James Weldon Johnson

On this day in 1871 James Weldon Johnson was born.

He's the lyricist of the song "Lift Every Voice and Sing."

He had a summer home known as Five Acres and he had a little writing cabin on a hill above a brook.  Johnson was a founder and member of the Harlem Renaissance and he wrote most of his famous works like God's Trombone and his autobiography Along This Way in his writing cabin on the hill.
 
Johnson also loved to write poetry. Here are some excerpts from his Venus in a Garden:
 
But the fair Venus knew
The crimson roses had gained their hue
From the hearts that for love had bled;
And the goddess made a garland
Gathered from the roses red.