Tweet
He was an intellectual genius. He was self-educated in a time when those of his race were not all afforded an education. He knew some 6 languages including Arabic and Hebrew. This enabled him to get a job in the New York Post Office system. On a test he took to receive his diploma, he was the only one in his class to receive a 100 percent. Fellow well known atheist, H.L Mencken asked others to refer to this man as "doctor."
At the age of twenty-four, he wrote book reviews for the New York Times. In addition, he also wrote for the New York Sun, Tribune, and World. He wrote articles for such magazines as The Nation, the New Republic, and The Masses. He was assistant editor of The Masses for four years. For four years, he was also editor of The Negro World, a paper published by Marcus Garvey.
In 1926 he became a staff lecturer for the board of education in New York City. He lectured at City University, Columbia University, New York University and at various libraries believing in education for the masses. He even lectured before the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street holding some 11,000 people spell-bound, according to the New York Times.
He wrote for The Truth Seeker, the Call, and the Modern Quarterly and gave lectures debunking the Bible and the various religious rackets. This caused no small stir in the deeply religious black community because many black men saw truth in his reasoning against religion and left their churches to follow free thought.
He lectured all over New York, but interestingly enough he had a rather sizable white following. In fact, in 1913 he organized the Radical Forum. All the members were white.
He influenced the likes of Marcus Garvey, shaped the beginnings of what is called the Harlem Renaissance, influenced countless others who emerged to start the Civil Rights Movement. He was a VERY candid man, who pulled no punches and spent much of his short life beating down white supremacy. He was also critical of so-called black leaders of the day such as W.E.B DuBois, Booker T. Washington and even Marcus Garvey. He broke ranks with some of them because he thought they were trying to work from the top down as opposed to the bottom up. Needless to say, he was VERY vocal about his rejection of Christianity and religion in general while the others kept religion close realizing the power base in the black community was the church. This, no doubt also made him an outcast but he believed in integrity and was not about to dance with religion just keep or gain prestige. In fact, the man was talking about evolution and birth control in his day and he was indeed well ahead of his time.
By 44, this great man was dead, dying on an operating table in Harlem Hospital. That short life belonged to one Hubert Harrison who was born on the Caribbean island of St. Croix in the then Danish West Indies (today's U.S Virgin Islands) in 1883. As I stated up top, he is one of the greatest minds this country ever had but barely know. That is changing as he has come back to light and now major universities such a Columbia and a few others are raising a greater awareness of him almost 100 years after his death. He is finally being recognized for his work and his contributions are beginning to shine through. While many have heard of Garvey, DuBois, Washington and Randolph, those in the know will tell you that Harrison was head and shoulders above them all. No wonder he is referred to as the "Black Socrates."
At the age of twenty-four, he wrote book reviews for the New York Times. In addition, he also wrote for the New York Sun, Tribune, and World. He wrote articles for such magazines as The Nation, the New Republic, and The Masses. He was assistant editor of The Masses for four years. For four years, he was also editor of The Negro World, a paper published by Marcus Garvey.
In 1926 he became a staff lecturer for the board of education in New York City. He lectured at City University, Columbia University, New York University and at various libraries believing in education for the masses. He even lectured before the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street holding some 11,000 people spell-bound, according to the New York Times.
He wrote for The Truth Seeker, the Call, and the Modern Quarterly and gave lectures debunking the Bible and the various religious rackets. This caused no small stir in the deeply religious black community because many black men saw truth in his reasoning against religion and left their churches to follow free thought.
He lectured all over New York, but interestingly enough he had a rather sizable white following. In fact, in 1913 he organized the Radical Forum. All the members were white.
He influenced the likes of Marcus Garvey, shaped the beginnings of what is called the Harlem Renaissance, influenced countless others who emerged to start the Civil Rights Movement. He was a VERY candid man, who pulled no punches and spent much of his short life beating down white supremacy. He was also critical of so-called black leaders of the day such as W.E.B DuBois, Booker T. Washington and even Marcus Garvey. He broke ranks with some of them because he thought they were trying to work from the top down as opposed to the bottom up. Needless to say, he was VERY vocal about his rejection of Christianity and religion in general while the others kept religion close realizing the power base in the black community was the church. This, no doubt also made him an outcast but he believed in integrity and was not about to dance with religion just keep or gain prestige. In fact, the man was talking about evolution and birth control in his day and he was indeed well ahead of his time.
By 44, this great man was dead, dying on an operating table in Harlem Hospital. That short life belonged to one Hubert Harrison who was born on the Caribbean island of St. Croix in the then Danish West Indies (today's U.S Virgin Islands) in 1883. As I stated up top, he is one of the greatest minds this country ever had but barely know. That is changing as he has come back to light and now major universities such a Columbia and a few others are raising a greater awareness of him almost 100 years after his death. He is finally being recognized for his work and his contributions are beginning to shine through. While many have heard of Garvey, DuBois, Washington and Randolph, those in the know will tell you that Harrison was head and shoulders above them all. No wonder he is referred to as the "Black Socrates."
That exact name is incredibly close to some family connections. I have to show them this!
Comment