1st Edition

African-American Social and Political Thought 1850-1920

By Howard Brotz, B.William Austin Copyright 1992
    626 Pages
    by Routledge

    628 Pages
    by Routledge

    In bringing together the most characteristic and serious writings by black scholars, authors, journalists, and educators from the years that preceded the modem civil rights movement, 'African-American Social and Political Thought' provides a comprehensive guide to the range and diversity of black thought. The volume offers a deep history of how the terms of contemporary debate over the future of black Americans were formed. The writings assembled here reveal a tension and a thread between two essential poles of thought. These include those voices that clearly projected civic assimilation as the goal of black aspiration, and those who described how this aim would be achieved, as well as nationalist or separatist voices that despaired of ever having a dignified future in a biracial society. These two positions reflect the most fundamental questions faced by any minority group. In his forceful and courageous introduction to this new edition, Howard Brotz relates the thoughts and reflections of these black thinkers to the social and political situation of blacks in America today and argues against the political orthodoxy and sociological determinism that perpetuates the image of the black as a perennial and passive victim. In the scope and quality of its contents, African-American Social and Political Thought is a unique, invaluable source book for cultural historians, sociologists, and students of black history.

    INTRODUCTION TO THE TRANSACTION EDITION
    FOREWORD
    PREFACE
    INTRODUCTION TO THE ORIGINAL EDITION: A GUIDE TO THE MATERIALS

    PART I Emigration

    MARTIN R . DELANY
        The Condition, Elevation, Emigration, and Destiny
            of the Colored People of the United States
            (abridged)
        Official Report of the Niger Valley Exploring
            Party (excerpt)
    EDWARD W. BLYDEN
        The Call of Providence to the D e s c e h t s of
            Africa in America
        The African Problem and the Method of Its Solution
    JAMES T. HOLLY
        A Vindication of the Cafiacity of the Negro Race
            for Self-Government a d Civilized Progress
    ALEXANDER CRUMMELL
        The Relations and Duties of Free Colored Men in
            America to Africa (excerpt)
        The Race Problem in America
    AFRICAN CIVILIZATION SOCIETY
        Constitution

    Part II Assimilation

    HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET
        The Past and the Present Condition, a d the Destiny
        of the Colored Race (excerpt)
    FREDERICK DOUGLASS
        What Are the Colored People Doing for Themselves?
        An Address to the Colored People of the United States
        Prejudice Not Natural
        The Nature of Slavery
        Letter to Harriet Beecher Stowe
        The Claims of the Negro Ethnologically Considered
        The Doom of the Black Power
        Speech on the Dred Scott Decision
        African Civilization Society
        The Present and Future of the Colored Race in America
        What the Black Man Wants
        Address before the Tennessee Colored Agricultural
            and Mechanical Association
        The Civil Rights Case
        The Future of the Negro
        The Future of the Colored Race
        The Nation's Problem
        The Folly of Colonization
    T. THOMAS FORTUNE
        Education
        Political Independence of the Negro
        Solution of the Political Problem
    BOOKER T. WASHINGTON
        The Educational Outlook in the South
        Atlanta Exposition Address
        Our New Citizen
        Democracy and Education
        Address Delivered at Hampton Institute
        Letter to the Louisiana State Constitutional Convention
        An Interview on the Hardwick Bill
        On Making Our Race Life Count in the Life of the Nation
        Early Problems of Freedom
        Progress of the American Negro
        The Negro and the Labor Problem of the South
        The Fruits of Industrial Truining
        The American Negro and His Economic Value
        The Intellectuals and the Boston Mob
        The Mistakes and the Future of Negro Education
        Is the Negro Having a Fair Chance?
        My View of Segregation Laws
    ARCHIBALD H. GRIMKE
        Modern Industrialism and the Negroes of the United States

    PART III Cultural Nationalism

    WILLIAM EDWARD BURGHARDT DU BOIS
        The Conservation of Races
        The Philadelphia Negro (excerpt)
        Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others
        The Talented Tenth
        Declaration of Principles of the Niagara Movement
        Resolutions of the Niagara Movement
        The Evolution of the Race Problem

    PART IV The Revival of Political Nationalism

    MARCUS GARVEY
        Race Assimilation
        The True Solution of the Negro Problem
        An Appeal to the Soul of White America
        Racial Reforms and Reformers
        Who and What Is a Negro?
        An Appeal to the Conscience of the Black Race to See Itself
        The Negro's Place in World Reorganization
        Aims and Objects of Mouement for Solution of Negro Problem
        Racial Ideals
    Sources and Acknowledgments
    Index

    Biography

    Howard Brotz