Abstract
RACIAL unity, racial pride and racial traditions have been of late subjects of discussions in which passion and prejudice have been more conspicuous than exact knowledge. From Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, one of the smaller privately controlled universities of the United States, we have received a volume of abstracts of theses presented during 1933–34 by candidates for advanced degrees and, among them, a study by a candidate for the doctorate of philosophy of a movement for fostering these elements of culture among a ‘non-Aryan’ group, namely, the American Negro. It seems that since towards the close of the nineteenth century a sustained effort to develop race-conscious feeling so as to achieve “the internal unity and sentimental solidarity necessary to give the race a life more or less separate from other groups” has accompanied a vigorous struggle for recognition and status. Especially in the five years 1910–15, the aims and purposes of the movement became definitely established, a recognised leader emerged and formal machinery for its further promotion was created. At the present time, extensive provision is made by Negro colleges and universities for courses of instruction in Negro life and history, and numerous activities have developed outside the class-room designed to make students better acquainted with Negro tradition: pageants depicting Negro progress and achievement, essay competitions, the celebration of Negro History Week, exhibitions of Negro art and literature and music festivals featuring Negro folk music. By making his history and tradition extensively known outside the community, it is assumed that the Negro will gain a larger measure of recognition and respect from the world at large for his worth and capacity.
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Position of the American Negro. Nature 135, 112–113 (1935). https://doi.org/10.1038/135112d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/135112d0