Arthur B. Spingarn to Charles W. Chesnutt, 11 April 1931
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JAMES WELDON JOHNSON DINNER COMMITTEE
Sixty-nine Fifth Avenue
New York City
ARTHUR B. SPINGARN, CHAIRMAN
RICHETTA G. RANDOLPH, SECRETARY1
April 11, 1931
My dear Mr. and Mrs. Chesnutt:
It has been proposed that a dinner be arranged for Mr. James Weldon Johnson2 in appreciation of his work as Secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People3 and of his career as diplomat, poet and writer.
It is planned to have this dinner in New York City, on Thursday, May 14, at the Hotel Pennsylvania.4
We are writing to ask the honor of using your name as one of the General Committee under whose auspices the invitations may be issued.
A card is enclosed for your signature in case you are willing to join with other friends of Mr. Johnson in doing him honor.
As the time is short and we wish to print the formal invitation as soon as possible, will you respond immediately.
Sincerely yours, Arthur B. Spingarn Chairman Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Chesnutt 9719 Lamont Avenue Cleveland, OhioCorrespondent: Arthur Barnett Spingarn (1878–1971) was a White Jewish civil-rights activist who, alongside his brother Joel Spingarn, was a leading figure in the NAACP, ultimately serving as its president (1940–1965). He was a lawyer based in New York City and served on the NAACP's legal committee for many years.
1. For readability, the remainder of the letterhead is not transcribed in the body of the letter but is included in this footnote as unformatted text. The letterhead can be seen in its entirety in the accompanying image of the letter. The text of the remainder of the letterhead is as follows: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MRS. LILLIAN A. ALEXANDER MRS. HARRIET SHADD BUTCHER DR. W. E. B. DU BOIS HAROLD GUINZBURG JAMES MARSHALL MRS. GRAYCE F. NAIL MISS MARY WHITE OVINGTON MRS. BERTHA BAUMANN RANDOLPH WALTER WHITE DR. LOUIS T. WRIGHT [back]
2. James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938) was a Black author and political activist. He was Executive Secretary of the NAACP (1920–1930). On December 17, 1930, he resigned as Secretary of the NAACP to accept the Adam K. Spence Chair of Creative Literature and Writing at Fisk University. [back]
3. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) began in February 1909, with a Committee on the Negro and "The Call," a statement protesting lawlessness against Black people. In 1910, the organization adopted its current name and in 1912 began publication of a monthly journal, The Crisis, which was edited by W. E. B. Du Bois from 1912 to 1944. Chesnutt's involvement with the NAACP extended over many years, and included serving on its General Committee, attending conferences, presiding at NAACP events in Cleveland, publishing four stories and two essays in The Crisis (1912, 1915, 1924, 1926, 1930, and 1931), and being awarded in 1928 the organization's highest honor, the Spingarn Medal. [back]
4. The dinner to celebrate Johnson's service to the NAACP had three hundred guests, many of them prominent leaders and supporters of the NAACP, including Chesnutt correspondents like Walter White, W. E. B. Du Bois, and the Spingarns. Chesnutt and his wife are not noted as having attended. (See "Many Laud Retiring N.A.A.C.P. Secretary at Pennsylvania Hotel Dinner," Afro-American [Baltimore, MD], May 23, 1931, 7). [back]
