Today, he’s a Broadway Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at his alma mater, Miami University, and a guest curator of the I, Too, Sing America: The Harlem Renaissance at 100 exhibit at the Columbus Museum of art (opens Oct. 19).

Haygood took the time to answer a few of our questions about the Harlem Renaissance and its connection to modern-day Columbus.

To start, I’d love to learn more about your connection to Columbus. To which part of the city do you feel closest? Describe why.

I was raised on the Northside of Columbus, near the OSU area. My family moved to the Eastside in 1968. My sentiments are even for both of those geographic locales of the city because I have deep memories steeped in both. And in my writing life I’ve written about both of the neighborhoods I knew in my youth.

Given your research on the Harlem Renaissance, why is it significant that this campaign is happening in Columbus, Ohio?

Anniversaries are always a good time to pay homage to something historically significant. It’s been a hundred years since the heyday of the Harlem Renaissance. A new generation needs a sharp reminder of that epochal moment in American history.

How is modern-day Columbus similar or different to Harlem during the Renaissance?

All big cities in the 20th century had pockets of black neighborhoods. Culture and music and genius grew from these neighborhoods. Columbus  – on the east side – was a microcosm of 1920s Harlem. Langston Hughes, Chester Himes, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, all Renaissance figures, passed through Columbus.

How is the Harlem Renaissance nationally relevant in this day and age?

The Renaissance was a time of high art and expressiveness in that art. But it was a cultural moment aligned with protest. In America today, we see various social movements – MeToo, Black Lives Matter – that utilize some of the same passion exhibited during the Harlem Renaissance. Movements need creative souls, and we see creative souls in many places now.

Why do you think artistic expression and exposure is important?

It is no secret why presidents and political candidates adopt songs and poems. Artistic expression becomes a universal language for so many when they are hurting or aggrieved. Art represents the best of any generation.

Tell me a bit about your latest publication, Tigerland: 1968-1969: A City Divided, a Nation Torn Apart, and a Magical Season of Healing.

TIGERLAND is a book about athletic expression. At all-black East High in the 1968-69 academic year, the basketball & baseball team both won state championships that year. It was a historic feat. And it all happened in the aftermath of Martin Luther King Jr’s death. They were kids, athletes, and young Renaissance men.

Wil Haygood’s Latest Book

Today, he is a Broadway Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at his alma mater, Miami University, and a guest curator of the I, Too, Sing America: The Harlem Renaissance at 100 exhibit at the Columbus Museum of art (opens Oct. 19).

Here is where you can hear Haygood speak:

Harlem Renaissance with Wil Haygood

9/19/18 at 12 p.m. | The Boat House at Confluence Park

The Columbus Metropolitan club will host Wil Haygood tomorrow, Sept. 19, from noon to 1:15 p.m. at the The Boat House at Confluence Park. This event falls on the day after the release of Haygood’s latest book, Tigerland: 1968-1969: A City Divided, a Nation Torn Apart, and a Magical Season of Healing.

Click here for more information.

An Evening with Wil Haygood

9/19/18 at 5:30 p.m. | The Lincoln Theatre

To celebrate the release of his latest book, The Lincoln Theatre will host a conversation with Wil Haygood. For more information or to reserve your tickets, click here.