6 | A Star is Born | The Talented Tenth
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Do you remember a few years ago when a few celebrities was calling themselves new blacks saying that we got to move beyond race and racism? Basically, they was putting the responsibility on black folks to move past things, to not let race hold us back and to break away from the things that stereotypically define us. Do you remember that?

Unfortunately, I wish I could erase that memory from my brain. I think Pharrell was leading the charge on calling us or calling himself a new black. That was so, oh God, that was so cringe. What made you think about that? I was thinking of it because it's not the first time that black thought leaders made an argument about black folks as a whole and how we need a new image.

In 2014, it was that new black mumbo jumbo. In the 1910s and 20s, during the Harlem Renaissance, it was the new Negro. Leaders like W.E.B. Du Bois were calling on middle-class black men to push for success in individuality despite racist headwinds. Both concepts were blasted for being naive. But today,

We're talking about a man who did his damnedest to be a new Negro, Countee Cullen. While thought of as one of the first and foremost artists of the Harlem Renaissance, he wanted to be seen as an artist first and a black man second. On one hand, he was the epitome of what Du Bois called the talented 10th. And on the other hand,

He was an example of how Eurocentric standards keep us spinning and spinning and spinning in search of respectability. Let us get into some black history for real.

It's 1917. New York City's juvenile court. 14-year-old County Porter sits on a hard wooden bench. See, what had happened was he had got hemmed up for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. County can feel the judge's eyes on him, sizing him up, trying to figure him out. Good Negro or bad Negro?

Nervously, County looks around the courtroom. Not a friendly face in sight. He barely knows his mama. His daddy abandoned him before he even left the womb. And his grandma, Amanda, couldn't bear to come. She prayed all night. She even prayed this morning while he ironed his clothes. But God ain't gonna come get him this time. The bailiff approaches the young County. Please rise for the Honorable Judge Frank C. Hoyt.

County stands up straight like a man. His grandpa John taught him that he thinks before he speaks and is careful of his manners. When the judge starts asking him questions, County responds deliberately and respectfully. "Yes sir, yes sir, your honor. I love reading. No sir, your honor. I don't have anybody else besides my grandmother." Judge Hoyt gives County a stern look before letting him off the hook.

Case dismissed. But there's a catch. County will have to spend time with Mr. John C. Dancy from the Urban League's Big Brother program. Mr. Dancy walks over to County, puts his hand on his shoulder, and escorts him out of the courtroom. "Don't worry. I'm here to help you. You've got some potential." County has taken it back. Nobody's ever said he had potential before.

Mr. Dancy takes him back home. County braces himself before he opens the door to the one-room apartment he shares with his grandmother. A weight of embarrassment washes over him. He thinks about how dirty it's going to look to Mr. Dancy. Unwashed dishes piled in the sink, spills on the floor, grease on the stove. Grandma can't get around much lately. She's been sick since Grandpa John died last year. And County has been running the streets.

Mr. Dancy explains to Grandma Amanda what happened in court. She stops rocking in her chair. She got her miracle. Her grandbaby won't be jailed. Won't he do it? Mr. Dancy says he's going to do everything he can to help County. The judge asked him to help a handful of boys who were impressive, but in need of guidance and structure. First order of business? Get County a job after school. County is hopeful. He might become somebody after all.

Black is beautiful.

From Wondery, this is Black History For Real, where we chronicle the stories of movers and shakers from Black history all over the world. The stories will inspire you, educate you, and more often than not, leaving you shaking your damn head unconsciously.

And I'm Francesca Ramsey. This week, we're continuing our four-part series on the Talented Tenth. Today, we're talking about Harlem Renaissance poet County Cullen and his rise from abandoned child to the ideal new Negro. This is episode two, A Star is Born. ♪

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It's been a few weeks since County's courtroom appearance, and Mr. Dancy is already delivering on his promise. To help County become somebody, Dancy convinces the Board of Education to give County special permission to work as a minor. He finds County a job at a theater, helping a famous actor make quick costume change backstage. Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde.

County loves to work. He earns $10 a week. As much as Grandma Amanda gets from the Cherry Organization Society. And he keeps his grades up.

Countee is no longer the boy who's been abandoned by his parents. He's a provider, like Grandpa John, who also worked in the theater. Countee thrives with Dancy as a pseudo-father figure. He's the first black man to spend time with him since his grandfather died a year ago. Countee asked Mr. Dancy everything he wouldn't dare to talk about with Grandma Amanda. He wants to know how to be a real man.

I was one of the people in my homeboy group that had a relationship with their father, and I can see that it had an impact on me, but I don't want to trivialize

Us in the black community too much for being fatherless because I recognize that the issue is one that is cross-cultural. But I acknowledge the uniqueness that it has in the black community without being too long winded. I can acknowledge that there is a special type of targeted and criminalization that happens to black masculinity that usually, you know, results into absentness. You feel me voluntarily and involuntarily of black men.

And, you know, the black community is uniquely made fun of of being fatherless.

While they lock up and kill a lot of the fathers. I think that that's a part of the conversation that has to be had. You see what I'm saying? No, you're absolutely right. I mean, one thing I really appreciate about this chapter in this story is the idea that community care extends beyond your own family. And so it's kind of the responsibility of all of us to be responsible

someone to look up to and someone that can inspire young people. And I think a lot of times folks think, well, if you're not a parent, what are you doing with your life? That's something that I've encountered because I don't have kids. And I think to myself, well, you could still make an impact in someone's life. And in this instance, especially so, a father figure can come

From all different sorts of interactions and is so important. And it doesn't lessen the impact you can have on a young person's life just because you're not their blood relative or their blood father. On God, on God, on God. And in simplifying it and acknowledging that.

Our community is usually structured with like extended and blended families. Yes. The idea of us being uniquely fatherless show you how it's empirically false. You know what I'm saying? You got uncles and grandfathers and things like that exist, but I will not.

allow for myself to cake too much for a black masculinity in our you know i'm saying in our community without accounting for the uniqueness that black femininity or in different instances like the matriarch the big mama the grandma has within our community so i feel like it's something unique in it but i think that the more this story goes on we're gonna see how you know the idea that it takes a village we don't see that we're counting man

Mr. Dancy constantly tells County about all the possibilities open to him if he'd take the leap. The arts might be a good way for County to express himself, see the world in a new way. Now, we might say County was very lucky, but others will say he's exceptional and worthy of investment.

They might even go as far to say only one out of 10 men are that special. Well, there's at least one person who would say this. Author, educator and activist W.E.B. Du Bois. Remember, the Du Bois Talented Tense says that the best of us is going to say the rest of us. I know, I know it's an elitist proposition, but W.E.B. believes in it wholeheartedly.

and call it serendipity or a simple coincidence, but he introduced the talented 10th concept in 1903, the same year County was born. - But County has to get through the challenges of adolescence before even thinking about becoming a talented 10th man. And at 15 years old, one of those challenges turns his world upside down.

Mr. John Dancy and Countee are standing bedside in a cold hospital room. It's only been a couple of months since Countee stood in that courtroom, where he got a second chance at a good life. Almost everything was looking up, everything except Grandma Amanda's health. On her deathbed, Grandma Amanda reaches out and grabs Mr. Dancy's hand. Please take care of my baby. He's special. Mr. Dancy nods his head with sorrow.

Grandma Amanda slowly shuts her eyes and reality hits County. Grandma, please, please wake up. You're all I got. Tears well up in his eyes. He begs God to save his grandma. He begs his grandma not to die, but he wouldn't get that miracle he prayed for. After being in and out of the hospital for months, Grandma Amanda eventually passes away. Without her, he was all alone in his world.

County now has nowhere to live. John Dancy reflects on Grandma Amanda's last words and makes it his mission to find County a home. John rushes to the hospital reception and pleased to use the phone. The receptionist allows Mr. Dancy to make some calls. He starts investigating options. And to County's luck, Mr. Dancy contacts someone who wants to bring County into his home.

The thing that strikes me about this story and unfortunately the journey for so many young people who kind of move around with chosen family, their actual family, adopted family, is this feeling of wanting to make sure or needing to feel wanted and loved and cared for and how that can really impact the way that somebody moves through the world and feels about their own worth.

And not that it excuses whatever path certain folks end up on, but it's hard to not empathize with the fact that if you've lived your life where you finally get somebody who's in your corner or there's somebody who actually is investing in you and then they leave you, you know, not by choice. In this instance, you know, a family member passing away, how you can understand that the possibility of going down the wrong path

It's like that you're a victim of circumstance in that respect. And in this part of the story, it really feels like, oh, man, he's just gotten his life back on track and now losing his grandmother. It's like, yeah, I really hope that he's going to be able to pull it together. Yeah. What you just made me think of and made me realize is that a lot of us with abandonment issues, right?

We have very complex ways that we would come that we've come to, you know, feeling abandoned or having anxiety about being abandoned. And I didn't realize until you said it in with the story is that sometimes when you lose a person in your structure already down, you ain't got to be people you can rely on. You losing a person when you're not ready to lose them can make you feel abandoned.

And I think that throughout this story, what we're going to find is that county is always already longing for that sense of community and a sense of belongingness. And we're going to see that shit. Like a lot of us, we be willing to do things for the sake of affirmation and being accepted. And sometimes we will deny ourselves to be exactly that accepted in the firm.

It's 1918 and County arrives at 234th West 131st Street for the biggest interview of his life, to find a new family. The little two-story brown frame building is surrounded on all sides by tall brownstones with high stoops. It sticks out like a sore thumb. Suddenly County feels a little less intimidated. The Reverend welcomes him in. His wife Carolyn has a tray of appetizers waiting for them on the living room table.

But County is too nervous to eat, not talking with a mouthful of food. But he doesn't want to offend by refusing the hospitality. He accepts a finger sandwich and takes a bite. That's more than enough. He sits up straight as the Reverend launches into a conversation. It reminds County of standing before Judge Hoyt. Yes, sir. I love school, especially English class. Yes, sir. The same is true Sunday school.

The Reverend says to County, "One of them officers at the church speaks very highly of you." He says, "You're very smart." County accepts the compliment and shares some of the possibilities before him. "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." Mr. Dancy says, "I could possibly go to college one day if I keep my grades up." He wants to make a good impression, but he don't know exactly what someone is looking for in a son.

He's mindful of his manners. His potential mom would like that. He answers their questions carefully and tries to picture himself in a family portrait. He can see it. He wants it. Countee looks around the room. There's beautiful furniture, flowers, porcelain figures, everything neat and clean. He's never lived in a place like this before. He and Grandma Amanda used to move all over the city.

From one ran down rented room to another. She was always looking for work. The Reverend reaches over and puts his hand on County's shoulder. Son, we think you should go retrieve your belongings and come back home to us. County Porter becomes County Cullen. Son of Reverend Frederick A. and Mrs. Carolyn Cullen. This is his new birthday.

County starts to live a better life, but his adoption benefits the Cullens too. They're a childless couple in a religion that calls on people to be fruitful and multiply. Soon, the pressure is on County to be the best preacher's kid out there. He's gone from sitting in the back of the church with Grandma Amanda, may she rest in peace, to sitting in the front pew with the First Lady of the church.

The whiplash of being the kid who's in the courtroom, you know, his life hanging in the balance to now being a preacher's kid where there is such high expectations. You have to be so perfect as a preacher's kid. Everybody's looking at you. I mean, it's just anyone that I know that grew up with having a preacher as a parent talks about the stress of being

You're the kid that everybody is like, you got to be more like that kid. And you can't you can't there's no room for error. Just thinking about the fact that, again, county is on the path towards greatness. But now it's like now you really better not screw up because all eyes are on you, young man.

In some ways, he's like a little prince. He has to master church etiquette, dress well, remember important people's names and those of their family members. He has to engage in small talk with people who wouldn't have given them a second glance before. And then there's the gossip. People were always going to talk behind their church fans about the Cullens' new son. County pretends he doesn't hear the whispers.

He doesn't want the attention. He's crushed. Every time someone questions whether he's good enough, there are even worse rumors. One author alleged that they were church members who gossip about how close Reverend Cullen and County were. Unnaturally close. These comments were made by the same crowd that called Reverend Cullen a minister choir boys.

I mean, gossip is pervasive everywhere, but it feels extra hypocritical when it's happening in the church, right? That's not what y'all are supposed to be doing. Definitely, definitely. The good book. What is the good book?

good books say about gossiping. Let's review those chapters. Hey, and this is the part right here, though, that I feel like, man, like if you're listening to us right now and you want to, you know what I mean, educate your grandma, your uncle, your daddy, your kinfolk name about how certain things that's been under the sun, like I say in Ecclesiastics,

In this story right here, we're hearing about the murmurs, the rumors of homosexuality within the black church that is being correlated, prescribed to a body of a preacher in the 1920s.

Let's put that in perspective. You see what I'm saying? 19 teams. Some things don't change, right? Hey, church gossip, it be hidden different. And it really made me think about specifically when we started talking about, you know, church trauma. You know what I'm saying? Or church hurt. How there's a lot of people within the black LGBT community that has their unique hurt based on how they was positioned uniquely in their black church. Port County tries to control the narrative through good behavior, but to no avail.

He just has to rise above. He can't lose his new parents. He would not go back to living in poverty either. He decides another way to earn his place in this family.

County hops on the subway at Harlem's 125th Street Station and rides down Columbus Circle and 59th Street. From there, he's stretched down a couple of long city blocks in Hell's Kitchen to get to the DeWitt Clinton High School on 10th Avenue. DeWitt is an all-boys school. Teachers are very strict, but that's how I would count it. He needs the structure.

If he knows the rules, he can follow them all the way to success. He likes the classical curriculum too. Grammar, logic, literature, arithmetic, geometry, music, and Latin. Literature is his favorite. He feels like he's getting away with something. To read poets like Byron, Keats, Shelley. This is the stuff rich white kids read.

Being one of two Black boys in a class of 300, now that could go either way. But for now, he's fine. He doesn't talk too much, partly because he's shy, but he can't afford to let that get in the way of making friends. He wants to be able to tell his parents he's well-liked.

He makes friends by listening. People like that. His manners help him win again. He's starting to see a pattern. Everyone likes a mildly seasoned black boy who knows how to tell a good story. A black boy who doesn't offend and isn't easily offended. County can be that. DeWitt is a different world compared to the schools he went to before he moved in with the Cullens. He can become somebody if he stays here. This is the part we got to go back to.

Everyone likes a mildly seasoned black boy who knows how to tell. Hold on. A mildly seasoned black boy. Mildly seasoned. There's layers to that, huh?

Because it's like seasoned, meaning like smart and well-read. But it also feels like a little, you know, a little spicy. You don't want to be mild. You don't want to bring too much heat. You know what I'm saying? To me, it's like the very artistic, simplified way of illustrating respectability politics. Feel me? Yes. When it comes to being accepted in particular white spaces, you know what I'm saying? White places, right?

being a mildly seasoned black boy. That's palatable. Just enough with a little bit of zestiness to it. You know what I'm saying? That's usually what they usually what they like. And I recognize for me when I was in college, being a first generation college student, being around other college students, your granddaddy was in college or your great granddaddy was in college. Your mama was a Delta. Your great grandmama was a Delta. My mama was a Crip. I recognize that that idea of being mildly seasoned is something that I've

build resentment towards when I was in college because I acknowledged that

and learn very early the respectability politics classes binary that happened at my university. You feel me? There's so many layers of like double entendre because it makes me think of like, you don't want to be too salty, but you don't want to be too sweet either, especially as a man, right? Like, I don't know. I'm sorry. That's perfect. That's perfect. It's really speaking to me. I mean, again, it's shady, but it's also like,

Kind of like heartbreakingly poignant to think of like tempering yourself in a way that is palatable to everybody.

Sorry, I love puns. The joke is just right here, right? So you think about it, right? Yeah. We're talking about being mildly seasoned in order to be more digestible and palatable, consumable for particular people, right? Those same particular people was able to go and cause a lot of bloodshed, one would say, being able to go navigate the world to get some said spices so they can have more mildly seasoned beans. And then don't eat.

- Not the damn spices, just colonizing the whole world. - Not only do you not eat the spices, you feel me? Not only do you not use the spices, you see what I'm saying? You even like your people to be what? Mildly seasoned. In this plan to become popular, County joins the school newspaper. He's made an editor right away. Then he joins the school literary magazine, The Magpie. When he shares his poems for the first time,

His classmates are impressed. The teachers think he's talented. Counties remind it. Art pays. Art pays. As summer winds down, let your imagination soar by listening on Audible. Whether you listen to stories, motivation, expert advice, any genre you love, you can be inspired to imagine new worlds, new possibilities, new ways of thinking. With Audible, there's more to imagine when you listen.

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It's a Thursday night in 1924. NYU undergrad county is manning the lobby door at the Royer Club on East 60th between Madison and Park Avenues. The club members are bookmakers, sellers, collectors, and lovers. Yes, county's not working there for the money.

His tuition is paid for by a New York State region scholarship. His parents can send him any other money he may need. Okay, because his daddy has money. Must be nice. At 21, County is working at the club to get exposure to the publishing industry. His life is so different from childhood. His social circle is made up of young artists always looking to the future. Here he can meet artists

Power brokers, the decision maker. People at the top of their game. He wants to be seen by them. Whether he likes it or not, his career is in the hands of people like this. The only problem with this plan is nobody's curious about the dreams of the doorman. He's been working at the club for two years now, and not one connection has been forged. Still, he's got hope.

And being invisible has its advantages. County can observe the members freely. He scribbles notes on scraps of paper, images and ideas, a turn of phrase. And it's an easy job. He has no problems handling his academic workload as an English major with a double minor in French and philosophy at NYU. More importantly, he has time to work on his poems.

County opens the door for a club member and his giggling wife. They're at the club for a bridge party. The man slips County a quarter for his trouble. County thinks to himself that the member would be shocked to know he's a prize-winning poet. A mere doorman being a cultural vanguard. Somebody be respected. A poet who would soon have gossip columnist interested? Not this kid.

And just to sprinkle some historical context in there, at this time, ain't no TikTok, no TV, no Instagram. Like the novelists, the poets, the authors, the playwriters, they were the socialites, the influencers, the content creators at the time.

Yeah, I mean, hearing this type of thing, it makes me feel so old because I'm just like, man, we need that now. I truly feel like a boomer saying that. But like, I would love for more poets and novelists and playwrights to be on the same social status. And look, you and I both came up on the Internet. There's nothing wrong with using social media to build a platform and an audience.

But it's sometimes frustrating to see that someone can just become, quote unquote, a somebody because of their social capital. And they don't always have the intelligence or the talent to back it up. Like, I would love for like a mix. You know what I mean? Like, be popular just for being popular. But like, let's also get some like well-read folks in the mix, too. You know what I mean? Nah, nah. I think sadly, because...

The age we live in, there's social media and things being viral and everybody trying to achieve a certain level of virality. It seems like it just incentivizes folks to be on some foolishness, you know what I'm saying? To be on some lost in the sauce shenanigans, man. Half the stuff you see online, you have to ask yourself, is this real? Sometimes people are doing the rage baiting. They're saying things to get you upset just because they know it'll go viral. Right.

and I always felt you know what I'm talking about and it's sometimes it's like do you even really think the thing that you're saying and not that it makes it any better but people are like playing these roles just so that they can get attention meanwhile I often come across people that are so smart and so interesting and so talented and they have no audience it's this idea that like

visibility doesn't equal worth or talent yeah i like the idea of during this time if you were like good with the pen you got you know what i mean people are like damn he's really throwing down with the iambic pentameter you know like he's really good i love that

It's November 1924. County gets his first big break on the national literary scene. His poem, "The Shroud of Color," is published in H.L. Mencken's "American Mercury."

Even though the magazine was founded just earlier that year, it's a must-read for New York's literati. The intelligentsia, too, including W.E.B. Du Bois and Clarence Darrow. Mencken is a kingmaker in the literary world. The New York Times calls him the most powerful private citizen in America. Writers' careers live and die by his word.

and his magazine's readers are buzzing about this young black poet who wrote a 199-line poem in iambic rhyming couplets. According to Mencken himself, County became famous like Lord Byron overnight. "'Lord, being dark,' I said, "'I cannot bear the further touch of earth's assented air.'"

County may have written the poem in classical Eurocentric style, but the shroud of color is about blackness. He will struggle with writing about race his entire career, but it is what will make him a star.

Want to hear something funny about a man who published a poem? Yeah, I mean, hit me with it. I don't know if it's going to be funny or not. I feel like it's going to be surprisingly disappointing. I don't know. Let me know. All right, people get it. Like W.E.B.?

Men can believe that each racial community had a certain number of superior individuals in its ranks. Not him creating his own racial draft in his mind. He's like, we can only take a limited amount of y'all. Oh, fuck.

It's so frustrating because it's like, on the one hand, he's using that very narrow racial lens to uplift a talented Black person. But at the same time, he's doing it at the expense of all Black people. Like, oh, there's only a little bit of y'all. And also, that's how W.E.B. felt as well.

But Makin' wasn't specific about the number, like one out of every ten, but this is the theme of being the best of the race that runs through County's life. County's drive ain't to be the best of the race. Deep inside, he's a young boy trying to prove he's worthy of mercy, love, a family, and now success as a writer.

In 1925, Countee becomes famous before he could even graduate from NYU. He keeps a level head though and concentrates on his studies. He's an academic juggernaut, one of 11 students to take home a Phi Beta Kappa key.

It wasn't all books, though. County is a fixture in Harlem's nightlife scene. He can be found at buffet flats, pop-up supper clubs, and private apartments. The speakeasies his father preaches against, primarily queer spaces. And County is living it. He hangs out with poet Langston Hughes, who he met in 1921. Langston has stayed at his parents' house a few times.

Sometimes Langston convinces County to skip a class to NYU and to go to the movies or see a play. County is also spending time on a scene with openly gay intellectual Alan Locke. County plays matchmaker between Langston and Alan. It doesn't work out. Alan reciprocates by sending County a so-called gift named Llewellyn Ransom.

So at this time, Colin was essentially living a double life. One where he was presenting himself as a good-mannered Christian artist, learning the craft of literature at a prestigious university, which was true, but it was also true that he was a closeted gay man, going to drag balls and engaging in several secret affairs with men, which we know about because we have his letters to his friends, including Langston Hughes and Alan Locke.

It's often said that Cullen's homosexuality was Harlem's biggest open secret. The press is also asking him about his dating life. And he can only stall for so long. He needs to find women to date publicly.

In early 1925, 22-year-old County Cullen leaves Harlem for Harvard. He's there to get his master's in English. It's not too long after his arrival that his first book of poems, titled Color, is published. He makes a point of writing a letter to the Grolier club managers to let them know about his achievement.

He wants his old bosses to know he's more than a doorman. Ain't no damn body at the club thinking about you, County. He does seem to have a chip on his shoulders about being seen. Maybe the job reminded him of his humble beginnings as County Porter. And it wasn't enough for him to just quit after he graduated. He had to reveal himself in all his glory.

Right now, a lot of people in our society are talking about healing. And I think that it's a great conversation because a lot of times us as adults allow for the hurt children inside of us

to respond through our adult selves. And I think that it makes it where sometimes we try to account for the loss that we had as children and we try to account for them in our adult lives. So for me, while I'm thinking about counting, I'm thinking of all the times that I have tried to compensate for my childlike insecurities and my adult life and how I'm trying to sometimes

I feel like prove to myself by proving myself to somebody else almost and like being accepted because I'm really insecure about some shit. Yeah. I mean, that inner child drives so many of us and it really takes a level of vulnerability to acknowledge that. Yeah.

Whenever I talk about that with my therapist, one thing she suggested to me was to put a picture of myself as a child on my phone so that when I'm feeling insecure or I'm feeling frustrated about where I'm at in life, but I can look back at that young version of myself and remember, like, I've come a really long way.

And it's always perspective shifting when you realize even people who are quote unquote successful and talented are still grappling with the hurt and the desires of that inner child. It's just a very natural part of our lives to get older and still be yearning for the things that were really shaping us at that stage of our lives. ♪

Even though most of the poems in the collection have been previously published in the magazines, Color is a big hit. The book sells more than 2,000 copies in its first two years in print. County is a rock star. He's a critical darling, too. A New York Times book reviewer gives County's book a rave review. He cautions his white readers that County is race-conscious.

was give some of his poems a somewhat bitter note. But it's fine because County's work is otherwise so compelling, he ends the review by calling County a poet to be watched. I cannot get over this race-conscious, somewhat bitter note. Like, hello, we are talking about a time in history that was not kind to Black people. And nay, I'd say, you know, as far as we've come,

It is still OK for marginalized people, black people in this instance, to talk about the realities of their existence. It's such a backhanded compliment to be like, just just be careful white people. He does talk about being black in this book, but otherwise he's still pretty good. Hey, this guy, he's a he's a he's a he's good. He's a good one. He's a bit of a race baiter, but he's a good one.

W.E.B. Du Bois himself reviews Cullen for the crisis. He writes, In a time when it is vogue to make much of the Negro's aptitude for clownishness or to depict him objectively as a serial comic figure, it is a fine and praiseworthy act for Mr. Cullen to show through the interpretation of his own subjectivity the inner workings of the Negro's soul and mind.

Translation, he's not like you other goofy negros. And basically, it's like, what? It's like, man, what? Why you gotta bring

else into it why can't you just say hey these poems are good he's like while the rest of y'all are tap dancing and be as stupid this this guy he actually is looking inside his mind and he's he's putting it onto the page in a way that everybody can consume I mean the the the level of condescension that

that is just dripping through this sentence is impossible to ignore. And it just shows you that in all respect, in all respect, W.E.B. Du Bois has some patterns of being on sucker shit. I mean, not one lie detected. Come on, fam. Like, bruh.

County is officially on W.E.B.'s radar. W.E.B.'s daughter had hopped onto County's radar just two years prior in a letter dated August 26, 1923. He tells Alan Locke that Yolanda might be the solution to his problem. Just like, listen, the fungibility of black women.

And how, you know what I'm saying, we can objectify black women and use them as how we want to use them. You feel me? In this instance, it comes crazy because we're talking about a black man and his black daughter that he helped, you know what I'm saying, bring to the world. Yeah, they're all talking about her as if she is a thing and not a person. Yeah, they're like, I know what we'll do. We'll just use her to make everything better. What does she want? Has she been consulted? Is she a part of this thing?

this ploy by both of them? We're going to use her as an asset, as an accessory to be able to, you know, present ourselves the way we want to be presented. That's how I read that. County accepts that he's gay. Or at least he's definitely acting on his attraction to me.

but he's conflicted about it. Yolanda will help him project an image of himself as a straight man. The image that his parents have of him. He doesn't want to lose them by being out of this game. And as a 22-year-old literary star in the Harlem Renaissance, County is going to stay in the mainstream spotlight by hook or by crook. The

The mainstream wants their poets straight as an arrow and sober as a heart attack. - County's audience also likes his classical style. That style, along with the diversity of publications, has helped County cultivate an audience of black and white people. In color, he hits all the right notes to please his readers. He's so neutral that only one third of the book's poems have to do with race, incident and heritage especially.

What is Africa to me? One three centuries removed from the lands my father's loved. Spicy grove, cinnamon tree. What is Africa to me?

Culler also has themes of family love in it. He writes about Grandma Amanda and the Cullens. And the Cullens are conservative people. So it makes sense that they wouldn't necessarily want Culler on this path no matter how much success he has. The tension between his religious background and the secret life as a gay man has played out in his poetry. The tensions weigh on him in his social life too.

His conservative upbringing is turning off some of his fellow poets. He's expected to have funny anecdotes about his childhood. He'd rather die than be honest about his early childhood. It's so hard not to feel just terrible for him that he's not in a position where he's able to be his true authentic self. You know, he can't.

He can't be blamed for how he grew up. And there's nothing wrong with being gay or identifying as queer. But you can really feel that pull of wanting to be what your parents expect you to be, what your peers expect you to be, what society expects you to be, and then the reality of who you actually are and how...

It's just so difficult to navigate those worlds authentically. And it just, the fact that it is able to be understood under his work, even when he's trying to hide it, really speaks to his talent. And also just like what he was grappling with at the time. Like any great artist, he embellishes. But he knows that if he really wants to make it, he needs to find someone more outgoing. It should start to. Turns out,

He already knows someone. A friend from high school, Harold Jackman. As County rises to fame, he gets a boost from being associated with such a good looking man. The black British model is known as the most handsome man in the heart. He's also the poster boy of the New Negro. Harold, me and County become thick as thieves. Around Harold, County really let his hair down and could be himself.

It's 1925 and it seems all of Harlem has come to show up and show out at the annual Hamilton Lodge Drag Ball on 8th Avenue and 155th Street. County and Harold wait in line to get in. A line of what seems like thousands of people, all beautiful, all dressed to the nines. County looks around, hoping no one outside their circle of friends recognizes him. Harold leans in to ask, What's wrong, County?

He doesn't even hear Harold. He's too afraid someone on the street will clock him going into a gay event. He lets out a loud breath of relief when they make it to the front of the line and the doorman pushes open the double swing doors.

County feels giddy as they make their way into the private theater box. They look over to the dance floor and see a flurry of people, black and white, drinking, laughing, and grinding. Men in flowing gowns and feathered headdresses and women in tuxedos and back box coats. County and Harold are tied together at the hip at this point. County's poem, Heritage, is dedicated to Harold. But like we said before,

County has a tension inside of him. He still views his homosexuality as a perverted kind of heterosexuality. It's something he's got to fix. He's not alone in his beliefs. The majority of the black middle class is picking up W.E.B.'s respectability politics game. They think it's the best way to secure their civil rights.

Homosexuality is a sexual deviance in their eyes. It is holding back their progress. County is also afraid his career will be over if he's out in the mainstream public. Finding the right woman to date could solidify his future. W.E.B. starts dropping hints that he might know just the right person. County thinks about it.

W.E.B. is practically a second father to County. Does he want to risk that relationship by using Du Bois' daughter?

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It's 1927. County is sitting at the desk in his home library. He's frustrated.

The words, the images, they ain't coming as easy to him. He may have writer's block. Beefs with his fellow poets over their writing styles are running through his mind. What he said about them, how they've criticized him for being so conservative. He published two collections of poetry this year and neither of them hit like color did. Is he a one-hit wonder? He pulls out a book of poems by Keats to find some inspiration. Even that's not working.

If he didn't have his column in Opportunity Magazine, he'd be breaking down. At least that keeps him on everyone's mind. Even if they don't like him right now, his opinion still matters. County's father wanders into the room, looking for some notes on a sermon. Observing the torn pieces of paper, he asks County, What you working on, boy? Before County can even answer, the Reverend says, You know what you should write? A series of religious poems.

You should be focusing on God, son. He's made this suggestion before. County nods politely, like he always does. He appreciates his religious upbringing and how the church serves the community. He loves church music. His mind goes to his former lover, Leland Petit, organist of the All Saints Cathedral Choir. Leland's pale white skin next to his own golden brown. County crosses his legs and returns to his father's pitch for religious poetry.

Deep down, he knows he's too much of the flesh to make it work. His father finds a religious poem he likes and reads it out loud to County. It's awful, but County just smiles. He thinks about his own personal relationship with God. Sometimes he feels the connection deeply. Other times he doubts God's existence. Maybe he's a little afraid God will judge him harshly. Satisfied with his advice, the Reverend leaves County alone with his work.

County tries to sketch out a few more rhymes. Nothing. He hopes his best days aren't behind him. In his introductory note to the Curling Dust Poetry Anthology, County makes a rare confession about his struggle with this religion. He says his chief problem is reconciling a Christian upbringing with the pagan inclination. And he's not the only one struggling. There's a tension between religious figures in Harlem

and Renaissance artists. Each side wants the public to follow their lead. County's fathers joined other preachers like Adam Clayton Powell in campaigns against the immoral entertainment industry. One history has Langston Hughes reading one of his poems when a minister threatened to shut the event down. He didn't want the blues poetry being read from the pulpit.

Blues poetry is the blacker, more musical cousin to traditional poetry. It's like what trap yonki is to regular yonki. It's October 1927. W.E.B. Du Bois sits in his office at the NAACP. He's reading reactions to his article on the surprising lack of racial prejudice in Russia under the current government. There's a knock on his office door. Come in. His assistant opens the door and walks in with a letter. She tells him it's his daughter, Yolanda.

- Du Bois opens the letter, gripping his custom letter opener that reads W.E.B. Du Bois across the handle. His hand is tense. Yolanda frantically writes, "Dear father, I'm writing you because I think I've made a mistake.

Yolanda continues the letter about her relationship with jazz musician Jimmy Lunsford and how Du Bois was right about him. Yolanda met Jimmy during her years at Fisk University, and to the disapproval of WEB, she fell head over heels with him. WEB always felt the match was unsuitable. A lower-class jazz musician should not be the mate of his only daughter.

W.E.B. can't help but feel some satisfaction as he reads Yolanda's details of the failing relationship. W.E.B. sets the letter down on his desk next to a copy of County Cullen's book, Cullen. Du Bois leans back in his chair with a smirk on his face. The exceptional Cullen would be the perfect husband for Yolanda.

Du Bois whips out the paper of his own and drafts a letter. But this is not one to Yolanda. It's to County. His plan? To convince County to propose to his daughter. Ultimately, completing his plan of a talented 10th dynasty of his own. But little does Du Bois know, County might not be quite the perfect match for his daughter.

If you like Black History for Real, you can listen early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.

This is episode two of our four-part series, The Talented Tenth. We use multiple sources when researching our stories, but the Poetry Foundation and the W.E.B. Du Bois Center Library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst were extremely helpful. A note, our scenes contain reenactments and dramatized details for narrative cohesiveness. Black History for Real is hosted by me, Francesca Ramsey. And me, Consciously.

Black History for Real is a production of Wondery and DCP Entertainment. The episode is written by Pia Wilson, sound design by Greg Schweitzer. The theme song is by Terrace Martin. For DCP Entertainment, associate producers are Quinn Hill, Brittany Temple, and Chris Colbert. The senior producer is Ron Woodhull.

Executive Producers for DCP Entertainment are Adele Coleman and DJ Treacy Treese. For Wondery, Lindsay Gomez is the Development Producer. The Production Coordinator is Desi Blalock. Sophia Martins is our Managing Producer. Our Producer is Matt Gant. Our Senior Story Editor is Phyllis Fletcher. The Executive Producers for Wondery are Marshall Louie, Aaron O'Flaherty, and Candice Malikaz-Rean.

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Home to 226 men, the rig is stationed in the stormy North Sea off the coast of Scotland. At around 10 p.m., workers accidentally trigger a gas leak that leads to an explosion and a fire. As they wait to be rescued, the workers soon realize that Piper Alpha has transformed into a death trap. Follow Against the Odds wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music or the Wondery app.