Alain Locke Essay - 1153 Words

With the exception of Native Americans, there is no race of people that originated in America. Yet today, we all come together under the colors of red, white and blue, sing the National Anthem and call ourselves quot;Americansquot;. Despite our differences in religion, norms, values, national origins, our pasts, and our creeds, we all combine under one common denominator. Alain Locke addresses this issue of cultural pluralism in his article, quot;Who and What is `Negro?quot; In this article, Locke states that, quot;There is, in brief, no `The Negro. quot; By this, he means that blacks are not a uniform and unchanging body of people. He emphasizes that we, as Americans, need to mentally mature to a point where we do not view†¦show more content†¦And by using the terms quot;internal splitsquot; and quot;environmental conditioningquot;, Locke is possibly referring to intra-racial racism, such as the long standing conflict between light and dark skinned blacks or the conflict be tween the black middle class and the black working class. Locke uses all these points to exemplify that blacks do not represent a consistent entity, but a diverse and varying group of people. Locke furthers this argument by using even more examples if diversity within the black race. Using different types of Judaism as an comparative example, Locke proceeds to refer to many different strains of black people - quot;...the conformist and non-conformist strains, the conformist elite and the racialist elite, the lily-white and the race-patriotic bourgeoisie, the folk and the ghetto peasant and the emerging Negro proletariat.quot; These all represent types of black people. He is speaking of the blacks who conform to white norms versus those who dont, the rich who conform versus those who dont, the middle class blacks who pretend they are white versus those who are proud of their race, andShow MoreRelatedThe New Negro, By Alain Locke1707 Words   |  7 PagesThroughout Alain Locke’s works â€Å"Values and Imperatives,† â€Å"Pluralism and Intellectual Democracy,† â€Å"Cultural Relativism and Ideological Peace,† â€Å"The New Negro,† and â₠¬Å"Harlem,† I found there to be a number of reoccurring themes, such as absolutes, imperatives, values, and relativism and their place in pluralism. I am going to be focusing on all the aforementioned themes and showing how they are all intertwined into the principles of pluralism. What is an absolute? In â€Å"Values and Imperatives,† Locke definesRead MoreEssay on The New Negro by Alain Locke910 Words   |  4 PagesNegro by Alain Locke’s defines what Locke believes to be the â€Å"Old Negro and the â€Å"New Negro. This paper will compare and contrasts Marcus Garvey The Future as I See it and Langston Hughes various poems on why Locke would have characterized them as either Old Negroes, New Negroes, or both. I believe Locke, Garvey , Hughes were determined to see Blacks succeed. Each writer expresses their idea in their own unique way, but they all wanted freedom, equality, and respect. For example, Locke would characterizeRead MoreAlain Locke s The New Negro1400 Words   |  6 PagesThough times have changed, Alain Locke tries to convey that meaning into many of his writings. Alain Locke has been an activist for the many years of the Harlem Renaissance. He spoke forward about how the ancestors of African American referred as the â€Å"Old Negros† and the newer generation referred to as the â€Å"New Negros† took different outlooks on life. American Negros goal in life at this point in time was to change their mentality. But how? Locke had introduced many readers to the vibrant wondrousRead MoreAlain Lockes The New Negro: Aspects of Negro Culture Essay1832 Words   |  8 PagesAlain Locke, in The New Negro, suggests that the old Negro is really nothing more than a myth or an ideal. He talks about the fact that there are aspects of Negro culture - such as the spiritual - that were beaten down but were accepted when finally allowed to emerge. Locke t hen takes a look at some trends, including the tendency toward moving city-ward, and says these are not because of poor or even violent conditions in the south nor of the industry in the north. Instead, he attributes thisRead MoreHigh School Students : A Interview At Alain Leroy Locke1615 Words   |  7 Pagesthat I am potentially interested in working with, which are high school students. The first person I interviewed was a ninth-grade counselor at Alain Leroy Locke College Prepartory Academy. The second person I interviewed was a College Adviser, placed through USC, at Diego Rivera Learning Complex. While the first interview was conducted on site at Locke, the second interview was conducted on campus at USC. For both interviews, I came equipped with my questions already printed out and ready for meRead MoreHigh School Students : A Interview At Alain Leroy Locke1616 Words   |  7 Pagesthat I am potentially interested in working with, which are high school students. The first p erson I interviewed was a ninth-grade counselor at Alain Leroy Locke College Prepartory Academy. The second person I interviewed was a College Adviser, placed through USC, at Diego Rivera Learning Complex. While the first interview was conducted on site at Locke, the second interview was conducted on campus at USC. For both interviews, I came equipped with my questions already printed out and ready for meRead MoreArt or Propaganda? - a comparison between Alain Locke and W.E.B.Dubois5435 Words   |  22 Pages1. Introduction. W.E.B. Dubois and Alain Locke were important contributors to the epoch called Harlem Renaissance. With their writings atrists wanted to do something against racism, they wanted to show that the African - Americans dont have to feel inferior. Writing in the April, 1915, issue of Crisis, DuBois said: In art and literature we should try to loose the tremendous emotional wealth of the Negro and the dramatic strength of his problems through writing ... and other forms of art. WeRead MoreThe Apartheid Of African Americans1083 Words   |  5 Pagesgreat impact in this era was Alain Locke. â€Å"A distinguished African American intellect of his generation was the leading promoter and interpreter of the African Americans to American life. A professor of philosophy, his theory of â€Å"cultural pluralism† valued the uniqueness of different styles and values available within a democratic society† (Alain Locke. World Biography. (n. d.) February 13, 2016). Alain Locke experienced racism during his time. In September 1912, â€Å"Locke had been selected as an assistantRead MoreAnalysis of the New Negro Essay1605 Words   |  7 PagesIn the beginning Alain Locke tells us about the â€Å"tide of negro migration.† During this time in a movement known as the Great Migration, thousands of African-Americans also known as Negros left their homes in the South and moved North toward the beach line of big cities in search of employment and a new beginning. As Locke stated, â€Å"the wash and rush of this human tide on the beach line of Northern city centers is to be explained primarily in terms of a new vision of opportunity, of social and economicRead MoreWhat Is The Negro s Racial Identity?940 Words   |  4 Pagesthe course of these years. In Alain Locke’s essay, The New Negro, he presents the variation of the â€Å"new† and â€Å"old† Negro. On the other hand Langston Hughes essay, The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain, tells how the Negro artist is not true to him/herself because of acceptance. In the writings â€Å"The New Negro† and The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain† racial identity is seen in two contrasting ways among the writers Alain Locke and Langston Hughes. Alain Locke perceives the Negro as becoming