Effie Lee Newsome (1885–1979) was a Harlem Renaissance poet and activist. She is most famous for her volume of children’s poetry, Gladiola Garden: Poems of Outdoors and Indoors for Second Grade Readers. As the NAACP got started, Newsome also worked extensively with W.E.B DuBois on TCrisis magazine, writing poetry for the magazine and editing the “Little Page” column.  Her writings merged nature with the fight for civil rights, linking natural history and conservation to the problems of segregation. 

For Further Reading:

• Wonders: The Best Children's Poems of Effie Lee Newsome
• Double-take: A Revisionist Harlem Renaissance Anthology
• Effie Lee Newsome, Poems in "The Crisis," 1910-1926

This Black History Month, we’re talking about Renaissance Women. As part of the famed cultural and artistic Harlem Renaissance movement, these women found beauty in an often ugly world.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Sara Schleede, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, Luci Jones, Abbey Delk, Adrien Behn, Alyia Yates, Vanessa Handy, Melia Agudelo, and Joia Putnoi. Special thanks to Shira Atkins. Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.

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