapped by her father and settled in with him and her new stepmother in Brooklyn, New York. In her childhood she had recited long poems to appreciative adults and also painted very well. Bennett attended Brooklyn’s Girls High from 1918 to 1921 where she became the first Black woman to join the Drama and Literary societies and where she was awarded first place in a school-wide art contest.
After graduating from high school, Bennett then enrolled at Columbia University, while also studying in the university’s fine arts department. After two years at Columbia, Bennett transferred to the Pratt Institute to pursue fine arts. Bennett first poem, “Nocturne,” appeared in the November 1923 issue of Opportunity, the magazine of the National Urban League. It was also published in The Crisis. She also designed the magazine cover for the Crisis’s December 1923 issue. The following month another poem, “Heritage” appeared in Opportunity.
Bennett graduated from Columbia and Pratt in 1924 and received a position at Howard University, where she taught design, watercolor painting and crafts. Sometime during 1924, Bennett became an Assistant Professor in the Art Department at Howard University. From 1924 to 1927, she taught art at Howard University, but took a year-long leave in 1925 to study art at Academic Julian and Ecole du Pantheon in Paris on a scholarship. She next studied art with painter Aaron Douglas at the Alfred C. Barnes Foundation.
When Bennett left Paris in 1926, she headed back to New York. Her close friendships with fellow Harlem-based writers resulted in her becoming an Opportunity assistant editor and writing its popular literary news column (1926–28). "Harlem Circles", created by Bennett, were intended to be a place for writers to gather, share ideas, and spark inspiration. Over a period of eight years, some of the most famous Harlem Renaissance figures, such as Wallace Thurman and Langston Hughes met up in these groups and produced significant works as a result.
While assistant to the editor at Opportunity she founded her self-proclaimed literary column "The Ebony Flute". "The Ebony Flute" was another contribution that Bennett gave to the Harlem Renaissance, as she emphasized Harlem culture and social life. Along with her emphasis on racial pride and her literary column, "The Ebony Flute", Bennett also shared a romantic vision of being African through romantic lyric. In 1926, she was also a co-founder and editor of the short-lived literary journal "Fire!!"
Conceived by Langston Hughes and Richard Nugent, Bennett served as an editor for the single edition of Fire!!, along with Zora Neale Hurston, and Aaron Douglas. Bennett also shared a romantic vision of being African through romantic lyric. One way she expressed and shared this vision was through "To a Dark Girl", one of her more famous works of poetry. Creating an empowering aspect to African-American women features, Bennett's imagery and comparisons to queens are used to influence African-American women in embracing their blackness.
Gwendloyn Bennett admired African-American artists and they made her feel proud to be part of that community, despite experiencing judgement from Whites in the past. Bennett married Alfred Jackson in 1927. Financial pressures constantly threatened their marriage. That same year, the couple moved to Eustis, Florida. They lost their home in Florida during the Great Depression. After losing their home in Long Island, Jackson died in 1936, and Bennett moved back to New York.
In 1940 Bennett she married educator and writer Richard Crosscup and the couple lived in New York. She then worked at as a secretary and later opened an antique shop with her husband. Their interracial marriage was not socially acceptable during Bennett's time. However, Harlem remained Bennett's passion, and during the late 1930s and the 1940s she remained in the arts. From 1937 to 1941, Bennett was a member of the Harlem Artists Guild and directed the Harlem Community Art Center.
She was also on the Board of the Negro Playwright’s Guild and contributed to the development of the George Washington Carver Community School in New York. As an artist and teacher, she nurtured and fostered the talents of young Black artists. Bennett was a prominent figure and best known for the poetry and writing she produced that had a direct influential impact on the motives and essence of the Harlem Renaissance. Some ideologies that her works brought into perspective include the emphasis of racial pride and the reminiscence of African values, such as music and dance.
One of her most influential poems, "Fantasy", not only emphasized the racial pride of Blacks, but also for women in general. It shined light on possibilities that may not have been necessarily attainable for women during this time period. Although Bennett never published her own volume of poetry, she was also one of the most revered poets of her era. Gwendolyn Bennett gave of herself to the Harlem community and helped energize the Harlem Renaissance. Throughout her dedication and perseverance, Bennett raised the bar when it came to women's literature and education.