The Tastemaker by Edward White

Author:Edward White
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

A caricature of Carl Van Vechten as a black man by Miguel Covarrubias, entitled A Prediction

That positive distinction had a crucial effect on his relationships with Harlemites. Behind his back there were some teasing words and eyes lifted to heaven when he tried too hard to appear at home in the company of black people or display his knowledge of their culture, but it was that very same attitude of unself-conscious enthusiasm that endeared him to many. He thought the differences between blacks and whites were self-evident but no reason to keep the races apart. They were in fact an exhilarating life force, what the historian Emily Bernard has aptly termed his belief in “the importance—and insignificance—of racial difference.” Harold Jackman, a black teacher and writer who was a linchpin of Harlem society, circled Van Vechten with gawping curiosity when the two first met in February 1925. Jackman said he had never before felt comfortable in the company of white people, but in Van Vechten’s presence racial differences seemed to dissolve. “You are just like a colored man!” he exclaimed. “I don’t know if you will consider this a compliment or not.” To Van Vechten, who prided himself on his ability to effortlessly befriend exceptional people in almost any environment, it would have surely been the highest compliment possible. However, considering Van Vechten thought he had been able to pass as black in Chicago two decades earlier, Jackman’s praise would not have come as a surprise to him. When the artist Miguel Covarrubias drew a caricature of Van Vechten as a black man entitled A Prediction in 1926, Van Vechten had special copies printed to keep for posterity and send to friends. Being black, he was beginning to believe, was just another of his exquisite talents.

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