houghton mifflin did not note chesnutt's race when announcing and advertising the publication of "the conjure woman." chesnutt said that he preferred to be neither heralded or shunned on the basis of his color, but that his "colored friends ... saw to it that the fact was not overlooked." one friend wrote a "chiding" letter to the editor of the "atlanta constitution", that published a favorable review of the book, accompanied by a portrait of chesnutt to prove his race.