Alice Dunbar Nelson (July 19, 1875 – September 18, 1935) was an American poet, journalist, and political activist. Among the first generation born free in the South after the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

, she was one of the prominent African Americans involved in the artistic flourishing of the Harlem Renaissance. Her first husband was the poet

Paul Laurence Dunbar Paul Laurence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 – February 9, 1906) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Dayton, Ohio, to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American C ...

. After his death, she married physician

Henry A. Callis Henry Arthur Callis (January 14, 1887 – November 12, 1974) was a physician and one of the seven founders (''commonly referred to as The Seven Jewels'') of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at Cornell University in 1906. Callis co-authored the fr ...

; and, lastly, was married to Robert J. Nelson, a poet and civil rights activist. She achieved prominence as a poet, author of short stories and dramas, newspaper columnist, activist for women's rights, and editor of two anthologies.

Life

Alice Ruth Moore was born in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Creole community.

Personal life

Moore graduated from the teaching program at Straight University (later merged into

Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of ...

) in 1892 and worked as a teacher in the public school system of New Orleans at Old Marigny Elementary. Nelson lived in New Orleans for twenty-one years. During this time, she studied art and music, learning to play piano and cello. In 1895, Alice Dunbar Nelson's first collection of short stories and poems, ''Violets and Other Tales'', was published by ''The Monthly Review''. Around this time, Moore moved to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

and then

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. She co-founded and taught at the White Rose Mission (White Rose Home for Girls) in Manhattan's

San Juan Hill San Juan Hill is a series of hills to the east of Santiago, Cuba, running north to south. The area is known as the San Juan Heights or in Spanish ''Alturas de San Juan'' before Spanish–American War of 1898, and are now part of Lomas de San Jua ...

neighborhood, beginning a correspondence with the poet and journalist Paul Laurence Dunbar. Alice Dunbar Nelson's work in ''The'' ''Woman's Era'' captured Paul Laurence Dunbar's attention. On April 17, 1895, Paul Laurence Dunbar sent Alice a letter of introduction, which was the first of many letters that the two exchanged. In their letters, Paul asked Alice about her interest in the race question. She responded that she thought of her characters as "simple human beings", and believed that many writers focused on race too closely. Although her later race-focused writings would dispute this fact, Alice's opinion on the race problem contradicted Paul Laurence's. Despite contradictory opinions about the representation of race in literature, the two continued to communicate romantically through their letters. Their correspondence revealed tensions about the sexual freedoms of men and women. Before their marriage, Paul told Alice that she kept him from "yielding to temptations", a clear reference to sexual liaisons. In a letter from March 6, 1896, Paul attempted to instigate jealousy in Alice by talking about a woman he had met in Paris. However, Alice failed to respond to these attempts and continued to maintain an emotional distance from Paul. In 1898, after corresponding for a few years, Alice ended up moving to

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

to join Paul Laurence Dunbar and they secretly eloped in 1898. Their marriage proved stormy, exacerbated by Dunbar's declining health due to tuberculosis, alcoholism developed from doctor-prescribed whiskey consumption, and depression. Before their marriage, Paul raped Alice, which he later blamed on his alcoholism. Alice would later forgive him for this behavior. Paul would often beat Alice, which was public knowledge. In a later message to Dunbar's earliest biographer, Alice said, "He came home one night in a beastly condition. I went to him to help him to bed—and he behaved as your informant said, disgracefully." She also claimed to have been "ill for weeks with

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part or ...

brought on by his kicks." In 1902, after he beat her nearly to death, she left him. He was reported to also have been disturbed by her lesbian affairs. The pair separated in 1902 but were never divorced before Paul Dunbar's death in 1906. Alice then moved to

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christin ...

and taught at

Howard High School Howard High School may refer to: * David T. Howard High School, a former high school in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. * Howard High School of Technology, in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. * Howard High School (Howard County, Maryland), in Ellicott City, Maryla ...

for more than a decade. During this period, she also taught summer sessions at State College for Colored Students (the predecessor of

Delaware State University Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The university encompasses four col ...

) and at the Hampton Institute. In 1907, she took a leave of absence from her Wilmington teaching position and enrolled at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to ...

, returning to Wilmington in 1908.Guide to the Alice Dunbar-Nelson papers
Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware. Retrieved May 17, 2020. In 1910, she married

, a prominent physician and professor at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

, but this marriage ended in divorce. In 1916 she married the poet and civil rights activist

Robert J. Nelson The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

. She worked with him to publish the play ''Masterpieces of Negro Experience'' (1914), which was only shown once at Howard High School in Wilmington. She joined him in becoming active in local and regional politics. They stayed together for the rest of their lives. During this time she also had intimate relationships with women, including Howard High School principal Edwina Kruse and the activist Fay Jackson Robinson. In 1930, Nelson traveled throughout the country lecturing, covering thousands of miles and presenting at thirty-seven educational institutions. Nelson also spoke at YWCAs, YMCAs, and churches. Her achievements were documented by Friends Service Committee Newsletter.

Early activism

At a young age, Alice Dunbar Nelson became interested in activities that would empower Black women. In 1894, she became a charter member of the Phillis Wheatley Club in New Orleans, contributing her writing skills. To expand their horizons, the Wheatley Club collaborated with the Woman's Era Club. She worked with the Woman's Era Club's monthly newspaper, '' The Woman's Era''. Targeting refined and educated women, it was the first newspaper for and created by African-American women. Alice's work with the paper marked the beginning of her career as a journalist and an activist. Dunbar-Nelson was an activist for African Americans' and women's rights, especially during the 1920s and 1930s. While she continued to write stories and poetry, she became more politically active in Wilmington, and put more effort into journalism on leading topics. In 1914, she co-founded the

Equal Suffrage Study Club The Wilmington Equal Suffrage Study Club (WESSC) was the name of an African American women's suffrage organization, founded in Wilmington, Delaware, in March 1914. History The Equal Suffrage Study Club was founded in the East Side of Wilmingt ...

, and in 1915, she was a field organizer for the Middle Atlantic states for the woman's suffrage movement. In 1918, she was field representative for the Woman's Committee of the Council of Defense. In 1924, Dunbar-Nelson campaigned for the passage of the

Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill The Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill (1918) was first introduced in the 65th United States Congress by Representative Leonidas C. Dyer, a Republican from St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States House of Representatives as H.R. 11279 in order “to prot ...

, but the Southern Democratic block in Congress defeated it. During this time, Dunbar-Nelson worked in various ways to foster political change. It is said, "She stayed very active in the NAACP; she cofounded a much-needed reform school in Delaware for African American girls; she worked for the American Friends Inter-Racial Peace Committee; she spoke at rallies against the sentencing of the Scottsboro defendants."

Journalism work and continued activism

From 1913 to 1914, she was co-editor and writer for the ''

A.M.E. Review The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. The African Methodist Episcopal ...

'', an influential church publication produced by the

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. The African Methodist Episcopal ...

(AME Church). From 1920, she coedited the ''

Wilmington Advocate Wilmington may refer to: Places Australia *Wilmington, South Australia, a town and locality **District Council of Wilmington, a former local government area **Wilmington railway line, a former railway line United Kingdom *Wilmington, Devon *Wi ...

'', a progressive black newspaper. She also published ''

The Dunbar Speaker and Entertainer ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speak ...

'', a literary anthology for a black audience. Alice Dunbar-Nelson supported America's involvement in World War I; she saw the war as a means to ending racial violence in America. She organized events to encourage other African Americans to support the war. She referenced the war in a number of her works. In her 1918 poem "I Sit and Sew", Nelson writes from the perspective of a woman who feels suppressed from engaging directly with the war effort. Because she was not able to enlist in the war herself, Nelson wrote propagandistic pieces such as ''Mine Eyes Have Seen'' (1918), a play that encouraged African American men to enlist in the army. These works display Nelson's belief that racial equality could be achieved through military service and sacrificing one's self to their nation. From about 1920 on, she made a commitment to journalism and was a highly successful columnist, with articles, essays and reviews appearing as well in newspapers, magazines, and academic journals. She was a popular speaker and had an active schedule of lectures through these years. Her journalism career originally began with a rocky start. During the late 19th century, it was still unusual for women to work outside of the home, let alone an African-American woman, and journalism was a hostile, male-dominated field. In her diary, she spoke about the tribulations associated with the profession: "Damn bad luck I have with my pen. Some fate has decreed I shall never make money by it" (''Diary'', 366). She discusses being denied pay for her articles and issues she had with receiving proper recognition for her work. In 1920, Nelson was removed from teaching at Howard High School for attending Social Justice Day on October 1 against the will of Principal Ray Wooten. Wooten states that Nelson was removed for "political activity" and incompatibility. Despite the backing of the Board of Education's Conwell Banton, who opposed Nelson's firing, Nelson decided not to return to Howard High School. In 1928, Nelson became Executive Secretary of the American Friends Inter-Racial Peace Committee. In 1928, Nelson also spoke on The American Negro Labor Congress Forum in Philadelphia. Nelson's topic was Inter-Racial Peace and its Relation to Labor. Dunbar-Nelson also wrote for the ''Washington Eagle'', contributing "As In A Looking Glass" columns from 1926 to 1930.

Later life and death

She moved from Delaware to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1932, when her husband joined the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission. During this time, her health declined. She died from a heart ailment on September 18, 1935, at the age of 60. She was cremated in Philadelphia. She was made an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. He
papers
were collected by the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 m ...

. Her diary, published in 1984, detailed her life during the years 1921 and 1926 to 1931 and provided useful insight into the lives of black women during this time. It "summarizes her position in an era during which law and custom limited access, expectations, and opportunities for black women." Her diary addressed issues such as family, friendship, sexuality, health, professional problems, travels, and often financial difficulties.

Rhetorical context

The rhetorical context of Alice Dunbar-Nelson's writing includes subject, purpose, audience, and occasion. Her work "addressed the issues that confronted

African-Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

and women of her time"."About Alice Dunbar-Nelson"
Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois, 1988. In essays such as "Negro Women in War Work" (1919), "Politics in Delaware" (1924), "Hysteria", and "Is It Time for Negro Colleges in the South to Be Put in the Hands of Negro Teachers?" Dunbar-Nelson explored the role of black women in the workforce, education, and the antilynching movement. The examples demonstrate a social activist role in her life. Dunbar-Nelson's writings express her belief of equality between the races and between men and women. She believed that African Americans should have equal access to the educational institution, jobs, healthcare, transportation and other constitutionally granted rights. Her activism and support for certain racial and feminist causes started to appear around the early 1900s, where she publicly discussed the women's suffrage movement in the middle American states. in 1918, she officially held the role of field representative for the Woman's Committee of the Council of Defense, only a few years after marrying Robert J. Nelson who was a poet and a social activist as well. She significantly contributed to some African-American journalism such as the ''Wilmington Advocate'' and ''The Dunbar Speaker and Entertainer''. Following her leading role in the Woman's Committee, Alice became the executive secretary of the American friends inter-racial peace committee, which was then a highlight of her activism life. She successfully created a political/feminist career co-editing newspapers and essays that focused on the social issues that minorities and women were struggling through in American through the 1920s, and she was specifically influential due to her gain of an international supportive audience that she used to voice over her opinion. Much of Dunbar-Nelson's writing was about the color line – both white and black color lines. In an autobiographical piece, "Brass Ankles Speaks", she discusses the difficulties she faced growing up mixed-race in Louisiana. She recalls the isolation and the sensation of not belonging to or being accepted by either race. As a child, she said, she was called a "half white nigger" and while adults were not as vicious with their name-calling, they were also not accepting of her. Both black and white individuals rejected her for being "too white". White coworkers did not think she was racial enough, and black coworkers did not think she was dark enough to work with her own people. She wrote that being multiracial was hard because "the 'yaller niggers,' the '

Brass Ankles The Brass Ankles of South Carolina, also referred to as Croatan, lived in the swamp areas of Goose Creek, SC and Holly Hill, SC (Crane Pond) in order to escape the harshness of racism and the Indian Removal Act. African slaves and European indent ...

' must bear the hatred of their own and the prejudice of the white race" ("Brass Ankles Speaks"). Much of Dunbar-Nelson's writing was rejected because she wrote about the color line, oppression, and themes of racism. Few mainstream publications would publish her writing because it was not marketable. She was able to publish her writing, however, when the themes of racism and oppression were more subtle.

Summary section

"I Sit and Sew" by Alice Dunbar-Nelson is a three stanza poem written 1918. In stanza one, the speaker addresses the endless task of sitting and sewing as opposed to engaging in activity that aids soldiers at war. In doing so, the speaker addresses issues of social norms and the expectation of women as domestic servants. As the poem continues into stanza two, the speaker continues to express the desire to venture beyond the confines of social exceptions by furthering the imagery of war as opposed to domestic duty, yet the speaker resolves the second stanza with the refrain of the first, "I must Sit and Sew". By doing so, the speaker amplifies the arresting realities of domestic duty attributed to womanhood in the 1900s. In the third and final stanza, the speaker further amplifies desire and passion by saying both the living and dead call for my help. The speaker ends by asking God, "must I sit and sew?" In doing so, the speaker appeals to heavenly intervention to further amplify the message within the poem.

Works

''Violets and Other Tales''
, Boston: Monthly Review, 1895. Short stories and poems, including "Titée", "A Carnival Jangle", and "Little Miss Sophie". Digital Schomburg. ("The Woman" reprinted in Margaret Busby (ed.), ''

Daughters of Africa ''Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present'' is a compilation of orature and literature by more than 200 women from Africa and the African diaspora, ...

'', 1992, pp. 161–163.)
''The Goodness of St. Rocque and Other Stories''
, 1899, including "Titée" (revised), "Little Miss Sophie", and "A Carnival Jangle". * "Wordsworth's Use of Milton's Description of the Building of Pandemonium", 1909, in ''

Modern Language Notes ''Modern Language Notes'' (''MLN'') is an academic journal established in 1886 at the Johns Hopkins University, where it is still edited and published, with the intention of introducing continental European literary criticism into American schola ...

''. * (As editor) ''Masterpieces of Negro Eloquence: The Best Speeches Delivered by the Negro from the days of Slavery to the Present Time'', 1914. * "People of Color in Louisiana", 1917, in ''

Journal of Negro History ''The Journal of African American History'', formerly ''The Journal of Negro History'' (1916–2001), is a quarterly academic journal covering African-American life and history. It was founded in 1916 by Carter G. Woodson. The journal is owned a ...

''. * ''

Mine Eyes Have Seen ''Mine Eyes Have Seen'' is a play by Alice Dunbar Nelson. It was published in the April 1918 edition of the monthly news magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) entitled ''The Crisis.'' Nelson examined th ...

'', 1918, one-act play, in ''

The Crisis ''The Crisis'' is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Mil ...

'', journal of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.& ...

(NAACP). * (As editor) ''The Dunbar Speaker and Entertainer: Containing the Best Prose and Poetic Selections by and About the Negro Race, with Programs Arranged for Special Entertainments'', 1920''. * "The Colored United States", 1924, '' The Messenger'', literary and political magazine in NY * "From a Woman's Point of View" ("Une Femme Dit"), 1926, column for the ''

Pittsburgh Courier The ''Pittsburgh Courier'' was an African-American weekly newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the mo ...

''. * "I Sit and I Sew", "Snow in October", and "Sonnet", in

Countee Cullen Countee Cullen (born Countee LeRoy Porter; May 30, 1903 – January 9, 1946) was an American poet, novelist, children's writer, and playwright, particularly well known during the Harlem Renaissance. Early life Childhood Countee LeRoy Porter ...

(ed.), ''

Caroling Dusk ''Caroling Dusk: An Anthology of Verse by Black Poets of the Twenties: Anthology of Black Verse'' is a 1927 poetry anthology that was edited by Countee Cullen. It has been republished at least three times, in 1955, 1974, and 1995 and included work ...

: An Anthology of Verse by Negro Poets'', 1927. * "As in a Looking Glass", 1926–1930, column for the ''Washington Eagle'' newspaper. * "So It Seems to Alice Dunbar-Nelson", 1930, column for the ''Pittsburgh Courier''. * Various poems published in the NAACP's journal ''The Crisis'', in ''Ebony and Topaz: A Collectanea'' (edited by

Charles S. Johnson Charles Spurgeon Johnson (July 24, 1893 – October 27, 1956) was an American sociologist and college administrator, the first black president of historically black Fisk University, and a lifelong advocate for racial equality and the advancem ...

), and in ''

Opportunity Opportunity may refer to: Places * Opportunity, Montana, an unincorporated community, United States * Opportunity, Nebraska, an unincorporated community, United States * Opportunity, Washington, a former census-designated place, United States * ...

'', the journal of the

Urban League The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...

. * ''Give Us Each Day: The Diary of Alice Dunbar-Nelson'', ed.

Gloria T. Hull Akasha Gloria Hull (born December 6, 1944) is an American poet, educator, writer, and critic whose work in African-American literature and as a Black feminist activist has helped shape Women's Studies. As one of the architects of Black Women's St ...

, New York: Norton, 1984. *"Writing, Citizenship, Alice Dunbar-Nelson". Zagarell, Sandra A. Legacy, Vol. 36, Iss. 2, (2019): 241–244.

References

External links

* * *
Alice Dunbar-Nelson papers
a
Special Collections, University of Delaware Library

Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois, 1988

Rutgers University
"I Am an American! The Activism and Authorship of Alice Dunbar-Nelson"
(online exhibition) a
The Rosenbach
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunbar-Nelson, Alice 1875 births 1935 deaths American civil rights activists African-American poets African-American short story writers LGBT women American LGBT writers LGBT African Americans LGBT people from Louisiana Women anthologists Writers from New Orleans Writers from Philadelphia Straight University alumni Cornell University alumni American women poets American women journalists Delta Sigma Theta members Harlem Renaissance African-American women journalists African-American journalists American anti-lynching activists African-American women writers Activists from Delaware 20th-century American women writers 19th-century American women writers 19th-century American poets 20th-century American poets 20th-century American journalists 19th-century American journalists African-American suffragists American suffragists Editors of Delaware newspapers Burials at Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 19th-century African-American writers