Anne Spencer

Annie Bethel Scales Bannister (Lynchburg, Virginia) better known as Anne Spencer (1882-1975) was an American Black poet and active participant in the New Negro Movement and Harlem Renaissance period.

Anne was the first Virginian and first African-American to have her poetry included in the Norton Anthology of American Poetry. Also an activist for equality and educational opportunities for all, she hosted such dignitaries as Hughees, Marian Anderson, George Washington Carver , Thurgood Marshall, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., James Weldon Johnson, and W.E.B. Dubois.

Noted theologian Dr. Howard Thurman named his younger daughter Anne Spencer Thurman after her.

Anne Spencer House, Museum, and Garden

Anne Spencer lived and worked in a home on Pierce Street in Lynchburg, VA from 1903 until her death in 1975. The local chapter of the NAACP was founded from her home. A garden and a one-room retreat where Anne did much of her writing, are also part of the property.

References

• Shockley, Ann Allen, Afro-American Women Writers 1746-1933: An Anthology and Critical Guide, New Haven, Connecticut: Meridian Books, 1989. ISBN 0-452-00981-2

• Thurman, Howard. With Head and Heart: The Autobiography of Howard Thurman Chicago:Harvest/HBJ Book, 1981. ISBN 0-15-697648-X

• Anne Spencer House, Museum and Garden [1] - African American Heritage of Virginia [2]

In Depth Informational Website

Information on the Anne Spencer House from the VA African American Heritage Program