Literature and history: connections and influences

¶ … tomorrow / Bright before us / Like a flame. (Alain Locke, "Enter the New Negro," 1925)

From the 1920's Alain Leroy Locke has been known as a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Through his writings, his actions and his education, Locke worked to educate not only White America, but also the Negro, about the beauty of the Negro heritage. He emphasized the idea that no single culture is more important than another. Yet it was also important to give sufficient attention to one's own culture and its beauty. This was Locke's philosophy of cultural pluralism.

The White heritage has enjoyed prominence for a large part of American history. During the colonization period, the Whites have emphasized their own superiority while at the same time ensuring that people of other ethnic heritages knew in no uncertain terms their own inferiority. This gave rise to a nearly monocultural America, where all other cultures were oppressed to the point of annihilation. Locke with many of his contemporaries worked to reestablish cultural pluralism through literature, politics and art. Particularly Locke used culture as a weapon to fight against the annihilation of the Black culture. His aim was to educate Americans, bringing home to them the beauty that was Negro culture, and also the fact that cultures could coexist in peace. It was not necessary to make way for a single culture in favor of the richness of pluralism.

Cultural Pluralism and The Harlem Renaissance

Harlem during the 1920's and 1930's was a kind of cultural home, welcoming musicians and other artists from every conceivable race and origin. Musically the blues and jazz were enjoyed by both blacks and whites.

Harlem was then also the birthplace of the idea of the "New Negro," a phrase addressed prominently in the work of Alain Locke. This was a time of rich opportunity for Negroes to make progress in all areas of education and art, including politics, literature and the social sciences. The North had become industrial, and Negroes were driven away from the south by brutal and outdated racist practices such as slavery and institutions such as the Ku Klux Klan.

For the Negro in the South, Harlem and the North appeared to issue a call away from the brutality suffered at the hands of the ignorant, and towards enlightenment, education and prosperity in a non-hostile environment. Cities like New York, Chicago and Detroit all issued the call towards a life filled with unharrassed human rights for the Negro.

And indeed, it appears that Harlem provided all the elements that this call promised. Black and White joined on the dance floors and at the tables of the newest blues and jazz clubs, and it appeared that racial prejudice was non-existent in these settings. However, the deep-rooted racism of White America was difficult to quench. In fact those Whites who did join in the Negro way of fun did so merely out of curiosity.

This was also not a harmless curiosity: it was a sentiment born out of the desire to see the Negro in his primitive environment, characterizing the race's inferior habits of thinking and living[1].

There were however not only hostilities, however subtle, between Black and White, but result of this is that, while many Blacks did indeed find good jobs with good pay, many were also forced to be come factory or domestic workers. Poverty was thus still a reality for many Negroes.

A also between Negro and Negro. While it was true that the African-American could enter any area of life that was open to a White American, it was also true that such opportunities only existed for the rich, or at least those who were fairly well off, whether black or white. Furthermore areas such as the arts, literature and sciences, previously dominated by Whites, were open only to Blacks who repudiated the White lifestyle in terms of mores and manners. This caused a further rift between the middle classes and the poor of the Negro nation. Each group thought the other was betraying the Negro either by acting like White people, or by holding the Black nation back through remaining "common."

Thus, while the original call from the North delivered some of what it promised, the drawbacks were obvious.

Harlem nonetheless remained the center of all Negro hopes and efforts. Writers, dancers, musicians, and those who wanted to effect social change all flocked to Harlem. This was where a Black person had the best chance of reaching his or her goals. These goals ranged from the intensely personal to the altruistically social. Some African-Americans came to Harlem to create better circumstances for themselves, while others came to do the same for those in a less privileged position than themselves.

It was in Harlem that the Renaissance of African-American arts and letters occurred[2]. Harlem was therefore also the heart of all pertaining to African-American life and art during this time. Harlem was thus both the physical and symbolic home of African-American hopes, dreams and efforts during the 1920's and 1930's.

Thus referred to as the "Harlem Renaissance." Harlem was also the main setting in most African-American literature of the time.

The era referred to as the Harlem Renaissance is characterized by an artistic, cultural and social treatment of racial issues in writing. This dealt both with issues of race and racism, as well as the African-American as a person attempting to find a place in American life. Together with the growth in literary consciousness there was also a social awakening. Social criticism, protest and the growing presence of the Negro in politics are all developments that reached fruition during this time.

Specifically, the novel Cane by Jean Toomer, published in 1923 mark the beginning of the Harlem Renaissance for many critics. With its investigation of lower class life in African-American culture, the novel further explores areas such as the spiritual and psychological slavery to which the Negro has been subjected. The idea of the "New Negro" who has lost sight of the spiritual Negro heritage in his pursuit of the American Dream in terms of material things. Furthermore Toomer insisted on treating the subject of Negro life with dignity and respect, as well as realism. This aesthetic was followed by subsequent Harlem Renaissance writers.

This is the environment in which Alain Locke lived and worked. His ideal of cultural pluralism was integrated in his involvement with visual arts, literature and also the theatre movement[3]. Through these, Locke attempted an educational effort. On the one hand, through encouraging Negro artists to draw on their cultural heritage for their material, Locke attempted to show the rest of the country the beauty of this heritage. On the other hand, Locke's educational effort was directed towards the African-American nation itself, showing them the beauty of their

Locke was associated with the Theatre Arts Monthly known as the Howard University Players. Furthermore his work in collaboration with Montgomery Gregory resulted in the anthology Plays of Negro Life, published in 1927.

A roots. In this way Locke's ideal of cultural pluralism is connected with Toomer's ideas of realism of presentation, as well as the dignity of ethnic heritage.

The Harlem Renaissance was a time of hope for the African-American. Alain Locke promoted the Negro's rediscovery of self in order to be free from past fictions cultivated by brutal colonists. In this way the Negro could find a new integrity, as promoted by Toomer's and subsequent literature. In this way both individual self-assertion and an assertion of the validity of the Negro race resulted from this rediscovery.

Locke, while attending Howard University, refuses to shy away from the issues closest to the heart of his people. Through public lectures he thus addresses the issue of race. Unlike other critics [4] of the term, Locke refuses to hide behind a deconstruction effort for the term "race" itself. Instead he insists on the integrity and the existence of race as a sociocultural reality. Instead of searching for global criteria with which to judge the entire human race, Locke opts for a pluralistic philosophy. He acknowledges the obvious differences in race and heritage as not only acceptable, but desirable and beautiful for their difference. Locke however goes further than merely biological difference. Instead he focuses his pluralistic view upon culture. His conception of race is nourished by cultural heritage, and thus he brings the concept away from biological differentiation to a differentiation of culture itself.

This approach makes the concept of race as a cultural issue more complex than race as a biological issue. Scientifically, race can be defined in clear boundaries. This is not possible

Many social critics have attempted to deconstruct the term "race," claiming that it is a relic of an unequal past.

A when race is considered in cultural terms. When considered thus, race can be moulded according to ever-changing cultural ideals, rather than remaining rigid in its conception. Locke strongly promotes the categorization of race as a cultural rather than a biological notion. Thus he attempts to bring the concept into an active participation rather than a complacent acceptance of circumstances. In this way Locke emphasizes the hope of the Harlem Renaissance by basing the concept of race on culture and a function of intellect, rather than as a passive result of nature. Thus the Negro transcends the imposed concept of natural inheritence to instead focus on the self-generating concept of cultural inheritance.

It is from this argument that Locke derives the idea of race that is attached to meanings given by human beings in a sociocultural context rather than by nature. Locke combines this concept with physical science when he addresses the race issue in his essay, "The Problem of Race Classification." Here he reveals the shortcomings of science to provide proper criteria according to which race can be classified. Instead Locke stands by the rediscovery of the Negro of the self as a cultural and beautiful entity. Instead of merely physical difference, Locke insists on including culture and spirituality in his concept of race. Thus it is important to him to empower the Negro nation through the beauty of their culture rather than the misery that is perceived as their inheritance through biology.

This distinction is however far from clear, but Locke bravely persists in his view that race is a concept worthy of consideration despite the fact that science and philosophy fail to offer adequate definitions of it. Often such failed definitions of the concept result in an attempt to abandon the term entirely. However, this also is not acceptable to Locke, who condemns it as complacent and refuses to participate as a result of his deep respect and love for his culture, according to which he defines himself and his people. Thus the concept of race assumes a new meaning for Locke. The cultural meaning of race is thus embedded within the Harlem Renaissance, and within the new consciousness cultivated by the Renaissance.

Locke therefore pronounces race admittedly meaningless in terms of the sciences of both biology and semantics, but profoundly meaningful in terms of social thinking and modern culture. To this effect, Locke states:

I am fundamentally convinced that the term "race," the thought of race, represents a rather fundamental category in social thinking and that it is an idea that we can ill dispense with. In fact[,] the more thought of the right kind [that] can be centered in it, the more will the term [race] itself be redeemed. In light of its rather unfortunate history, the only way to treat the subject scientifically is to regard it as a center of meaning.[5]

In terms of both meaning and category then, the concept of race is highly charged while also being highly ambiguous, as seen above. This, according to Locke, is a good thing. It forces the academic to look at the term not only through scientific and defective criteria, but also in terms of its sociocultural context. In this way a clearer and more accurate meaning might be Alain Locke, "The Problem of Racial Classification" in Harris, ed., The Philosophy of Alain Locke: Harlem Renaissance and Beyond, (1989), pp. 165-173.

A arrived at. This helps the aim of the Renaissance and of Locke himself, in bringing home to all Americans the pluralistic quality that might be found in the concept of race. Indeed, the very fact that race is so difficult to define in terms of science points to pluralism. In this way Locke abandons the physical sciences in favor of a philosophical analysis of race in terms of culture.

Locke thus defines race in terms of society and culture. Race as a concept, according to Locke, is directly related to the human emotions and actions that take place around it. White American prejudice against African-Americans for example has long turned this race into an inferior sociocultural construct. This race has been perceived as inferior both by the White race and by themselves to some extent. What Locke is trying to bring home to his audiences is that the concept, being social and dependent upon human beings, is as pliable and subject to change as human beings themselves. In the human celebration of culture that Harlem was therefore, race could be celebrated instead of used as a construct to oppress a physical type perceived as inferior.

Locke emphasizes the idea of the "white" lie of race. This lie refers not to the belief that races exist, but rather the idea that the biological view of race is the only one. Her pluralism is carried further. There are many races, many cultures, and many views that may be applied to each race and each culture. Racism is indeed the result of such a singular biological view of race. Locke acknowledges the changes inherent in the Harlem Renaissance when he asserts:

Thus race has become a social rather than a biological inheritance for Locke. Race is then deconstructed as well as reconstructed, much as the concept of the Negro during the Harlem Renaissance. It is therefore through the change in social climax that the cultural concept of view becomes flexible. The Negro commands a new kind of respect during the Harlem Renaissance. No longer is the Negro good only for slave or factory labor. While there is still a large amount of racism prevalent during this time, it is also true that the social construct of race is changing, and therefore also the concept of race itself. In this way Locke's view of race as a flexible concept is proved through the actual evidence of the Harlem Renaissance, and even beyond that. Race as a negative concept is thus weakened through changes in the American culture that entails a more positive view of pluralism through the pioneering work of people like Locke.

Locke therefore focuses his concept of race on a number of collective practices, values and interests. These are transferred from one generation to the next, and should be preserved for their uniqueness and their beauty. He does not promote conforming to a race different from one's own in order to make headway in a world where White culture has dominated to the exclusion of all others. Instead his pluralism focuses on the beauty that may be found in the above mentioned practices and values that are different among the different races, and that should not be viewed as either inferior or superior as a result. Locke condemns the tendency to conform to standards beyond one's own ethnic origin for the sole purpose of acquiring the things promised by the call of the North.

Again, race as a stagnant physical notion is replaced by a dynamic cultural definition. Of course traditions and values also change with time, but would do so differently among the different cultures. Change in ethnic culture does not mean integrating different cultures to create a homogeneous culture. These changes occur in various ways within each unique culture. This uniqueness is what Locke was trying to preserve.

Locke has been criticized by various theorists for attempting to replace the concept of race with ethnicity. However, Locke does not reject the idea of obvious physical difference. Instead, his style of thinking about race differs from the essentialist physical view. To Locke, being African-American does not mean only the differentiated color of one's skin, although that is the primarily determining factor. What he asserts is that culture and race go hand in hand and should not be separated from each other as concepts. Human beings cannot be classified merely according to their physical difference. The cultural heritage should also be taken into account in terms of shared values, goals and agreements. The problem that Locke addresses here is the view that people are either superior or inferior as a result of their skin color. This makes such inferiority or superiority very permanent and focused on biological difference. What Locke calls for here is a more positive and flexible view. Just as cultural heritage is determined by each generation successively and in different ways, so individuals within Locke's model are allowed opportunities and choices that are as flexible as the times that they lived in.

In short, Locke aimed to turn the concept of the African-American into a people rather than a problem. If race could be seen in terms of heritage which is different but beautiful, it would be possible to view people of different races not so much with a condescending curiosity as with a healthy interest.

Thus, Locke's ideal of race building was integrated in his work with Black writers, scholars and artists of the New Negro Movement during the Harlem Renaissance. Locke was a mentor to many of these artists, helping them to effect the social change that was such a dire need at the time. He therefore supported and advocated the Black visual arts. His views of ethnicity and race are evident in his insistence that the Black artist draw from his or her African roots for themes. Those who subscribed to this ideal were referred to as Africanists or Neo-Primitives[6]. Through art the beauty of the Negro heritage is brought home not only to strengthen Negro culture and ethnicity, but also to educate White America about a beauty other than its own. This is the effect of Locke's dual educational purpose.

Locke's approach, referred to as the "Africanist approach did not only include the visual arts. Specifically, he promoted the development of the folk play in Black drama. He insists on an adherence to African roots in order to give these art forms the meaning that they deserve and the meaning that they hold for the African-American. This is especially important during the Harlem Renaissance, since the African drama at the time is at its infancy stage. This art form is thus representative of the African-American culture of the time. Negro consciousness is in a stage of growth and development, together with its concepts of culture. There is a need during the Harlem Renaissance to focus such growth on the heritage that has been denied for too long. This is where the drama that focuses on African themes and traditions help.

Artists working in this tradition during the 1920's and 1930's include Hale Woodruff, James Lesesne Wells, Aarand Douglas, and Sargent Johnson. Locke did all in his power to promote and encourage these young artists, in support of his view that they were the future of the African-American heritage.

Through his involvement in education and the arts then, Locke was a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance. He brought home to both the African-American and White America the beauty and joy that could be found in respecting different cultures within the same nation.

Locke's Use of Culture

From the above it is clear that Locke's ideal of ethnicity was connected with his ideal of culture. He used the concept of culture as a weapon, as it were, to fight against monoculturalism and racism. With this his contribution to philosophy, art and culture he claimed the respect of American society as a whole, across boundaries of color and race.

It has been seen that the focus of Locke's effort was through his involvement in African-American art and philosophy. He worked to identify, nurture and publish the work of young African Writers. This kept the force of his motivation strong within the New Negro movement.

The concept of the "New Negro" was a cultural ideal during the Harlem Renaissance. This is also reminiscent of the idea that culture and ethnicity are flexible concept. The Negro's concept of self was changing during this time. There was an effort to claim worthiness for a suppressed culture and its art forms. This is what Locke worked to cultivate. And therefore also the "New Negro" is a guiding ideal of much creative work during this time.

The "New Negro" was both an individual and social concept. In terms of individuality the New Negro found possibilities of ambition and opportunity that were unavailable previously. Culturally the concept is connected with ethical ideals focusing on a sense of group and social cohesiveness, striving together for recognition in terms of ethnicity and culture. Thus individual artists work together for the enhancement and empowerment of the African-American. In transforming the individual artist, African-American art also serves to transform the attitudes of the audience. The aim was thus to educate, to enlighten and to empower. His most powerful work towards this aim is The New Negro, published in 1925. Through this anthology Locke both popularizes and defines the central concept of the Harlem Renaissance as a movement in Black arts and letters.

Alain Locke's cultural and artistic influence however does not focus only on the Harlem Renaissance period. He works well beyond this period, until his death in 1954, to empower the African-American as well as to enlighten and educate the rest of America.

It is clear from Locke's life that his involvement in culture is used as a tool to empower and educate not only others but also himself. Activities that he was involved with throughout his life for example include the following. He annually published a review of literature and scholarship on the Negro from 1928 until 1953, the year of his death. During these years he also provided a service as visiting professor to various universities including the Universities of Wisconsin and California, the City College of New York, and the New School of Social Science in New York. Furthermore he was a guest professor at the Harvard Academic Festival in Salzburg. Locke provided summer workshops at Sarah Lawrence College, as well as at the Chicago, Northwestern and Syracuse Universities. These were conducted in collaboration with social anthropologist Bernard Stern, under the auspices of the Progressive Education Association. Locke also lectured in Latin America, Haiti and throughout the United States. His overseas travels included Africa, Paris and Rome. His writings found publication in magazines and journals such as The Crisis, Opportunity, and Phylon. As editor he served on the boards for The American Scholar, Progressive Education and the Conference on Science, Philosophy, and Religion. Locke used his expertise in his membership of several associations, including the American Philosophical Association, the International Institute of African Languages and Cultures, as well as the Academie des Science Coloniales in Paris.

Alain Locke clearly lived according to his philosophy of continual empowerment and rediscovery of himself. With his cultural involvements, he taught the African-Americans the value of their heritage, and the Whites the beauty of this heritage. Locke is thus the epitome of what it means to be an African-American in the United States, effectively using the roots of his culture to both educate and entertain. He also represents the possibilities that have opened for people of any culture in this society. This was then also the focus of much of his work in Adult education.

Adult Education

Alain Locke's life spans a significant period of time. He was for example born in 1886, during the post-reconstruction era, and died in 1954, a month before the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. During his lifetime he experienced the privilege of a quality education, while at the same time being very aware of the realities of racism in early 20th century America. Above it has been seen that his life was to a great degree devoted to education as well as enlightenment. Specifically a large amount of his effort was also focussed towards adult education issues.

Together with his leadership during the New Negro movement in the 1920's, Locke is also recognized as a leading figure representing the African-American in the adult education movement of the 1930's.

In this area, Locke as sponsored by the American Association for Adult Education and the Carnegie Corporation. In 1946-1947 he further served his ideals as adult educator as the president of the American Association for Adult Education. During this time Locke addressed the issue of adult education through a number of speeches and writings. Two of these are considered below in order to identify Locke's philosophies on this issue.

Negro Needs as Adult Education Opportunities. [7]

This speech was held before an interracial audience at a conference on Negro adult education. Locke's argument addresses the Negro as a human being like everybody else, but also as a person with certain ethnically connected needs. He asserts that Negroes, like all other Americans need adult education. The variation factor comes in with the emphasis and degree of this need. Because the Negro has been oppressed during much of the United States history, educational opportunities were not many. Thus there exists a need to address the shortcomings of an educational system that has marginalized the Negro, through giving special attention to the Negro's more intense degree of need for a quality education.

Locke however emphasizes that such an opportunity should not merely be a more intense degree of existing education in White America. Instead the special requirements of the Negro adult students includes the advancement of group solidarity within the Negro nation, as well as pp. 254-261 Findings of the First Annual Conference on Adult Education and the Negro, held at Hampton Institute, Virginia, October 20-22, 1938 under the auspices of the AAAE, the Extension Department of Hampton Institute, and the Associates in Negro Folk Education.

A the improvement of the "attitudinal" outlook. This means that an attitude of lack, depression and dependence has been cultivated in the Negro due to the oppressive system of the past. This needs to be addressed through cultivating a new attitude of hope and possibility. While this has been cultivated by the New Negro movement, there is also a need to address the change of attitude in educational institutions. Group solidarity and an improvement of morale are key factors to the success in improving general knowledge and skill for the Negro nation. Locke thus marries his idea of cultural importance with the importance of education for empowerment.

The Need for a New Organon in Education[8].

In 1950 many criticized the negative influence of progressive education. To counter this criticism, Locke calls for an entirely new vision in the field of education. He identifies the problem as being two-fold. On the one hand there is the problem of integrating disparate and specialized areas of knowledge, and on the other hand focalizing approaches in education serve to homogenize education to the exclusion of culturally important education.

These problems refer to the specialization in education, which as it were has separated theory from practice. Through this there is a separation of theoretical knowledge from the problems and routines of everyday life. This results in a loss of cultural values, as well as the skill to apply acquired knowledge in a practical and useful way. The problem is exacerbated by pp. 265-276. Goals for American Education, Ninth Symposium of Conference on Science, Philosophy and Religion (New York: conference on Science, Philosophy and Religion, 1950. pp. 201-212.

A the tendency to increase specialization and skill development. According to Locke, the aim of education should be to develop a critical attitude, where students are taught to think, rather than to learn and accept passively.

Locke does not call for the replacement of theoretical knowledge, but rather for using and dealing with this knowledge in a different way. It is therefore important for Locke to integrate elements of everyday life and culture in the educational process. In this way students can apply their general knowledge to new knowledge. Locke refers to this approach as "critical relativism," and is in opposition to neutrality and objectivity. It is therefore important to bring life to the educational process by including subjective values important to the individual and to culture.

From the above it is clear that Locke attaches a large amount of importance to understanding culture. When this is accomplished, theoretical knowledge can be acquired with the basis of this understanding, rather than excluding culture altogether. In education therefore, just like in life, the emphasis in on the beauty as well as the educational use that might be found in cultural pluralism.

Better Understanding through Literature

Locke's influence in the literary world has been briefly mentioned above. In this section, a variety of his works and contributions to conferences is considered in order to show how he uses his work to accomplish his educational and social goals.

The New Negro

The New Negro, an anthology edited by Alain Locke, was published in 1925. Some refer to it as the manifesto of the New Negro Movement[9], as it clearly explained and defined this phenomenon within the Harlem Renaissance. The issue of the Survey Graphic magazine in which the anthology appeared in March 1925 drew upon a large number of poets illustrators and essayists to express the Negro spirit of the time. The Survey Graphic magazine was a professional journal devoted to social work. Extensively illustrated, it acquainted its general readership with social problems prevalent in their world.

Locke's emphasis in this particular issue, as mentioned above, is upon the importance for these artists to draw upon their African roots for material. The publication of The New Negro establishes Locke as the leading theoretician within the New Negro Movement. The original essay by Locke as it appears in the magazine later serves as the introduction to the publication of the anthology The New Negro: An Interpretation. Five of Locke's essays are included in the anthology, and touched upon several important issues of both culture and education. These include the development of black musicians, as well as schools such as Fisk and Howard.

Through the endorsement of Locke, and the dedication of the artists, this issue of the magazine forced critics to at least begin taking Black writing and art seriously. In fact, the anthology is designed with drawings, decorations, and reproductions of African artwork to reach

11 This anthology first appeared as a special issue (March 1925) of the Survey Graphic magazine, which was devoted entirely to Harlem.

A an educated, enlightened audience. This audience was composed of both Black and White readers, all of whom read out of interest and concern rather than out of the above-mentioned shallow curiosity.

The New Negro also served the purpose of cultural solidarity by uniting Black artists in their efforts under the leadership of Locke. With this in mind Locke refers to himself as a "philosophical midwife" in the struggle that is undertaken by these artists during the Harlem Renaissance.

The New Negro is then the work through which Locke establishes in the minds of both Black and White America the worthiness and beauty of the Negro culture.

Race Contacts and Interracial Relations[10].

Race Contacts and Interracial Relations is a collection of lectures delivered by Locke during 1915 and 1916. Locke gave the lectures in response to his failed attempt to introduce a course in race at Howard University, where he was initially a student. The course proposal was rejected by the University board, who were both conservative and predominantly white. This marks his early struggle for equality and recognition of the Negro as a worthy part of intellectual society.

The lectures are the root of Locke's critique of race as a biological construct. Locke 10 Moorland-Spingarn series edited by J.C. Stewart. Howard University Press. 1992. The series was originally entitled, "The Theoretical and Scientific Conceptions of Race." addresses the problem that this rigid view implies. Race as a biological construct is unchangeable. Thus all social issues regarding race are also difficult to change, since they are seen from the basis of unchangeable physical characteristics. This is the central theme that binds the lectures together, while each lecture addresses a specific subject relating to the social construct of race.

Locke vigorously criticizes the biological concept of race as an excuse to justify the racist policies in the United States of the time. In order to combat this view then, Locke offers his conception of race as a socially constructed idea, defined rather by innate human qualities such as interest and history than by surface physical qualities. Furthermore he proposes the development of a positive race consciousness, which in its turn would empower Negroes to become productive members of society.

In this way Locke uses non-inflammatory discourse in order to focus his ideas on Black empowerment rather than on a complaint about the system that has promoted the oppression of the Negro for years. He treats his subject with respect, while also treating his listeners with an honest respect, wanting no more than to show them the fact that preconceived and rigid ideas about race are becoming out of date.

The second lecture, entitled "The Political and Practical Conceptions of Race" considers the concepts of Social Darwinism, European imperialism, and American support of western imperialism. Through these Locke explains how race as a biological construct is used to dominate people of color.

The third lecture, "The Phenomena and Laws of Race Contacts," considers race relations. Locke here considers the similarities of the concepts "race" and "class." In society both concepts are used to forge structural relations in society. Race and class are equally flexible as concepts and constructs in society, yet it is difficult or almost impossible for people of a certain race or class to change their social status. Often race and class are synonymous in social consciousness with status. In this letter Locke also refers to Robert Park, a sociologist of American ethnicity and Race contact.

The fourth lecture, "Modern Race Creeds and their Fallacies" addresses more directly the rejection of Locke's proposal. The lecture critiques scholarship as it was structured during the 1920's.

Locke here interestingly focuses on ancient societies and their prejudices, comparing them to contemporary America and its use of "race" to describe color differences. Locke shows that the way in which race is used as a concept in contemporary society is more flexible than people may be prepared to think. In fact, this concept is merely the aberration of political and social oppression, including systems such as slavery.

The final lecture, "Racial Progress and Race Adjustment" calls for a change in attitude that would allow for the growth of the Negro as a person who is an asset to society. Locke here not only addresses the change of attitude in White America, but mostly concentrates on the changes necessary in the Negro. He calls both for understanding from the Whites and also for a cultivation of pride in African-Americans. This, together with the correct education, is critical for the development of race pride.

Values and Imperatives[11]

In this paper Locke presents his philosophical arguments for value pluralism. Value pluralism, as opposed to race pluralism, refers to widely different but peacefully coexisting systems of values that differ from race to race. This is a continuation of Locke's idea of race as a set of pliable beliefs and creeds. Locke here refines and extends his doctoral thesis. He draws on influences of the pragmatist William James and the idealist Josiah Royce.

Locke here argues for the equality of all philosophies, as they are expressions derived from the lives of human beings as social entities. Philosophies and creeds live as their creators do, changing, improving and dying at various times. Thus Locke calls for the rejection of metaphysical absolutism, which dictates that the race and class concept is unchangeable. Valuation, a term used to include values, attitudes and beliefs, is more important to Locke, as this implies a process during which values change and move among the different generations and different times. The assertion is therefore that values can be understood without attaching the concept to an absolutist construct.

Locke goes further to explain the characteristics of philosophies as they are attached to social climate. Philosophy contains values - either implicit or explicit. An example is positivism with its value directive of neutrality. This philosophy is opposed to traditional values, and in turn creates its own set of values to do so. These are referred to as countervalues. In connecting such value directives with the people that create them, Locke's apparently

11 pp. 31-50. In American Philosophy Today and Tomorrow, edited by Horace M. Kallen and Sidney Hook. New York: Lee Furman, 1935. pp. 312-333.

A contradicting argument is that logical or rational valuation depends upon feelings and emotions. The consequence of this is also central to positivism: the blurring of the fact-value distinction. In other words, facts, being interpreted and created by human society, cannot be only objective observations and reports with regard to reality. Instead valuation should be understood in terms of what people with feelings see around them, how they react to what they see, and how they interpret this reaction. In this way both the facts and values attached to any "reality" are open to interpretation and change. This then brings back into play the malleable concept of race. The concept is changeable in terms of philosophy and interpretation. Race is not connected to a single set of meanings. Instead there are many meanings that can be interpreted in many ways, according to social values and the particular generation considering this concept.

Pluralism and Intellectual Democracy[12]

This paper contains the core of Locke's philosophy about the world that he lives in and his ideals. Locke here promotes pluralism in favor of a uniform and universal philosophy. According to Locke, all instances of racism and social injustice is the result of the belief that there is a single correct philosophy that should be followed by and imposed upon everybody. This absolutist stance in both politics and philosophy is the subject of Locke's lifelong opposition. Instead Locke promotes the idea of value relativism to combat these oppressive systems.

Value relativism is born of the observation that different cultures hold different values, as a result of understanding the world in different ways. It follows that imposing single systems of pp. 51-66. Originally published in the proceedings of the Conference on Science, Philosophy and Religion, Second Symposium, 1942. This article was presented during the first months of the American involvement in World War II.

I thought or politics on all persons are unjust and would result in conflict. Instead Locke calls for intellectual democracy, in which value relativism is recognized rather than an oppressive single thought system. He proposes that independent thought is necessary for independent living.

Locke takes his point further in warning his audience of the trap of hypocritical pluralism that is nothing more than concealed absolutism. It is for example possible for a person to propose pluralism while still holding inert values of intolerance or fundamentalism. Locke refers to this as an uncritical intolerance. The trap is uncritical acceptance of absolute beliefs. This has its roots in religious absolutism, but has grown to include secular and political beliefs as well. The possibility of such a concealed absolutism was particularly poignant during the time the article was presented.

According to Locke the task of promoting a truly democratic way of life and thinking is the responsibility of intellectuals. Orthodoxies and claims to absolute truth can intellectually be challenged and broadened to eventually be replaced by a greater intercultural sensitivity, as well as an appreciation for the beauty of different colors.

Cultural Relativism and Ideological Peace[13]

In this article Locke carries his philosophy of cultural relativism even further, and uses it in the hope of contributing to world peace. War is the result of ideological difference. Locke calls for greater understanding between differential ideologies with the help of cultural

13 pp. 69-78 published in Approaches to World Peace, ed. Lyman Bryson, Louis Finfelstein, R.M. MacIver. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1944. pp. 609-618 relativism.

Cultural dominance through arbitrary cultural attitudes and perspectives, as well as the exploitation of differences in both ideology and culture tend to threaten peace between various groups of people. If an philosophy of cultural relativism is adopted, however, the possibility for peace is greater through greater understanding. Absolutism and dogmatism are opposed by this philosophy, and intercultural understanding is promoted. Thus peace can be promoted if this ideal is taught. To teach this ideal, Locke once again calls upon scholars and teachers. By changing the way in which education is presented, scholars can change the ideal that is brought home to a nation of academics.

In order to achieve this, Locke proposes that a program of cultural relativism be implemented. To this end, three principles of intercultural relations are suggested: cultural equivalence: the idea of equivalent values and meanings across different cultures; cultural reciprocity: the idea that values and meanings are conditional and as such correlate with other cultures; and limited cultural convertibility: the idea that meanings and values can be understood across cultures, although to a limited extent. These concepts lie at the basis of cultural relativism.

Other Literature Promoting the New Negro Movement

Other works that appeared to promote the New Negro Movement during the Harlem Renaissance include Du Bois's "Of Our Spiritual Strivings" (chapter I of The Souls of Black Folk); Langston Hughes's "When the Negro Was in Vogue"; Johnson's The Autobiography of an ex-colored Man.

Locke was a member of the American intellectual community and as such was able to bring home to both the intellectual and the underprivileged the advantages of pluralism. The intellectual community respected him because of his accomplishments, while the African-American community respected him because he never forgot his roots, and indeed strove to strengthen the bond of all African-Americans with their roots. The issues that Locke addressed were thus of national concern, and can as such be connected with Bourne's "Transnational America."

Locke's views correlate well with Bourne's cosmopolitanism, his notion of a "trans-nationality" and a "federation of cultures." Both Locke's and Bourne's views are deeply rooted in a sense of cultural pluralism.

In this way, through actively seeking to educate all Americans about the beauty and worthiness of the African-American heritage as a subject for art, Locke embodies the connection between both worlds. Respected by both the intellectual and the laborer of all races, Alain Locke serves as a messenger to all. He brings back the beauty of the Negro to the American consciousness. In helping other artists to return to their roots, he also helps them to bring his message of pluralism across to the rest of the American culture. In this way Locke uses culture and art to support and promote the African-American heritage. Perhaps this helped in some way towards greater acceptance for him, his contemporaries, and also those who came after him.