Close Reading of Harold Cruse

The close reading I chose to focus on was The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual by Harold Cruse. My thesis is that education was the key to the economic advancement of African Americans, not the creative sphere that was prominent during the Harlem Renaissance. Also, this educated New Negro in one who creates for creates a system where others can follow in its footsteps or improve on the existing business. The ability of the New Negro to give back to the African Community is what makes them a New Negro. This book talks about the conflicts that African Americans had to go through in terms of central idea themes during the Harlem Renaissance. The main argument was that since blacks did not control their economic sphere in Harlem, they were not strong in terms of economic control to white counterparts. This is a great addition to my Use of Booker T. Washington because his main goal was for blacks to gain control of the production and become experts at their trade through trade schools to be useful in society. This was, however, combated by W.E.B. Du Bois in the fact that education was a way for blacks to thrive in all fields of human endeavor and not just rely on white patronage for support (40-42). With an education, Du Bois believed that one could create for themselves a foundation for which they could help other people. Cruise brings up prominent players on black businesses as well as white business to show that Harlem was not a predominantly black owned. In my essay, since I am using Chicago as the economic center of black wealth, this argument proves useful because it provides a counter argument that Chicago was the place for black businesses to thrive. Cruse also states that Harlem was more suited to be a cultural center rather than an economic center and that this cultural center is the key to uplifting the identity of African Americans in a time where they were given limited resources and denied access to certain institutions (13-16). Cruse is the segway that brings my argument together.   

Locke and Baldwin analysis

            Alain Locke and Davarian Baldwin both have interesting takes on the African American as the “New Negro”. For Locke, Harlem is the Zion for fleeting southern blacks. He takes an approach similar to that of Marcus Garvey in that he wants the New Negro to draw from their African roots to help define their path.  He also uses the psychology of blacks in relation to their migration form the north to the south to define themselves as new people in the wake of the war. He takes the cause of migration further to say that the move north would repair the psychological damage and warped social perspective (Locke 10). He is saying that the New Negro wishes to be known for whom he is, and not spoken of in a negative light.

            For Baldwin, the new place that Blacks found their place in the renaissance was Chicago. He takes an approach similar to Booker T. Washington in that he gives us numerous accounts of black professionals in the world and how they have carved an economic space for them to thrive in. he mentions people like Jack Johnson, a black boxer who was able to live the way he wanted without racial restrains and Madame C.J. Walker, who made her success through selling cosmetics for blacks, a well needed market that was not previously covered. Baldwin also speaks of the politics of respectability and that Chicago was a place for blacks to fight the negative stereotypes placed on them and thrive in a country where the chips are stacked against them. Locke suggests that it is out of a psychological duty for their minds to be reformed and fixed from the negative stigmas that whites have cause them to believe.

            In terms of art and entrepreneurship, both areas carve out a space for African Americans to have agency over their lives. For example, the black scholar, seer, sage, prophet sings his message; explains why his culture is so rich and firmly planted in the soul of the race (Locke 23). The art illustrates the endeavors that blacks seek in terms of their economic situation and livelihood. Institutions like the Urban League were created to promote the job welfare of blacks and live the dream that was expressed through the arts.

Poem Connection to Warmth of Other Sons

The poem I chose to compare Ida Mae’s beginning encounter with whites was I Too by Langston Hughes. This poem speaks about the existence of a black person in the current situation of what is America. They are treated like second class citizens I which they cannot mingle with the whites. The resourceful African American will bide his time to the day when they will “grow strong” (line7) and be treated as equal and be able to share the same space. They will make the people, who previously made blacks lower than them, feel ashamed of their behavior and see the beauty in the black body, for they “too are American” (line 17).

The story that Ida Mea tells is of the invisible hand that separated whites from blacks in physical space. There was a literal fire wall that separated whites and blacks from walking on the same street. Also, the interesting thing I found was that the parking spaces in front of the bank that she had to pass by were not marked whites only, but they were assumed only for whites to park there. The colored spaced were on the other side of the street by default. Wilkerson points out that this division is what constitutes the invisible hand (Page 31). In particular, Ida Mae had specific dealings with white people. It was mostly her services rendered to the whites and they always made sure she “knew her place” (page 31) as their subordinate and not their equal. In terms of poor treatment, when Ida Mae was six years old, she was harassed by a white blacksmiths two sons that dangled her over a deep well. Thankfully they did not drop her in, but the fact that they did it while their father was not looking shows that they would have felt remorse if their father found out. Ida Mae stated that if she was accidentally dropped, the men would have never said what they did and a dead Ida Mae would be at the bottom of a well, and the people who looked for her would not know where she was or how she got there. This goes back to the poem in that even though she is Black and a child, she still has the same protection rights of every American. She deserves the right to not be harassed and to get help when she needs it. 

1st Blog Entry - Self Assessment

            For my college experience in relation to the Black Studies Major, the first class that opened my eyes was BL ST 1-INTRO African-American Studies. I took this class with professor Lipsitz and read his book The possessive Investment in Whiteness. This book took the racism theories of the past and related them to the present day conditions that still exist in housing and the work place. After taking this class, I knew I wanted to major in BLST because I wanted to find out more about who I was as an educated black man in today’s society. The next class that I took was Critical Intro Race with Professor Johnson. This class was challenging in the fact that it opened my perceptions about face and ethnicity. The Psychology of Blacks was interesting because it offered insight to the thought process behind why blacks act in certain situations. Intro to Caribbean Studies opened my eyes to the global position of Blacks around the world. We started in Haiti and showed the numerous cultures involved around that area. We also learned about the struggle the underdeveloped countries still go through to this very day. The Politics of Black Liberations introduced me to the different ways in which blacks resisted slavery and racial oppression. This class chronicled the beginning of slavery and the punishments of blacks vs. whites and moved all the way to the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. I was able to see racism at its roots, the origins of where it all began. One class that challenged my ideas of my position as a black man in society was Black Feminist Thought. I learned from various feminist thinkers male and female the different points of view in the struggle for complete equality among the genders. The equality that I am talking about is all mental in the fact that men and women should not be held to double standards and should enjoy their sexualities for it is their choice. This choice is what gives people agency and self respect.