Spingarn, Joel Elias << SPIHN gahrn, JOH ehl ih LY uhs >> (1875-1939), an American literary critic, was one of the first white leaders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In 1914, as chairman of the board of the NAACP, Spingarn established an award to be given annually to an outstanding African American. The award is called the Spingarn Medal.
Spingarn was born in New York City on May 17, 1875, and died there on July 26, 1939. He taught literature at Columbia University from 1899 to 1911. His critical works include A History of Literary Criticism in the Renaissance (1899) and The New Criticism (1911). He encouraged the works of African American writers during the Harlem Renaissance, a period of intense Black literary activity in the early 1900’s, particularly in the 1920’s.
