John Edward Bruce: Politician, Journalist, and Self-Trained Historian of the African Diaspora
Ralph CrowderBooks.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
John Edward Bruce, a premier black journalist from the late 1800's until his death in 1924, was a vital force in the popularization of African American history. "Bruce Grit," as he was called, wrote for such publications as Marcus Garvey's nationalist newspaper, The Negro World, and McGirt's Magazine.
Born a slave in Maryland in 1856, Bruce gained his freedom by joining a regiment of Union soldiers passing through on their way to Washington, DC. Bruce was in contact with major figures in African American history, including Henry Highland Garnett and Martin Delany, both instrumental in the development of 19th century Black nationalism and the struggle for Black liberation. Close relationships with Liberian statesman Edward Wilmot Blyden and with Alexander Crummell, a key advocate for the emigration of Blacks to Africa, assisted in Bruce's development into a leading African American spokesman.
In 1911, Arthur Alfonso Schomburg and Bruce co-founded the Negro Society for Historical Research, which greatly influenced black book collecting and preservation as well as the study of African American themes.
Synopsis
John Edward Bruce, a premier black journalist from the late 1800's until his death in 1924, was a vital force in the popularization of African American history. "Bruce Grit," as he was called, wrote for such publications as Marcus Garvey's nationalist newspaper, The Negro World, and McGirt's Magazine.
Born a slave in Maryland in 1856, Bruce gained his freedom by joining a regiment of Union soldiers passing through on their way to Washington, DC. Bruce was in contact with major figures in African American history, including Henry Highland Garnett and Martin Delany, both instrumental in the development of 19th century Black nationalism and the struggle for Black liberation. Close relationships with Liberian statesman Edward Wilmot Blyden and with Alexander Crummell, a key advocate for the emigration of Blacks to Africa, assisted in Bruce's development into a leading African American spokesman.
In 1911, Arthur Alfonso Schomburg and Bruce co-founded the Negro Society for Historical Research, which greatly influenced black book collecting and preservation as well as the study of African American themes.
Editorials
From the Publisher
"Crowder's important work presents a complex multidimensional figure whose contributions far exceeded the realm of journalism."
-Moses Moore,Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Arizona State University
"An informative, engaging text about a dynamic—and too long ignored—figure in African American journalism history whose life interested with the lives of some major figures involved in the struggle for equal rights during the first fifty years after the Civil War."
-Calvin L. Hall,Appalachian State University
"Insightful biography."
-Religious Studies Review,
"This biography adds to the record of a dismal era."
-Columbia Journalism Review,
"Essential reading."
-Choice,