Alain Locke’s “The New Negro”: Redefining Black Identity in the Great Migration

Summary of Alain Locke’s “The New Negro”

The New Negro’ had the primary duty of being equal to the white race. Blacks changed their complete appearance as a result of the Great Migration influence. Alain Locke is an American writer, philosopher, educator, and arts patron. He received his education from Harvard and Oxford University and is esteemed as the first Black Rhodes Scholar. Locke is also famous for the writing of “The New Negro”. Alain Locke’s essay, “The New Negro” (1925), discusses how Black people attempted to be just as equal to whites.

Alain Locke writes of the New Negro as an alternative path forward in the unfortunate and frustrating race relations of the early 20th century in America. Locke views the Black American population not as a branch of white society but as a world culture: an outsider to white American society. Therefore, instead of attempting to blend in, the path forward was a proud folk movement of arts and literature. Locke further discusses this concept by exploring cultural groupings and how the pride in Black identity could help mold America’s way of looking at diversity.

The New Negro: A Cultural Renaissance

Locke also discusses this notion by exploring racial pluralism and how Black culture’s identity could help reshape America’s attitude towards diversity. In a way, Locke sees culture as fundamentally false and believes that by promoting the uniqueness and creativity of the “New Negro” society will understand the importance of different points of view. Concentrating particular attention on the city of Harlem, where the Black communities started a movement for new racial identity and culture. He concludes the thesis by describing how the Black American’s situation has been changed, shedding light on the hope for a better future.

Although it is claimed that African Americans are to change to be “white” and have to act a certain way, Locke believes that the ‘New Negro’is different. According to Locke, The Black Man is a world citizen, and his cultural expression is an essential aspect of American culture and is not to be condemned due to fear of not fitting in.

Secondly, Locke states, “Why should our minds remain sectionalized, when the problem itself no longer is?” (Locke 3). The quotation concerns the alleged ‘Negro question’ after the Civil War when Black people stopped being identified with the South alone and spread to the entire American region. Mass migrations of Black people to the North and Midwest caused many problems in these regions, primarily due to the uncertainty and stereotyping of people against them. They profoundly changed the country as they affected all aspects of social life, from art and entertainment to innovations in trade and government. They have spread throughout the country and have shaped it in both positive and negative respect.

Migration, Transformation, and Identity

The author makes his readers think about the core issue and opens broader minds within his community. Secondly, the author states the fact that “In the very process of being transplanted, The Negro is becoming transformed” (Locke 3). Rather than thinking of the Old Negro as a single person, Locke aptly calls it the way it is. The philosophy of ‘New Negro’ does not even dignify Black people as humans but as abstract ideas, objects, or a formula. Locke wants to start from scratch, so instead of thinking about the Old Negro as an individual, he attributes the Old Negro to the culture’s inability to speak about racial reconciliation effectively.

Lastly, the author expresses that as Blacks are migrating to places like the North, it is also forming them into different people or, as Locke would put it, “A New Negro”. Instead of binding the New Negro to a set of rules or instructions for conduct, Locke gives the Black American a true identity during the Great Migration. In promoting pride in black culture and heritage as a folk community, Locke aims to inspire blacks to be who they are instead of conforming and acting like others to be treated equally and rather than using a false lifestyle that could frankly confuse whites into believing that they are in the same situation as them.

In conclusion, Locke’s essay explains common issues and upsides within the Great Migration. It turns to an overview of the past and future, the ‘Old World,’ and the ‘New World,’ concentrating particular attention on the city of Harlem, where the black communities started a search for new racial identity and culture. He concludes the thesis by discussing how the Black American’s situation has been changed, shedding light on the hope for a better future.

Reference

1. Locke, A. (1925). The New Negro. Publisher Press.

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