When African American intellectuals announced the birth of the 'New Negro' around the turn of the twentieth century, they were attempting through a bold act of renaming to change the way blacks were depicted and perceived in America. This book collects more than one hundred canonical and essays published between 1892 and 1938.

"This illuminating and indispensable anthology lays bare a fascinating genealogy of the most frequently invoked trope in the history of U.S. Black culture and politics: The New Negro. Professors Gates and Jarrett take us on an intellectual journey through a crucial half century of Black thought that remains relevant in our time!"--Cornel West, author of Race Matters and Democracy Matters

"This anthology will make a marvelous companion to any course on the Harlem Renaissance or the 'New Negro' phenomenon, and an excellent resource even for advanced scholars looking for a compendium of essays that contextualize African American cultural and political thought between the 1890s and 1930s. The range of authors is admirable and many of these essays are immensely readable--pithy, vituperative, inspiriting, and humorous by turns."--George B. Hutchinson, Indiana University

"Bringing together a comprehensive body of essays from a wide range of fields, this anthology will be invaluable to scholars and students of the period from the late nineteenth century to the end of the Harlem Renaissance. It provides not only canonical texts, but also lesser-known pieces, so that it will enhance our understanding of this important period."--Valerie Smith, Princeton University

"The New Negro is a valuable collection of essays that is accessible to scholars, teachers, and those generally interested in African-American history. When placed within the context of recent New Negro scholarship, the anthology reinforces the need to expand the depth and breadth of research into Post-Reconstruction representations of race in African-American culture."---Gabriel A. Briggs, Callaloo