Introduction and Development of African American Studies

The Beginnings and Philosophers

African American and the Student Movement

• HBCU students began to challenge racist institution.

• White students wanted to bring “radical” politics from the fringes.

• Events at San Francisco State College

Why So Much Protest Around Education

• American educational professes democracy and meritocracy.

• Education is not only for the mind, but for character as well.

• Economic success is sometimes directly linked to education.

• Race and color are very important socially and politically.

Purpose of African American Studies

• Definition-systematically treats past and present experiences from an African American point of view.

• Scope-from African origin to the present.

• Purpose and Rationale- to correct exclusion

• Objective and uses- positive and productive citizenship, interdisciplinary, foster understanding amongst people.

David Walker and David Walker’s Appeal

(1785-1830)

Sojourner Truth (1797?-1883)

• Born Isabella Baumfree• Experienced harsh

slavery in New York• Escape to Freedom and

Lawsuit• “I am that I am”

attitude• “Ain’t I a Woman”

Maria Stewart (1803-1879)

• Orphaned at 5 and indentured servant

• Widowed very early in marriage.

• Influenced by David Walker’s Appeal

• First Black female political writer

• First woman to speak before a mixed audience

Henry Highland Garnet (1815-1882)

• A different model of Black masculinity

• “Call to Rebellion,” and the call to preach

• Pan-Africanism with American reform

Frederick Douglass (1817-1895)

• Self-taught orator and writer

• Integrationist who did not agree with most Pan-Africanists or Black Nationalists

• Philosophical thought influenced Black Americans for over a century

Booker T. Washington (1856-1915

• Walked 500 miles to get to college

• Founded the Tuskegee Institute

• Preached self-sufficiency and socio-economic success rather than political parity

• Uncle Tom or ultimate trickster?

Anna Julia Cooper (1858-1964)

• Lifelong educator• Believed in college

preparation for all Black children

• Received Ph.D. from the University of Paris at the age of 67

• Fierce critic of Booker T. Washington

Ida B. Wells-Barnet (1862-1931)

• Born in Holly Springs, Mississippi

• First Black woman to own newspaper

• Sued railroad company and won in local courts

• Founding member of the NAACP

Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954)

• Daughter of prominent Mississippian who moved to Memphis, Robert Church

• Active member of the suffrage movement

• First president of the National Association of Colored Women

W.E.B. DuBois (1868-1963)

• Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard. Produced many scholarly works.

• Founder of the NAACP• Explicitly criticized

Booker T. Washington• The Souls of Black Folk

still relevant

Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950)

• Father of Black History• Journal of Negro History• Alternative view to

DuBois and Washington• Physical vestiges of

slavery gone, but what about the mental?

• Mis-Education of the Negro

Alain Leroy Locke (1886-1954)

• Godfather of the Harlem Renaissance

• Helped many young writers get published

• Articulated the “New Negro” philosophical viewpoint

Marcus Garvey (1887-1940)

• Born in Jamaica• A thorn in the side of

Black Intellectuals• Founded United Negro

Improvement Association

• Pride in Blackness• Supporter of Booker T.

Washington’s philosophies

Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960)

• An enigmatic figure of the Harlem Renaissance

• Unashamed of rural Black culture

• Did not support the Civil Rights Movement or integration

• Died in poverty and obscurity

Charles S. Johnson (1896-1956)

• From the “Chicago School” of sociologist

• Least inflammatory of philosophers/sociologist

• Let the statistics and data speak for themselves

• Never achieved anything higher than a bachelor’s

E. Franklin Frazier (1894-1962)

• Also from the “Chicago School” of sociologists

• The Negro Family in the United States

• The Moynihan Report• The Black Bourgeoisie

Other Philosophers

James Baldwin (1924-1987) Toni Morrison (1931)

Major Black Diasporic Philosopher Frantz Fanon

Concepts and Methodology

• First program concept developed by Nathan Hare. It had two phases:

• 1. Expressive or Affective: Scholars of Black Studies must first learn the history

• 2. Pragmatic: Scholars must go out to the community and apply what they have learned.

Kawaida Theory

• Developed by Maulana Karenga• Has seven tenets for a holistic teaching of

Black Studies• A. Umoja (Unity) B.Kujichagulia (Self-

Determination) C. Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) D. Ujamaa (Cooperative Economy) E. Nia (Purpose) F. Kuumba (Creativity) G. Imani (Faith)

Afrocentricity

• Advocated by Molefi Asante• Each race has contributed greatly to mankind

and each race must be given respect. It is as important to study the cultures of Africa and the African Diaspora as the Greeks and Romans.

• Each race, including Africans, has a specific ontology or sense of being.

The Paradox of Americanization

• Does becoming an American mean giving up all traces of ethnic identity?

• Cultural pluralism is meant to improve race and cultural relations while preserving national unity.