Though Effie Lee Newsome was primarily known as a nature poet and a contributor to children's literature, her impression upon the people of the Harlem Renaissance was clear. Upon starting to write for The Crisis in 1917, and then in 1925, writing for her own section of the magazine known as The Little Page, Newsome was given a specific task. It was Newsome's job to teach the black youth of America that to be colored was to be beautiful. Such ideas were present in poems such as Newsome's To a Black Boy. Newsome was also expected to teach the black youth about their history as a people and how to turn the anger toward white America into love and compassion. Newsome's contribution to children's literature was aligned to some degree with that of W.E.B Du Bois, her editor in the early days of the NAACP. Their work together is an important part of Newsome's story, for it was Newsome's job to carry on within the pages of The Crisis Magazine (the NAACP monthly) what Du Bois had tried to achieve in his periodical for children, The Brownies' Book (also under NAACP auspices).
