Black Opals Christmas 1928: Volume 1 Number 4 (Subscription to the Harlem Renaissance)

Black Opals Christmas 1928: Volume 1 Number 4 (Subscription to the Harlem Renaissance)

Co-founded in Philadelphia by Nellie R. Bright and Arthur Huff Fauset, Black Opals is one of the few literary journals published by African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance. The journal took its name from Bright’s poem “Longings,” which concludes: I want to look deep in a pool at night, and see the stars Flash flame like the fire in black opals. The limited-run journal is self-described in the first issue: BLACK OPALS is the expression of an idea. It is the result of the desire of older New Negroes to encourage younger members of the group who demonstrate talent and ambition. BLACK OPALS does not purport to be an aggregation of masters and masterpieces. These expressions, with the exception of contributions by recognized New Negro artists, are the embryonic outpouring of aspiring young Negroes living, for the most part, in Philadelphia. Their message is one of determination, hope, and we trust power. The Philadelphia group of writers and artists led by Bright and Fauset produced four issues between 1927 and 1928, each with a print run of only 250. Original editions are very rare. Reproductions of the four issues (Spring 1927, Christmas 1927, June 1928, and Christmas 1928) make the stirring and important prose, poems, and artwork available to a larger readership. Editorial Staff of the Christmas 1928 issue: Nellie R. Bright, Arthur Huff Fauset, Allan Randall Freelon, and James H. Young. Contributors: Walter Waring, Gertrude P. McBrown, Mae V. Cowdery, Lewis Alexander, Edward S. Silvera, Margorie Marshall, Bessie Calhoun Bird, Thomas A. Webster, Ruth A. Avant, Beatrice E. Miller, Neal E. Herriford, Mary M. Hoxter, Floyd C. Covington, Melvin E. Ross, with art by Loïs Mailou Jones, J. Lesne Wells, and Smith McGlinn. Cover art by J. Lesne Wells.