A dancer in the revolution: Stretch Johnson, Harlem communist at the Cotton Club
In: Empire State Editions
The life of Howard Johnson, nicknamed ""Stretch"" because of his height (6'5""), epitomizes the cultural and political odyssey of a generation of African Americans who transformed the United States from a closed society to a multiracial democracy. Johnson's long-awaited memoir traces his path from firstborn of a multiclass/multiethnic"" family in New Jersey to dancer in Harlem's Cotton Club to communist youth leader and, later, professor of Black studies. A Dancer in the Revolution is a powerful statement about Black resilience and triumph amid subtle and explicit racism in the United States