Charles W. Chesnutt to W. E. B. Du Bois, 16 September 1924
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September 16, 1924
Dr. W. E. DuBois,
Editor The Crisis,1
69 Fifth Avenue,
New York City.
My dear Dr. DuBois,
As I said in a previous letter that I would, I enclose you herewith a copy of a story which you may be able to use for the CRISIS. It is in my earlier manner, but I think has a thread of interest which might be interesting to your readers.2
Perhaps it is too long for one number, in which event you could divide it at a convenient point, the middle of page fifteen would be a dramatic point at which to make the division, but if that is n't consistent with the makeup of the magazine, you can probably find one equally as good.
If you do not find the story available, kindly return it, and I will look up another one.
Yours very truly, CWC:WCorrespondent: William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (1868–1963) was a sociologist, historian, and world-renowned civil rights activist. After completing coursework at the University of Berlin and Harvard University, Du Bois became the first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard in 1895. He was a professor of history, sociology, and economics at Atlanta University (1897–1910 and again in the 1930s). He was a prominent leader of the Niagara Movement and helped found the NAACP in 1909. As the editor of the NAACP's journal, The Crisis, from 1910 to 1931, Du Bois published four of Chesnutt's short stories as well as two of his essays. See "The Doll" (April 1912), "Mr. Taylor's Funeral" (April/May 1915), "The Marked Tree" (Dec 1924/Jan 1925), and "Concerning Father" (May 1930); and "Women's Rights" (1915) and "The Negro in Art" (November 1926).
1. 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]
2. Chesnutt's short story "The Marked Tree" was published in The Crisis 29, no. 2 (December 1924): 59–64; and 29, no. 3 (January 1925): 110–113. [back]
