Pamela Newkirk has edited this dear little book of African-American love letters, A Love No Less. These real letters, in chronological order, present an emotional history of African Americans from the 19th century to the present. They are from all walks of life from slaves to contemporary celebrities.
The love letters from slaves are exceptionally poignant. Of course, most African-American slaves could not write. Even for those who could, it would be very difficult to send a letter to a beloved man or woman when one was sold to another owner. That makes the slaves letters in this book special.
This excerpt from a letter from Abream Scrivan is an example: “I take the pleasure of writing you these few with much regret to inform you that I am sold to a man by the name of Peterson atreader and Stays in new orleans. … My Dear wife for you and my children my pen cannot Express the griffe I feel to be parted from you all.”
The letters offer a peek into the emotional lives of well-known African Americans that we would not normally be privy to.
Paul Laurence Dunbar—who some considered to be the poet laureate of black America for his time—wrote to his future wife, writer Alice Ruth Moore, this declaration in 1896: “Darling, I love you. I don’t want to marry you for your brain and culture. They are the easiest things in the world to find. I want you for the qualities of heart which I know you to possess.”
Harlem Renaissance writer and poet James Weldon Johnson wrote what is called “The Black National Anthem,” “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” From 1905-1912, he held the posts of U.S. Consul to Venezuela and Nicaragua. This is an excerpt from a letter he wrote to his wife, Grace Nail Johnson, during that time away: “…as strong as the soul may be, the heart is oh, so weak, and my heart wants you, needs you. The rains have set in and the days are so dreary and the nights so lonely.”
Countee Cullen, another Harlem Renaissance poet, is represented in the book. He was briefly married to the scholar and activist W.E.B. DuBois’ daughter, Yolande. This is from a letter written by Yolande to Countee: “Your letter from Alexandria came at quite a psychological moment. I was feeling as blue as indigo and lonely. I also felt that there was something strange about being so far from you. I tried to behave and have faith in your love—the fact that you’d come back to me.”
Other love letters from the before email-instant-message days were from or to educator Mary Church Terrell, heiress A’Lelia Walker, doctor and scientist Charles Drew, educator and spokesman Booker T. Washington III, actors Tim and Daphne Reid, and entrepreneurs, soldiers, and many everyday people. A Love No Less is quite a find for readers interested in history with a heavy touch of heart.
