Anne Spencer
Anne Spencer Anne Bethel Spencer in her wedding dress, 1900 Born Annie Bethel Bannister (1882-02-06)February 6, 1882 Henry County, Virginia Died July 27, 1975(1975-07-27) Lynchburg, Virginia Alma mater Virginia Seminary Genre poetry Literary movement Harlem Renaissance Annie Bethel Spencer (better known as Anne Spencer) (February 6, 1882, Henry County, Virginia – July 27, 1975, Lynchburg, Virginia) was an American poet and active participant in the New Negro Movement and Harlem Renaissance period. Spencer 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 Langston Hughes, Marian Anderson, George Washington Carver, Thurgood Marshall, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., James Weldon Johnson, and W. E. B. Du Bois.