Claude McKay

Festus Claudius McKay (1890–1948) was a Jamaican-American writer and poet who served as a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance. After moving to New York City in 1914, he gained prominence for his 1919 sonnet If We Must Die, which addressed the racial violence following the First World War. His political engagement was notably influenced by his early exposure to the writings of W.E.B. Du Bois.