Hidden Figures: Anne Spencer
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- Опубліковано 11 жов 2024
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Anne Spencer (February 6, 1882 - July 27, 1975) was an American poet, civil rights activist, and librarian. Spencer fought against racial discrimination and in 1913 helped establish a Lynchburg branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; in 1924 she became the first Black American librarian in Virginia when she became librarian at Dunbar High School. Later in life, she also became an acclaimed poet and member of the Harlem Renaissance, influencing many of the Black American writers and artists of that time, including W.E.B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, and Paul Robeson. Her home in Virginia was an important center and intellectual saloon for guests and dignitaries such as Marian Anderson, George Washington Carver, Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King Jr., and James Weldon Johnson.
Annie Bannister was born in Henry County, Virginia, to Joel Bannister and Sarah Scales. Her parents separated over differences in ideas about child rearing; mother and daughter moved to West Virginia and settled in Bramwell. Naturally bright, Anne was homeschooled and often explored her surroundings alone, acquiring a deep appreciation for nature. In 1893, Anne was enrolled in Virginia Seminary and Normal School in Lynchburg, Virginia. Although she was illiterate at the time of enrollment, Anne was named valedictorian when she graduated in 1899 at 17. While at Virginia Seminary, Anne became interested in poetry, and wrote her first poem, ‘The Skeptic.’ She would continue to write poetry, often about race and nature. Her most famous poem, entitled "White Things," is a comparison of the subjugation of the Black race to the destruction of nature.
While at school, Anne met fellow student Edward Spencer, whom she married in 1901. In 1903, the Spencers moved permanently to Lynchburg. In 1919, she began to organize opening a Lynchburg chapter of the NAACP, and hosted novelist James Weldon Johnson in her home; Johnson discovered Anne's poetry, and had her first poem published in the February 1920 issue of The Crisis. After publication, Spencer became known as one of the distinguished Black writers of the Harlem Renaissance. Intellects like DuBois and Hughes began staying with the Spencer's, and other notable names such as Gwendolyn Brooks and Maya Angelou often visited. She also became friends with such civil rights activists as Martin Luther King, Jr., and opened her home for activism planning as well. In 1923, she became the librarian at an all-Black local high school known as the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. She was Lynchburg's first Black American librarian, and retired in 1945.
Anne Spencer died at the age of 93 on July 27, 1975. Her Lynchburg home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and is now the Anne Spencer House & Garden Museum. In 2019, the United States Postal Service announced that Spencer would be featured in a 2020 Forever stamp honoring figures of the Harlem Renaissance.
#HiddenFigures #AnneSpencer
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Links:
ANNE BETHEL SPENCER:
www.annespencer...
Where the Harlem Renaissance blossomed in Virginia, with poet Anne Spencer:
www.washington...
Anne Spencer, Harlem Renaissance poet and civil rights activist, to be honored on postage stamp:
newsadvance.co...
ANNE B. SPENCER (1882 - 1975):
edu.lva.virgin...
Anne Spencer:
poets.org/poet...
Anne Spencer:
www.poetryfoun...
Anne Spencer, Poet:
aaregistry.org...
Anne Spencer and the Dunbar Branch of the George M. Jones Memorial Library (Lynchburg, Virginia):
littleknownblac...
"There's always time". Thank you Seren, truer words have never been said. I love seeing ppl accomplish their dreams at ages beyond 30 years old. At 23, I sometimes feel like I could be doing more. But I think that's why it's good to see learn of ppl like Anne Spencer who become a renown poet at 40 is very inspiring.
she makes me want to write more!
dang, everyone knew everyone😂 These local heroes are all effortlessly interesting. I'm glad her parents were able to continue raising her together, because despite their different values it seems like they both provided key ideals that cultivated Miss Anne Spencer's words. It's nice that aspect of influence came from her parents then becoming an important addition to the literary world.
Thanks fam
Thanks for this informative video! I was searching for Harlem Renaissance era artists based in Virginia and was pleased to run across Anne! I love researching hidden historical figures not learned about in school.
A library is this bookworms fave place. A Black American woman to cultivate a whole library collection starting with 3 books?!? That's top tier...if anyone asks me