God's Trombones

As a young man in the late 1800s, James Weldon Johnson was profoundly influenced by the sermons he heard by the renowned black preachers of the day. Later in life, he transformed his memories into magnificent poems about Creation, the Flood, the Crucifixion, the Prodigal Son, Noah's Ark, Judgment Day, and other stories from the Bible. Published in 1927, during the Harlem Renaissance, God's Trombones became one of Johnson's most celebrated works.

In the early 1990s, several of New York City's most prominent African-American ministers gave voice to Johnson's words for a PBS broadcast. Now available for the first time on CD, this celebration of one of the great literary achievements of the Harlem Renaissance features moving performances by actor Joe Morton (Brother From Another Planet, actor Robert Earl Jones (father of James), and Reverend Calvin O. Butts of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, among others.

JAMES WELDON JOHNSON (1871—1938) was a songwriter, poet, novelist, journalist, critic, autobiographer, lawyer, and public servant. With his brother John Rosamond, he wrote "Lift Every Voice and Sing," which became the African American national anthem. He was United States consul to Venezuela and Nicaragua, executive director of the NAACP, and a professor of creative literature at Fisk University. His many books include The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man.