Locke and Baldwin's Interpretation of the New Negro

   Alain Locke's interpretation of the New negro focuses primarily on the cultural transformation of black migrants that settled into cities such as Harlem. As he states in the book, there "is a fresh spiritual and cultural focusing" that cultivates "outburst of creativity" amongst a race of people that were thought to be illiterate and without essence (Locke, pp xxvii). Locke discusses how these individuals used their past experiences as a guiding force to create beauty and art through music, spoken word, dance, and writing to name a few. These individual challenged the stereotypes of blacks during this time because blacks weren't supposed to be a creative and intelligent race of people.  Locke chooses to center his interests around Harlem, which is widely thought to be the birth place of the New Negro.
   Davarian Baldwin, on the other hand, argues that Chicago is the birth place of the "REAL" New Negro, which is comprised of entrepreneurs and successful social figureheads that made the choice to create their own business and their own capital. This is a major thing during the early 1900's because many blacks during this time were dependent upon another for their income (cooks, maids, etc...). To have your own business in which you have no one to answer to but yourself was a different level of freedom that many did not have and was something to be admired.
   I believe that both Lock and Baldwin have very strong arguments and that both the artist and the entrepreneur contribute significantly to the New Negro. To be apart of either group was something to be proud of. Whether we are looking at an artist, an inventor or a business owner, a challenge to the status quo and the racial hierarchy can be found.

The New Negro and the Warmth of Other Suns

   I chose to focus on the chapter in The Warmth of Other Suns titled "The Stirrings of Discomfort". This section of the book discusses the beginnings of the mass migration of African American's from the South to the North. After the Civil War, conditions for blacks were very poor. Although slavery had been abolished, many still worked day to day as if they were enslaved for little to no pay. Additionally, there were many laws and codes in place that limited social mobility for blacks in the south. Said laws and codes were reinforced and upheld by violent acts such as lynching. The labor shortage in the North in addition to much improved social conditions for blacks were motivating factors contributing to many people leaving the South in the hopes of beginning a new life in the North. As stated in the text, "treatment doesn't warrant staying" and this move that many families made set up a more promising future for their youth and the next generation.

   There was a poem titled "Youth" in The New Negro by Langston Hughes that I felt capture the essence and important of this mass migration. I felt as if the poem placed importance on tomorrow and how it was the torch that guided the steps of the future. Yesterday has come and gone and is no longer a reference point. One must march on towards tomorrow and the future. To me, this poem connected to "The Stirrings of Discomfort" because all of those families that took a chance to migrate North only looked towards tomorrow and the future and what they felt would be opportunity and improved social conditions. They did not look back. In turn, as I mentioned above, this movement really affected the future/next generation considering how they grew up in conditions that were completely different than their mothers and fathers.

Self- Assessment

Coming into the University, I can honestly say that I had a limited perspective of Black History. Up until then, my black history came from school text books that of course gave water downed versions of black history and whatever new information I was lucky enough to learn during the month of February every year. It's very sad that this applies for many incoming college freshman from all different backgrounds. I do recall reading a book titled "Coming of Age in Mississippi" by Anne Moody that I stole from my brothers stack of books that he brought home during his summer break from UCLA which was really an eye opener for me and pushed me to read another of his books titled "The Autobiography of Malcolm X". These two books today are two of my favorite books after 12 years, for one, because they are amazing pieces of literature and two because they added so much more meat and sustenance to the limited information I was learning about my history. I recall many of my fellow black freshman talking about how they didn't need to take black study courses because they were black and already needed to know what there was to know about "being black". Others thought that it would be an easy A for the black students. All things considered, I had no idea what was in store for me when I entered Madison's Black Studies 1 course but both of those books were the reason I enrolled because I knew there was more. Madison definitely doesn't hold anything back in terms of African American history and my mind was completely blown. I learned so much in ten short weeks that I wanted more. Many black studies courses soon followed, yet there were 2 course (African American History with Woods and Blacks in the Media with Madison) that really made an impact on me and altered my perspective because I never knew how deep the negative portrayal of black in the media went and how it is ever present today.