---
title: "Race Prejudice and the Negro Artist — AP African American Studies"
description: "James Weldon Johnson's 1928 essay arguing that Black artistic achievement fights racial prejudice. Key New Negro movement source in AP African American Studies Topic 3.11."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/race-prejudice-and-the-negro-artist"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP African American Studies"
unit: "Unit 3"
---

# Race Prejudice and the Negro Artist — AP African American Studies

## Definition

"Race Prejudice and the Negro Artist" is a 1928 essay by James Weldon Johnson arguing that African American artistic and intellectual achievement is one of the most effective weapons against racial prejudice, a core idea of the New Negro movement covered in Topic 3.11 of AP African American Studies.

## What It Is

"Race Prejudice and the Negro Artist" is a 1928 essay by [James Weldon Johnson](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/james-weldon-johnson "fv-autolink"), the writer, NAACP leader, and author of "Lift Every Voice and Sing." His argument is simple but bold. [Racism](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/1-the-ngritude-and-negrismo-movements/study-guide/eK9QyiGxxk1iteQm "fv-autolink") rests on the belief that Black people are inferior, so every Black novel, poem, painting, and song that demonstrates excellence chips away at that belief. Art, in other words, is not just culture. It's a civil rights strategy.

That idea is the beating heart of [the New Negro movement and the Harlem Renaissance](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/11-the-new-negro-movement-and-the-harlem-renaissance/study-guide/3cv7itK8BhGU4iG4 "fv-autolink"). Johnson was making the case that the explosion of Black creativity in the 1920s, the blues, jazz, poetry, and fiction pouring out of Harlem and other cities, was doing political work by serving as a counternarrative to racial stereotypes (EK 3.11.A.3). For the AP exam, treat this essay as the movement's mission statement in prose. It explains *why* the Harlem Renaissance mattered, not just *what* it produced.

## Why It Matters

This essay lives in **Topic 3.11, The New Negro Movement and the Harlem Renaissance**, in [Unit 3](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3 "fv-autolink") (The Practice of Freedom). It directly supports learning objective **3.11.A**, which asks you to describe how the New Negro movement emphasized self-definition, racial pride, and cultural innovation. Johnson's essay is essentially that learning objective in primary-source form. It shows African Americans defining their own identity and advocating for themselves during the [nadir](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/nadir "fv-autolink")'s atrocities (EK 3.11.A.1), and it argues that the Black aesthetic created by Black artists (EK 3.11.A.2) had real power to change how America saw Black people. If you can explain Johnson's argument, you can explain the whole logic of the movement.

## Connections

### ["The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain" (Unit 3)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/the-negro-artist-and-the-racial-mountain)

[Langston Hughes](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/langston-hughes "fv-autolink")'s 1926 essay is the natural pairing. Both argue Black art matters, but Hughes insists artists should create for themselves without worrying about white approval, while Johnson frames art as a tool aimed at changing white prejudice. Read together, they show the movement debating who Black art was for.

### [The New Negro: An Interpretation (Unit 3)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/the-new-negro-an-interpretation)

[Alain Locke](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/alain-locke "fv-autolink")'s 1925 anthology announced the New Negro as a self-defining, creatively confident figure. Johnson's 1928 essay extends that vision by explaining the payoff, arguing that this creative output actively dismantles racist assumptions.

### The nadir (Unit 3)

Johnson wrote during the nadir, the post-Reconstruction low point of [lynching](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/lynching "fv-autolink"), segregation, and disenfranchisement. His essay only makes sense against that backdrop. Art was one of the few arenas where Black excellence could be displayed on a national stage when politics and law were largely closed off.

### Blues and jazz (Unit 3)

The musical innovations of the era are Johnson's evidence in action. Blues and jazz were homegrown Black art forms that won national and international acclaim, exactly the kind of achievement Johnson believed could rewrite stereotypes.

## On the AP Exam

Expect this essay to show up as a source to analyze, not just a name to memorize. AP African American Studies leans heavily on source-based multiple-choice and short-answer questions, so you might get an excerpt from Johnson and be asked to identify his main argument (art combats prejudice), his context (the nadir and the Harlem Renaissance), or his purpose (defending Black creative achievement as a strategy for racial advancement). The highest-value move is connecting the essay to LO 3.11.A. Be ready to explain how Johnson's argument reflects the New Negro emphasis on self-definition and counternarratives to stereotypes, and to compare his view with Langston Hughes's stance in "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain."

## Race Prejudice and the Negro Artist vs "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain"

These two essays get mixed up constantly because the titles are so similar. Hughes wrote "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain" in 1926, arguing that Black artists should embrace Black culture and create freely without chasing white standards or approval. Johnson wrote "Race Prejudice and the Negro Artist" in 1928, arguing that Black art is valuable partly because it changes white minds and erodes prejudice. Quick memory hook: Hughes climbs the mountain for himself, Johnson aims the art at prejudice.

## Key Takeaways

- "Race Prejudice and the Negro Artist" is a 1928 essay by James Weldon Johnson arguing that Black artistic and intellectual achievement is an effective way to combat racial prejudice.
- The essay is a primary source for Topic 3.11 and directly supports LO 3.11.A on self-definition, racial pride, and cultural innovation in the New Negro movement.
- Johnson treats art as a counternarrative, meaning every excellent Black creative work disproves the stereotypes that racism depends on (EK 3.11.A.3).
- The essay was written during the nadir, which explains why art felt like a viable battlefield when political and legal avenues were largely blocked.
- Don't confuse it with Langston Hughes's 1926 essay "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain," which focuses on creating for Black audiences rather than persuading white ones.

## FAQs

### What is "Race Prejudice and the Negro Artist" about?

It's a 1928 essay by James Weldon Johnson arguing that African American achievement in art and literature is one of the most powerful tools for breaking down racial prejudice, since excellence directly contradicts the stereotypes racism relies on.

### Who wrote "Race Prejudice and the Negro Artist"?

James Weldon Johnson, a leading Harlem Renaissance figure who was also an NAACP executive secretary and the lyricist of "Lift Every Voice and Sing." He published the essay in 1928.

### Is "Race Prejudice and the Negro Artist" the same as "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain"?

No. Johnson's 1928 essay argues that Black art helps defeat white prejudice, while Hughes's 1926 essay argues Black artists should create authentically for themselves without seeking white approval. Same movement, different audiences and goals.

### Did James Weldon Johnson think art alone could end racism?

Not exactly. He saw artistic achievement as an unusually effective approach to fighting prejudice, especially during the nadir when other paths were blocked, but he was also a political activist who worked through the NAACP. Art was a strategy, not the only one.

### What topic is "Race Prejudice and the Negro Artist" in for AP African American Studies?

Topic 3.11, The New Negro Movement and the Harlem Renaissance, in Unit 3 (The Practice of Freedom). It supports learning objective 3.11.A on self-definition, racial pride, and cultural innovation.

## Related Study Guides

- [3.11 The New Negro Movement and the Harlem Renaissance](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/11-the-new-negro-movement-and-the-harlem-renaissance/study-guide/3cv7itK8BhGU4iG4)

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