Showing papers in "Journal of Black Studies in 1983"
TL;DR: At the Bellagio Conference on African Communication, this paper argued that there were three broad views of cultural reality: Afrocentric, Eurocentric, and Asiocentric (Asante, 1980a).
Abstract: At the Bellagio Conference on African Communication I advanced the position that there were three broad views of cultural reality: Afrocentric, Eurocentric, and Asiocentric (Asante, 1980a). Although it is possible to make more precise delineations, the basic tenets of my position have been enhanced by the work of Ruch and Anyanwu (1981). The philosopher Anyanwu argues correctly that Afrocentricity makes no sharp distinction between the ego and the world, subject and object. He says, "In the conflict between the self and the world, African culture makes the self the center of the world. Since the African world is centered on the self, every experience and reality itself is personal." Not only has my position been substantiated by other fields, it has become even more self-evident that the cultural differences we face in the world are rooted in different views of reality. The African world shares a common approach to phenomena.1 Even a term like "person" or "human" means something
69 citations
TL;DR: The traditional role of African cultural education-that of bridging the gap between the adult generation and youth-is gradually giving way to the development of "creative" individuals who are completely removed from their traditions as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Politicians, educators, and other observers have attributed the increasing deterioration of intergenerational communication in Africa and other parts of the world to systems of education introduced by Western colonial powers. The traditional role of African cultural education-that of bridging the gap between the adult generation and youth-is gradually giving way to the development of "creative" individuals who are completely removed from their traditions. But as David Scanlon points out in his work, Traditions of African Education, in education "tradition is inescapable, whether one reaffirms it or repudiates it" (Scanlon, 1964). In Africa's continuous effort to decolonize her societies, it may be necessary to recall the caution in Ralph Perry's dictum that
53 citations
TL;DR: The earliest forms of African family organization recreated in America by enslaved blacks represented both a syncretization and an adaptation of certain universal features to the realities and demands of slave life.
Abstract: Recent and contemporary scholarship on Afro-American history by Woodson (1936), Herskovits (1941), Blassingame (1979), Genovese (1974), and Gutman (1976) has revealed that the earliest forms of African family organization recreated in America by enslaved blacks represented both a syncretization and an adaptation of certain universal features to the realities and demands of slave life. Among the African patterns that were transplanted and transformed by Afro-American slaves were consanguineal kin groupings ("kin networks"), husbandwife relations, sibling bonds, socialization practices, patterns of exogamy, marriage rules and rituals, naming practices, relationships between alternate generations (i.e., grandparents and grandchildren), patterns of respect and deference, and the extension of kinship terminology to elders throughout the community (Sudarkasa, 1980: 52). Despite the evident survival of such "Africanisms" among American slaves there has been a stubborn resistance on the part of many scholars to make such an admission. Most often the argument follows the view expressed by Elkins (1976: 90, 98-102) that there was so "much cultural diversity among the African tribes involved in the slave trade" that it is impossible
45 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a teacher was asked what he was going to do with Johnny Jones, a poor family with no father, and what do you expect? You know, poor families behave the way they behave anyway.
Abstract: Teacher A: I don't know what I'm going to do with Johnny Jones. He was just impossible today. Teacher B: Well, what do you expect? You know, he comes from a poor family with no father, and that's the way they behave anyway. Teacher A: Yeah, I know. But it's too bad. He could be such a nice kid if only he could learn to control his behavior. Perhaps putting him in a special class would help him do that. Teacher B: It might. And at least he'd be out of your class.
29 citations
TL;DR: The term significant others is used by various theorists to denote those persons who exercise a major influence on the attitudes of individuals by communicating norms, values, and expectations of the culture or society in which they live; defining the behavior that is considered to be appropriate to the culture in which the individual resides; modeling the appropriate attitudes and behaviors; and providing the necessary information about the environment to the individuals under their influence as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The task of training and motivating Afro-American youth in the various tenets of success is one of the primary functions of the socializers in a child's environment (Porter, 1974). Through their influence children and youth acquire the behaviors, values, habits and attitudes necessary to function competently. It is this important role which led theorists to designate these influencers as significant others. The term significant others is used by various theorists to denote those persons who exercise a major influence on the attitudes of individuals by (1) communicating the norms, values, and expectations of the culture or society in which they live; (2) defining the behavior that is considered to be appropriate to the culture or society in which the individual resides; (3) modeling the appropriate attitudes and behaviors; and (4) providing the necessary information about the environment to the individuals under their influence (Woefel and Haller, 1971). For Afro-Americans these significant others are more than just the immediate family. They include a rather large and extensive network made up of parents, siblings, cousins, aunts,
26 citations
TL;DR: This paper argued that the masses of Southerners, overwhelming illiterate, simply did not record their experiences, and their impressions of the South's inarticulate masses are thus suspect, and a correctively their views is not available in traditional written records.
Abstract: In the historiography of the antebellum South, researchers have traditionally. used narrative sources, exhaustively explored. These sources are usually written by members of the upper class or by people striving for upper-class status. Not surprisingly, such documentation reflects the perspective of its writers. Their impressions of the South's inarticulate masses are thus suspect, and a correctively their views is not available in traditional written records. The masses of Southerners, overwhelming illiterate, simply did not record their experiences. As John Blassingame (1972: 230) argued:
19 citations
TL;DR: For instance, this paper pointed out that the majority of the research on black languages does not take into account other varieties of black speech, such as Spanish, French, German, and Italian.
Abstract: Within recent years, many federally funded programs have been devoted to the study of Black speech in America. Some great achievements have resulted from these programs, including the development of new curricula, better teacher-training programs, and a reversal of negative attitudes not only for Black students, but for all students who speak a nonstandard variety of English. Given the history associated with the study of "proper" or standard English usage, these accomplishments are no small feats. My only quarrel with the research undertaken on Black languages thus far is that it does not take into account other varieties of black speech. Most of the research has been undertaken with youths in the inner cities of New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Detroit, and elsewhere. There appear to be few,
19 citations
TL;DR: The authors describes the failure of school personnel, particularly guidance counselors, to handle the cultural diversity among their pupils, noting that teachers have yet to master the problems of educating the socioeconomically deprived native AfroAmerican and Spanish-speaking children of the inner cities.
Abstract: Teachers of minority-group children in the urban schools of the northeastern metropolitan areas of the United States are faced with an increasing number of Englishand Frenchspeaking black Caribbean immigrant pupils in the classroom. The goal of these teachers to acquire an understanding of the life experiences of their students is, therefore, made more difficult to achieve as they have yet to master the problems of educating the socioeconomically deprived native AfroAmerican and Spanish-speaking children of the inner cities. Vontress (1979: 117) describes this failure of school personnel, particularly guidance counselors, to handle the cultural diversity among their pupils, noting that
18 citations
TL;DR: The authors describes the conflicts that have risen among the disciples' of Pan Africanism within the movement leadership and discusses the role of race relations in the Pan African Movement and its internal dynamics.
Abstract: Since the publication of George Padmore's (1972) Pan Africanism or Communism, the body of the literature on Pan Africanism has grown significantly. But an issue more fundamental than just growth is that until the recent publication of Ras Makonnen's (1973) Pan Africanism From Within, the great majority of scholars had not fully addressed the issue of the sociopolitical dynamics of the Pan African Movement. This article describes the conflicts that have risen among the disciples' of Pan Africanism within the movement leadership.
14 citations
TL;DR: This article argued that continuous exposure to TV violence stimulates aggressive anti-social behavior among select members of the mass viewing audience, and that this had led to increases in violent crime and juvenile delinquency.
Abstract: Television, over the past three decades, has become the primary interpreter of American life and history, and the principal socializing institution in the United States (Cater and Adler, 1974). Because of the great popularity of this medium, the prevalence of violence on television has precipitated an ongoing debate, and a voluminous literature, about the effect that violent TV programs have on the social behavior of children and adults. I One side contends that continuous exposure to TV violence stimulates aggressive anti-social behavior among select members of the mass viewing audience, and that this had led to increases in violent crime and juvenile delinquency. TV, this side argues, not only mirrors the violent content of social reality, but also contributes to violent behavior by creating a vast fantasy world peopled with appealing but violent characters who serve as social role models (Newcombe, 1979; Cater and Strickland, 1975; Seigal, 1957). The other side argues that television merely reflects the ideas that people already have about the world in which they live, and that TV violence has little effect on the social behavior of
11 citations
TL;DR: Weisbord as mentioned in this paper observed that many black militants are convinced that they would be 'ripped off' first during a period of servere repression, and that a policy of genocide would then be carried out against the entire Black population.
Abstract: Since the urban unrest of the mid-1960s, controversy has developed among Blacks about the perception of birth control programs as a thinly disguised scheme to commit genocide against people of African origin in the United States and elsewhere (Weisbord, 1973). Some scholarly critiques and antibirth-control activities of Afro-Americans and other Third World people reflect a degree of concern with this issue. St. Clair Drake (Yette, 1971: 296) observed that "many black militants are convinced that they would be 'ripped off' first during a period of servere repression, and that a policy of genocide would then be carried out against the entire Black
TL;DR: More than any other force, it is Martin Luther King who impressed the civil rights revolution on the American conscience and is attracting that great middle body of American public opinion to its support as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: more than any other force, it is Martin Luther King who impressed the civil rights revolution on the American conscience and is attracting that great middle body of American public opinion to its support. It is this revolution of conscience that will undoubtedly lead fairly soon to the elimination of all violations of Negroes' constitutional rights, thereby creating the conditions for the economic and social changes that are necessary if we are to achieve full racial equality.
TL;DR: The undippable flag was a beauty, and the anthem and the vacant motto might not have mattered much, if it weren't for this: a lot of citizens were so ignored and cheated and insulted that they thought they might be in the wrong country, or even on the wrong planet, that some terrible mistake had been made as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The undippable flag was a beauty, and the anthem and the vacant motto might not have mattered much, if it weren't for this: a lot of citizens were so ignored and cheated and insulted that they thought they might be in the wrong country, or even on the wrong planet, that some terrible mistake had been made. It might have comforted them some if their anthem and their motto had mentioned fairness or brotherhood or hope or hapiness, had somehow welcomed them to the society and its real estate.
TL;DR: Schlesinger as mentioned in this paper argued that America was losing in the battle for the "hearts and minds" of the Congolese in particular and Black Africans in general, and that the United States seemed to have backed the weaker faction.
Abstract: When President John F. Kennedy came to office in January 1961, the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union had already spread to Black Africa where more than a dozen nations had recently won their independence. The two superpowers, for example, supported the opposing sides in a bitter civil war in the Congo (now Zaire), and in that conflict the United States seemed to have backed the weaker faction. Indeed, there was widespread belief in the Kennedy Administration that America was losing in the battle for the "hearts and minds" of the Congolese in particular and Black Africans in general (Schlesinger, 1965: 508-520).1 While the Kennedy Administration watched with mounting concern as America's political fortunes in Africa seemingly waned, events were unfolding at home which were likely to push Black Africa further toward the Soviet Union, into its orbit. Scores of African diplomats had begun to establish residence in Washington, D.C. and New York City, and it was a foregone conclusion that they would be
TL;DR: This paper identified the philosophical roots of the Muslim movement and charted its transition from a revolutionary-oriented movement to a movement seeking religious legitimacy as an institutionalized and established church in the context of the American constitutional order.
Abstract: Every social group or mass movement eventually develops its distinctive social, political, or economic philosophy. If the organization does not accomplish this task collectively, it is done by one individual or several individuals within the group or movement. The development of this ideology or philosophy is essential because it outlines not only to the adherents and converts, the goals, purpose, objectives, and aims of the group, but it also sells the group, providing its essential, distinctive characteristics. It seems clear that a group or movement or organization gains its uniqueness in part from its basic philosophical underpinnings-be they religious, cultural, economic, or political. To this extent contemporary political theorists agree (Walton and McIver, 1974). In a similar but specific fashion, my objective is to identify the philosophical roots of the Muslim movement, to outline its distinguishing theoretical underpinnings, and to chart its transition from a revolutionary-oriented movement to a movement seeking religious legitimacy as an institutionalized and established church in the context of the American constitutional order.
TL;DR: In the United States, a one standard deviation difference between the intelligence test scores of Blacks and whites has been widely documented as mentioned in this paper, and the consistent IQ differences between purportedly comparable groups of Black and white Americans have led authors of a hereditarian persuasion to conclude that genetic differences are involved in the NegroWhite IQ differences.
Abstract: In the United States a one-standard deviation difference between the intelligence test scores of Blacks and whites has been widely documented (Shuey, 1958, 1966; Dreger and Miller, 1960, 1968; Klineberg, 1944; Jensen, 1969, 1974). The consistent IQ differences between purportedly comparable groups of Black and white Americans have led authors of a hereditarian persuasion to conclude "a reasonable and likely hypothesis that genetic differences are involved in the NegroWhite IQ differences" (Jensen, 1972: 421). In support of their argument of a Black hereditary deficiency, a variety of sources of evidence are invoked. Two of the most frequently offered pieces of evidence indicate that first, not only do "comparable" groups of whites consistently outperform their Black counterparts, but frequently even low SES whites surpass middle and upper SES Blacks on a wide variety of cognitive tasks (Shuey, 1966; Wilson, 1967; Scarr-Salapatek,
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the role of Douglass in American foreign policy vis-a-vis American diplomacy in the Caribbean and examine Douglass's posture in this regard.
Abstract: The public life of Frederick Douglass was so vast and its scope so immense that writers have frequently tended to emphasize certain aspects of it to the virtual exclusion of others. Such has been the case with the views on and/ or role of Douglass in American foreign policy. While Douglass has been portrayed as abolitionist, writer, journalist, and advocate of the civil rights of blacks as well as women, very little has been said of Douglass's expansionist view vis-a-vis American diplomacy in the Caribbean. It is the purpose of this article to examine his posture in this regard. After 1844, the island of Santo Domingo, which now bears the name Haiti, was divided into two independent states, the Dominican Republic and the Republic of Haiti. The next fifty years witnessed periods during which efforts were made to annex the island or parts of it to the United States. While these attempts to annex Santo Domingo and to acquire a naval base in Haiti were of vital interest to blacks of both the West Indies and the United States, they were of special interest to the freedom fighter, politician, and diplomat, Frederick Douglass.
TL;DR: The growth of Black political power within large American trade unions, where Blacks have constituted a minority of the membership, can be seen as an evolutionary process through which organizational strength of broad-based Black organizations outside the union has provided the resources with which Blacks have obtained marginal influence in the unions.
Abstract: The growth of Black political power within large American trade unions, where Blacks have constituted a minority of the membership, can be seen as an evolutionary process through which organizational strength of broad-based Black organizations outside the union has provided the resources with which Blacks have obtained marginal influence in the unions. This influence has varied during the history of major union activity in the United States from 1935 to the present.' At two points during this period, Black influence within American unions has peaked. The first period was during the late 1930s and early 1940s, when unions were attempting to organize workers in major industries and gain contracts in major industries. At this time leaders of the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) worked with various Black community organizations in appealing to Black workers. Once the unions had organized a stable membership base and had gained recognition from major companies, the role of Black community organizations diminished. Correspondingly the influence of Blacks within the unions weakened. However, when the civil rights move-
TL;DR: The images of the black community are many and varied. But while the images oscillate, a strong central theme is generated on the works on blacks which leaves the impression that behaviors in the black communities are not those actions which contribute to a sense of community as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The images of the black community are many and varied. But while the images oscillate, a strong central theme is generated on the works on blacks which leaves the impression that behaviors in the black community are not those actions which contribute to a sense of community. Researchers, even those who attempt to write in a "positive" manner about the black community (Abrahams, 1970; Hannerz, 1969), focus on negative characteristics. The mass media images of blacks have been rather stereotypic and have concentrated on crime and antisocial actions (Graber, 1976); so the positive image of the black community is rarely presented (Kerner Commission, 1968). Even popular artists such as Michele Wallace in her book, Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman, and Ntozake Shange in her play, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide! When the Rainbow is Enuf, paint a picture of a community where black male-female relationships are at best characterized by serious strain. The total impression left by these works seems to be a black situation based on "conflicts" rather than on "cooperation" as the term "community" implies. Whether or not the conflicts are
TL;DR: Studies, reports, and articles indicate the "at risk" designation often associated with minority elderly should be changed to high risk elderly and special attention should be paid to their problems by local and federal officials.
Abstract: The report from the National Center of Black Aged (NCOBA) 1973-1975 (1975) as well as the U.S. Department of Health and Humarin Services (1980) provide a basis for being concerned with the plight of Black, high risk, elderly. Articles and reports by Hill (1971); the National Clearinghouse on Aging (1980); and the Administration on Aging "Statistical Notes" (1980) refer to the many areas which make the problems of the Black at risk elderly more appropriately a category of high risk elderly. Characteristics of Black elderly (1980) found that Black elderly are ten times more likely to be on welfare than any other ethnic population. Additional articles by Rifai (1976) and the Portland (Oregon) Observer (1979) concern themselves with the problem of crime against Black elderly. Collectively, these studies, reports, and articles, in addition to the appointments made by President-Elect Reagan, indicate the "at risk" designation often associated with minority elderly should be changed to high risk elderly and special attention should be paid to their problems by local and federal officials. The concern of this article is what has been found out about the needs of the high risk Black elderly and what should be done to allow them to finish their lives with the dignity they
TL;DR: In the past decade there has appeared literature on the results of biological studies that take issue with the differences in intelligence of white Americans as opposed to black Americans as mentioned in this paper, and this literature appeared at a time when dissatisfaction within the black community was at a high point, that is, during the civil rights movement and the urban revolts of the 1960s.
Abstract: In the past decade there has appeared literature on the results of biological studies that take issue with the differences in intelligence of white Americans as opposed to black Americans (see Alsop, 1973; Buckley, 1969; Jensen, 1973; Shockley, 1972). Much of the literature appeared at a time when dissatisfaction within the black community was at a high point, that is, during the civil rights movement and the urban revolts of the 1960s. These two social movements were an expression of discontent with, if not disbelief in, the determination of a nation to allow a segment of its population to remain ill-housed, ill-schooled, and ill-fed. What this segment was essentially hoping to redress (something it has historically sought for generations) was the tremendous and disproportionate inequity in access to distrib-
TL;DR: In the literature, there appear to be three different kinds of homes: broken, vicious, where there is defective discipline, where the family relationships are defective (i.e., the relationships between the parents themselves and between parents and children) and where there was some personal disorder in the parents as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Concerns about the etiology of juvenile delinquency have always made the home a focal point, especially the "bad home background." In the literature, there appear to be three different kinds of homes. And by kinds of home we mean a cluster of endemic factors which characterize that home and by which the one kind of home can be characteristically differentiated from another. The first is the sort of home which is broken, vicious, where there is defective discipline, where the family relationships are defective (i.e., the relationships between the parents themselves and between parents and children) and where there is some personal disorder in the parents. The main characteristic of this kind of home is parental viciousness. The second type of home is not broken or vicious but there is defective discipline. The interparental relations are defective, there is some personal disorder in the parents, and the parentchild relationships are extremely bad. The main characteristic here is parental neglect; physical, emotional, and moral neglect, children left to run wild without supervision. The third
TL;DR: For example, this paper found that the perceptions of the 34 elected officials interviewed reflected two overlapping positions: those who served in elected and appointed positions and those who did not serve in appointed positions.
Abstract: Social scientists have devoted very limited attention to Black decision makers' perceptions of their roles and role performances. This limited concern is due in part perhaps to the small number of broad-base elected and appointed positions which Blacks have held in the past. However, trends now indicate that an increasing number is serving in elected positions (Black State Legislators, 1972; National Roster of Black Elected Officials, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974; Jones, 1971; Pickney, 1969; Hatcher, 1969: 287-393; Nelson and Meranto, 1977). While systematic data on appointed officials are less accessible, there is evidence that the number of Blacks serving in appointed positions has increased significantly also, especially at the state and national levels (Telephone Interviews with State Personnel Directors in Eight States, 1980; Fact Sheet 108, 1980: 1-16). Conyers and Wallace (1976: 41-42, 137-145) focused upon some limited aspects of role perceptions in a national survey of 799 Black elected officials. The perceptions of the 34 officials interviewed reflected two overlapping positions: those who
TL;DR: This paper examined sociologists' perceptions of the role relations of black socians with the black community and found that white socians tend to have a coalescent relationship with black people and want to develop special theoretical and methodological approaches to study black people.
Abstract: This article examines sociologists' perceptions of the role relations of black sociologists with the black community. Literature written in the 1960s and 1970s by and about black sociologists suggests they (1) have a coalescent relationship with the black community and (2) want to develop special theoretical and methodological approaches to study black people. However, there are no data showing the extent to which black sociologists agree or disagree with these assumptions. This article provides such data by contrasting responses of black sociologists to statements taken from this literature, with responses of white sociologists. First, literature about black sociologists suggests their relationship with other blacks is unique because they positively identify with them (Conyers and Epps, 1974; Jackson, 1974; Record, 1974; Merton, 1973). This relationship takes the form of defending and supporting the black community's efforts of achieving equality in America. For example, some argue white
TL;DR: In the early 1970s, Black elementary and secondary school children enrolled in the Dalton Public School District' asked the U.S. Federal District Court to make local and state officals refrain from operating a racially segregated public school system.
Abstract: In the early 1970s, Black elementary and secondary school children enrolled in the Dalton Public School District' asked the U.S. Federal District Court to make local and state officals refrain from operating a racially segregated public school system. In the mid-1970s, the Federal District Judge held that Dalton was operating a de jure segregated school system in violation of the plantiffs' Fourteenth Amendment right of equal protection under the law by intentionally causing and maintaining a segregated school system. The judge's 22-point decree ordered the Dalton Public School system to solicit the views of parents and other community people in planning to implement its desegregation order. School administrators and board members held numerous meetings with parents and community groups, seeking their opinions and assistance in planning for school desegregation: they established a hotline for people to call for information and sponsored a mass media campaign to further inform the
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explain how the nature of the conflict between the ANC and the settler-colonial government in South Africa affected the class composition of the ANC's leadership group, and show that this change in class background was a major influence in altering the socioeconomic aspects of ANC's ideology.
Abstract: The African National Congress of South Africa (ANC) in its 69-year history has undergone a dramatic transformation of the class composition of its leadership group. During this period of time, the ANC has changed from a nationalist movement deriving an overwhelming majority of its leadership group (that is, highand middle-level ANC officials) from the African petite-bourgeoisie, to a nationalist movement having a predominant majority of its leadership group coming from the African industrial-service working class. The purpose of this article is to explain how the nature of the conflict between the ANC and the settler-colonial government' in South Africa affected the class composition of the ANC's leadership group, and to show that this change in class background was a major influence in altering the socioeconomic aspects of the ANC's ideology. However, before proceeding to analyze the political role of African workers, it is necessary to clarify the socioeconomic