Opportunity: Journal of Negro Life

January 1936 cover of the Opportunity: Journal of Negro Life.

Launched under the Executive Leadership of Eugene Kinkle Jones, the Opportunity was the academic, literary, cultural, and informative publication of the NUL. Founded in 1923, it became a key journal of the Harlem Renaissance (also known as the New Negro Movement) and was promoted by Fisk University, as it connected with the school’s mission. At the time of its founding, the research director of the NUL and sociologist Dr. Charles S. Johnson, first Chairman of Department of Social Scienced at Fisk University, would bring the idea of the journal to fruition. Initially intended to present employment opportunities for African Americans and migrants, the Opportunity would also highlight African American arts and literature of that time. It also covered surveys, articles that discussed child placement, health, the labor market, housing, histories, international affairs, and other social challenges African Americans faced. 

Notable artists and scholars that contributed to the journal are Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Bennett, and Aaron Douglas.