Joel Elias Spingarn Article Index for
Joel
Website Links For
Joel
 

Information About

Joel Elias Spingarn




Joel Elias Spingarn ( May 17 , 1875 - July 26 , 1939 ) was an American educator and Literary Critic .

Spingarn was born in New York City . He was professor of Comparative Literature at Columbia University from 1899 to 1911 . In 1919 he founded the publishing firm of Harcourt, Brace And Company .

Spingarn was one of the first Jewish leaders of the National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People . He was chairman of the board of the NAACP from 1913 until his death. In 1913 he established the Spingarn Medal , awarded annually for outstanding achievement by an African American . He encouraged the works of African American writers during the Harlem Renaissance , a period of intense black literary activity in the 1920s .