The New Negro: An Interpretationis a multidisciplinary anthology of poetry, fiction, essays, criticism, art, and philosophy woven together into a seamless statement of Black agency in the arts and humanities that became, upon its publication in 1925, an instant publishing success. Edited by Alain Locke, a man known as the father of the Harlem Renaissance, the text is a powerful, provocative, and affecting anthology of writers who shaped the Harlem Renaissance movement and who help us to consider the evolution of the African American in society. With works by Black voices such as Zora Neale Hurston, Countee Cullen, and W. E. B. DuBois, Locke constructed a vivid look at the changing African American, finding their place in the ever shifting sociocultural landscape that was 1920s America.

With an introduction from Jeffrey C. Stewart, leading biographer of Locke, this collection explores the literary strength as well as the historical context of a monumental and fascinating time in the history of America.