H. Lawrence Freeman and the Harlem Renaissance

Curiously, this was also his only opera that solely featured white, Anglo-American characters--but that is another story. * 10 Harold Strickland, "A New Opera," The Brooklyn Daily Times, 11 September 1928. * 11 Obie McCollum, "The Trailblazer: H. Lawrence Freeman--Opera Composer for Four Decades," New York Amsterdam News, 20 October 1934, 9. * 12 "'Voodoo' Race Opera Closes After Short N. Y. Run: 'Voodoo,' Race Opera Opens Up New Field--Lawrence Freeman's Play Takes Pioneer Step in New Race Culture--SINGING EXCELLENT--Large Chorus and Orchestra of 21 Pieces," Baltimore Afro-American, 29 September 1928, 9. In H. Lawrence Freeman Papers, Series VIII, Box 53, Folder 1. * 14 The conference was organized by Annie Holt and sponsored by the Heyman Center Public Humanities Initiative, as well as the Columbia Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race, The Department of Music, The Institute for Research in African American Studies and the IRAAS Alumni Council, The School of the Arts Community Outreach and Education, The Columbia Ph.D.