Alain Locke: “Enter the New Negro”

Explanation and Analysis of the Document

“Enter the New Negro” is a sophisticated, densely written analysis of the “New Negro,” the African American who is shedding the cultural stereotypes and limitations of the past and asserting a new identity not just in the political and social spheres but in art and literature as well. It draws heavily on Locke’s background as a student of both literature and philosophy. It was not in any sense a strident “call to arms” but rather a closely reasoned appeal to African Americans—and to white Americans—to recognize the fundamental change that was taking place in African American culture and in the psychology of the Black community.

Paragraphs 1–6

Locke begins by asserting that a change has taken place in the life of the American Negro. He refers to the sociologist, the philanthropist, and the race leader as the three “norns” who have traditionally examined issues surrounding Blacks; the reference is to the three goddesses in Norse mythology who presided over human destiny. He argues that a transformation is taking place that the “norns” cannot account for. He then argues in paragraph 2 that the “New Negro” is not really new, that the “Old Negro” was more a creature of myth, a “historical fiction”—and that the Old Negro contributed to this myth by “social mimicry,” or trying to fit in. He refers to the Old Negro as a “formula” who was regarded as someone to be defended, kept down, helped up, or kept in his place. Locke maintains that even the “thinking Negro” has fallen into the trap of this kind of stereotyping, which leads to “little true social or self-understanding.” In paragraph 3 he notes that the focus of attention in race issues has been on the Civil War and Reconstruction; that focus on the North-South axis has blinded people to the East, with its implications of a new day dawning.

In the fourth paragraph, Locke cites the example of the Negro spiritual. He argues that formerly this form of music was limited by the “stereotypes of Wesleyan hymn harmony,” a reference to John Wesley, the founder of Methodism in the eighteenth century. Now, though, Negro spirituals have come out of hiding and are regarded as folk music, a significant form of cultural expression. In the same way, African Americans have emerged from the “tyranny of social intimidation” and are undergoing “something like a spiritual emancipation” through self-understanding. Thus, says Locke, African American life is entering a “new dynamic phase.” He alludes to the growing urbanization of the nation and with it the growth of the “Young Negro’s” greater opportunities for art and self-expression. As an example he incorporates a quotation from “Youth,” a poem by Langston Hughes whose imagery again suggests the dawn of a new day. Locke concludes this section by stating that the New Negro can no longer be seen through the “dusty spectacles” of past controversies—the Black “mammy,” the “Uncle Tom” of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, and “Sambo,” a name that during the Civil War era became a racial slur. Locke maintains that it is time to put aside these and other stereotypes, to “scrap the fictions” and “garret the bogeys” (that is, to consign them to the attic), and face a new reality.

Paragraphs 7–14

Locke next outlines some of the specific changes that have rendered old conceptions of African Americans obsolete. Again he refers to the Great Migration of Blacks to the North and Midwest and their centers of industry, so the issues, he says, are no longer sectional. He suggests that the problems faced by Blacks in their new surroundings are not entirely racial. Finally, he points to “class differentiation” in the Black community, making it “ridiculous” to regard the Black population “en masse,” that is, as a homogeneous whole. In paragraph 8, Locke goes on to point out that “the Negro too, for his part, has idols of the tribe to smash,” meaning that certain cherished views have to be cast aside. While it may be true, Locke says, that the white population denigrated Blacks to excuse its treatment of them, Blacks have too often excused themselves because of this treatment. The “intelligent Negro” does not use discrimination as an excuse for his shortcomings and wants to be seen as an equal, not an object of sentiment or “social discounts” or a victim of “self-pity.” He refers to changes in attitude as a “bitter weaning” but one that will allow both Black and white to see each other with “new mutual attitudes.” In paragraph 10, Locke concedes that greater knowledge will not necessarily lead to greater liking or treatment, but an effort of will is needed on the part of the “more intelligent” people of both races, who, in Locke’s view, are out of touch with one another.

Thus, in paragraph 10, Locke begins to argue that the notion that the lives of Blacks and whites are separate is increasingly a fiction. In paragraph 11 he cites the example of interracial councils in the South—there were some eight hundred local councils under the auspices of the Commission on Interracial Cooperation based in Atlanta—yet he notes that in the North, Black laborers have little “interplay” with their communities and the white business community. Locke calls for this to change but observes that it already is changing, that close cooperation is replacing “long-distance philanthropy,” at least among “enlightened minorities of both race groups.” In paragraph 12 he says that the New Negro is responding to this new democratic element in American culture and is no longer allowing discrimination in the social sphere to fetter him. Locke then specifically refers to New York as a center where intellectual contacts have been made, in large part through the “enrichment of American art and letters.” In paragraph 13 he comments on the importance of this cultural contact as a way of offsetting the past. The conditions, he says, that are “moulding a New Negro are moulding a new American attitude.” In the concluding paragraph of this section, Locke cautions that the new condition is “delicate” and runs the risk of engendering antagonism and prejudice. Now that the Negro has been “weaned,” it is important for the public not to treat him paternalistically. Although the New Negro’s outer life, where he participates in American institutions and democracy, is “well and finally formulated,” his inner life and psychology are still undergoing formation.

Paragraphs 15–21

Locke explores the psychology of the New Negro. At first that psychology was based on a “warped social perspective,” but Locke believes that he is witnessing “the development of a more positive self-respect and self-reliance”—that is, a “race pride.” His overall theme here is that African Americans are evolving past sentimental stereotypes and the need to be a “ward” of others. In paragraph 16, he expresses the hope that the prejudice of the past will convert from a handicap to an incentive. He notes that many African Americans, in adopting a newly militant posture, are turning leftward in their politics, that is, to Socialism and radicalism. In paragraph 17 he turns to the issue of separatism, such as that advocated by figures such as Marcus Garvey (sponsor of the Back to Africa movement), and characterizes such separatism as undesirable. He illustrates the tensions in African Americans’ views of themselves through current poetry. Claude McKay’s poem “To the Intrenched Classes” serves as an example of “defiant ironic challenge,” referring to McKay’s vision of a future of eroding possibilities. In contrast, he quotes from James Weldon Johnson’s “O Southland!” as an example of “appeal” to the South to shed its historical limitations with regard to African Americans. Between these two extremes of “defiance and appeal” is Johnson’s poem “To America.” Locke’s appeal is for African Americans to adopt this middle ground between “cynicism and hope.”

Paragraphs 22–25

Locke concludes his essay with an appeal to African American writers to follow “constructive channels.” In paragraph 23 he urges these writers to serve as an “advance-guard” for Africa in its contact with the twentieth century and charges them with “rehabilitating the race.” He goes on specifically to refer to the events taking place in Harlem, the home of African Americans’ “Zionism.” He uses this word as a figure of speech, comparing the African American’s search for a home to that of the Jews. Later, in paragraph 24, he asserts that “the future development of Africa is one of the most constructive and universally helpful missions that any modern people can lay claim to.” He notes some of the cultural developments taking place in Harlem and the neighborhood’s ability to attract people from all over the world. All of these social and cultural achievements are creating a “group consciousness” that is healthy for the Black community.

Paragraph 25 concludes the essay with a further appeal. He states that the Black race can rehabilitate itself through its “artistic endowments and cultural contributions, past and prospective.” He points out that African Americans have already made significant contributions to the nation’s cultural life. He wants the African American to no longer be a “beneficiary and ward” and instead become a “conscious contributor.” Locke expresses hope that the New Negro will in time “celebrate his full initiation into American democracy,” but if he does not, he will at least take pride in his own “Coming of Age.”