Alice Ruth Moore Dunbar Nelson (19 July, 1875 – 18 September 1935) is an American poet and was involved in the flourishing of the Harlem Renaissance.
Alice was among the first generation of African Americans born free in the New Orleans after the American Civil War.
Alice graduated from Straight University in 1892, a time when fewer than 1% of Americans went to college. She became a teacher in New Orleans’ public school system.
The Monthly Review published Ms. Moore’s collection of short stories & poems, Violets and Other Tales, in 1895.
During the late 1800’s Ms. Moore moved to New York (previously to Boston) and co-founded White Rose Mission in Brooklyn. The home was also knowing as White Rose Home for Girls.
Ms. Moore married Paul Laurence Dunbar, a poet and journalist, in 1898 and moved to Washington DC with him.
The couple separated in 1902, however they never got an official divorce. Reportedly Mr. Dunbar was disturbed by Ms. Moore’s lesbian affairs. She was disturbed by his alcoholism and depression.
Ms. Dunbar moved to Wilmingon, DE and taught at Howard High School.
In 1910 Ms. Dunbar married a prominent physician and professor, Henry A. Callis. However that marriage also ended in divorce.
Ms. Dunbar got involved in political activism and met Robert J. Nelson, a civil rights activist and poet. The couple married in 1916 and stayed married until death.
Ms. Dunbar’s diary is only one of two known journals of 19th Century African American women and provides insight into the lives of African American women in 1921, 1926-1931.
Zohar – Man of la Book
Man of la Book
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