ENGL 281 Lecture Notes - Lecture 40: Langston Hughes, Rudolph Fisher
The Novelists and Short Story Writers: Laying the Seeds for the
Black Arts Movement
Rudolph Fisher (1897-1934): The City of Refuge
• Fisher was considered one of the major or key literary figures of the Harlem Renaissance,
forming a part of the youth movement such as Langston Hughes and
others.
• http://www.paulreuben.website/pal/chap9/fisher.html
American novelist, essayist, critic, dramatist, conversationalist, music
arranger, short story writer, civic leader as well as doctor with x-rays
• About a man named King Solomon that flees to Harlem from North
Carolina to avoid being lynched
The City of Refuge=Negro Harlem
• Solomon is not only escaping lynching, he is looking for a place to
feel acceptance and belonging
o “In Harlem, black was white. You had rights that could not be denied you; you had
privileges, protected by law. And you had money. Everybody in Harlem had money.
It was a land of plenty”
Mouse Uggam: man that gives Gillis a card with his name and address
• Reports to a Tom Edwards to keep Gillis in his line of sight and to get him to befriend him
• Sets up Gillis to take the West Indian man’s job at Tony’s, the man that dropped a bushel of
apples
o Gets a job at Tony’s, but Uggam sets him up to distribute drugs under the pretense
that it is French medicine
Tony starts noticing an influx of customers, and so do police. They go to Tony’s store in search of
the drugs and set up a time to spy on Gillis and see if he is the dealer
In the end, Uggam sells Gillis out at a night club where in the attempt to help a girl from being
harassed, he is assaulted by colored policemen
• “the City of Refuge” is almost satirical, for there is still abuse of those below for the sake of
self-progression.
• Directs his satire TO the black community rather than towards whites
o Gives Solomon an ignorant personality and dialect to accompany that perspective,
and he is taken advantage, even by those of his own color
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Document Summary
The novelists and short story writers: laying the seeds for the. Rudolph fisher (1897-1934): the city of refuge: fisher was considered one of the major or key literary figures of the harlem renaissance, http://www. paulreuben. website/pal/chap9/fisher. html forming a part of the youth movement such as langston hughes and others. American novelist, essayist, critic, dramatist, conversationalist, music arranger, short story writer, civic leader as well as doctor with x-rays. About a man named king solomon that flees to harlem from north. Solomon is not only escaping lynching, he is looking for a place to feel acceptance and belonging: in harlem, black was white. You had rights that could not be denied you; you had privileges, protected by law. Tony starts noticing an influx of customers, and so do police. They go to tony"s store in search of the drugs and set up a time to spy on gillis and see if he is the dealer.
