Description
Book SynopsisDiscusses the life of Howard “Stretch” Johnson, an African American civil rights activist and educator, (1915–2000), who was a dancer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, member of the Communist Party U.S.A. and World War II veteran.
Trade Review"Although this book touches on issues of race and class endlessly discussed by the US left for decades, it is primarily the story of one man's experience living in a nation whose history is defined by those issues. that life explains more than a thousand debates." -Counterpunch "In this vivid memoir, Howard "Stretch" Johnson shares his unforgettable journey from the dance floor of the Cotton Club to the top echelons of the Communist Party. With colorful tales of the nightlife of the Harlem Renaissance and insightful reflections on the American left and Black freedom struggle, A Dancer in the Revolution is hard to put down. Johnson tells his remarkable life story with wit and grace, sharing stories of pain and regret, but never-ending commitment to social justice." -- -Martha Biondi author of To Stand and Fight: the Struggle for Civil Rights in Postwar New York City and The Black Revolution on Campus "Stretch Johnson's nickname honored his exceptional height and flexibility as a professional dancer, but also captured his rarer talent for reaching across cultural and political gaps. His effortlessly lively and rigorously honest memoir illuminates forgotten links between the Cotton Club and the Communist Party, the Harlem Renaissance and the early Black Studies scholarship that canonized it. A Dancer in the Revolution is radical life-writing that magnetically rejoins divided histories." -- -William J. Maxwell Washington University in St. Louis, author of FB Eyes: How J. Edgar Hoover's Ghostreaders Framed African American Literature "This is an excellent publication that provides an insider's view of everyday life and culture in Harlem during the period in which the contemporary black community is being formed." -- -Henry Louis Taylor Jr. University at Buffalo, SUNY "Howard "Stretch" Johnson's life story, ably edited by Wendy Johnson, is a compelling drama of race, dance, and radical politics of the 1930s to 1960s. No other book offers so much deep personal insight in these areas, and this book deserves as many readers as Claude McKay's Home to Harlem." -- -Paul Buhle authorized biographer of C.L.R. James and retired Senior Lecturer, Brown University
Table of ContentsIntroduction Mark D. Naison Acknowledgments Wendy Johnson PART ONE Ch 1 Early Days Ch 2 Harlem and the Cotton Club Ch 3 Moving Up Ch 4 Show Biz Ch 5 Joining the Party PART TWO Ch 6 The Young Communist League Ch 7 The War Years Ch 8 Back Home Ch 9 La Lucha Continua PART THREE Ch 10 Starting Over Ch 11 Malimwu Ch 12 The Cotton Club Revisited Ch 13 Hawaii's Martin Luther King Day Ch 14 Paris - Texas and Home Again Time Line Howard E. Johnson's Curriculum Vitae Further reading Index
