Early 20^th century anthology about the Black experience

“It was necessary to make this book” is the opening line of this groundbreaking work published in 1934—decades before the rise of the Black Arts Movement and during the time of the Scottsboro Boys case in the American south.

The editor’s goal was to record a history of the Black experience at that time and she solicited contributions for this volume from both Black and white writers and artists. Including more than 150 authors from Africa, North America, the Caribbean, and Europe, it combines multiple approaches—literary, academic, political, historical, anthropological, and social—to create this wide-ranging collection of texts and essays about the condition and the accomplishments of Black people across Europe and the Atlantic. Writings that depict oppressive social and political conditions, contributions by Black artists and thinkers, and essays about education, Black publishing, and protest songs are among the contents of this pioneering work.

Negro Anthology was controversial; the editor, Nancy Cunard, received death threats following the publication. With its subject and international approach, it was generations ahead of its time. The book’s design and format are also avant-garde. Glancing at the cover of this first edition, you might not guess that this book was produced nearly 100 years ago. While the terminology used is clearly rooted in the 1930s, this was a revolutionary book in so many other ways.