Category Archives: Crisis

Alain Locke, Crisis, The Trope of a New Negro and the Reconstruction of the Image of the Black, WEB DuBois

Utilizing Appeasement

Crisis Magazine works to visually reconcile ideas of Blackness with modernity and culture. Images of prominent and historical Black figures on the covers highlight the intellectual and cultural influence of Black people, defying the racist depictions so common at the time. Instead of stereotypical caricatures, Crisis shows Black people as participants of respectable society. Most of the women are dressed in elegant Victorian garb while the men can be seen in suits and military uniforms. They display elements of wealth, class and education amongst a variety of figures. This, of course, is done intentionally. In addition to refuting racial stereotypes, Crisis images serve to “repackage” the negro, arguing that he has evolved beyond that of a slave. As Henry Louis Gates, Jr writes in the essay The Trope of a New Negro and the Reconstruction of the Image of the Black:

“…the image of a “New Negro” has served various generations of black intellectuals as a sign of plenitude, of regeneration, of a truly reconstructed presence” (130).

The May 1921 issue perfectly demonstrates this. The cover features Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a french violinist and composer of African descent. The issue features a biography of Bologne, detailing his many feats and accomplishments despite being a “mulatto”. Bologne, by Gates’s definition, exemplifies plentitude, regeneration and presence. His feature is just one of the many Black figures who personify this “New Negro”.

Nevertheless, the “New Negro” is in actuality a paradoxical concept. The idea relies on the theory of “newness” or a “reconstruction” of Black identity, however figures like Bologne predate the “New Negro” concept which, according to Gates, arrives in the late 19th early 20th century. The New Negro, therefore, is not new at all — he has always existed. Gates also addresses this fallacy in his essay:

“The paradox of this claim is inherent in the trope itself, combining as it does a concern with time, antecedents, and heritage, on the one hand, with a concern for a cleared space, the public face of the race, on the other” (132).

The New Negro trope demands both a new yet redeemed creation, a figure that has both transcended his past yet has no path at all. Crisis, therefore, abandons this impossible task for something more achievable. While the conventional New Negro is about repackaging or “rebranding” Blacks for the appeasement of Whites, Crisis conversely argues that The New Negro has always been. He is not a new creation, but an aesthetic that has already existed within Black spaces.

I think it’s important to note here that Crisis is primarily for Black readers. It is geared towards a specific audience with the task of producing the individual (or collective) edification of African Americans. We can see that, contrary to Gate’s discourse, Du Bois is not using Crisis to appeal to white people. He is not intent on “repackaging” Blacks for the sake of whites but is repackaging them for themselves, working to produce a less destructive narrative and give Blacks something to aspire to. Du Bois seeks to instill pride in his people in order to move towards advancement and upward mobility. While his methods in doing this can be considered flawed (using primarily light skin people on his covers) the intention, and by extension the result, is still the same.

Charles Spurgeon Johnson, Crisis, Opportunity, WEB DuBois

Harlem and The New White Man’s Burden

Chapter 2 of Word, Image, and the New Negro : Representation and Identity in the Harlem Renaissance Anne Elizabeth Carroll assesses Black representation in The Opportunity, and it’s dedication to objectivity. In it, she explains that The Opportunity’s editor, Charles Spurgeon Johnson, felt objectivity was necessary for “challenging assumptions about why African Americans were leaving the South” (71). She further explains Johnson’s belief that although White Americans may be outraged, African Americans would not be able to survive on that sympathy forever:

Errors in judgements of the character of the migrants, in turn, would have made their adjustment to life in the North more difficult. If their flight was from persecution, Johnson explained, that “excites little sympathy either from the practical employer or the northern white population among whom these Negroes will hereafter live. (71)

Images, therefore, such as the one featured in The Opportunity’s September 1923 article “How Much is the Migration a Flight from Persecution”, may have been initially provocative, but the long term effects were potentially damaging. According to Johnson, constantly exposing white men to images of poverty or persecution would eventually lead him to believe that Black people could not sustain themselves. He would see them as completely codependent. Johnson thus feared that white employers would begin to see Blacks as a liability. Instead of feeling sympathy, the white man would be afraid of becoming responsible for such a large and unsustainable group — in other words, he would be afraid that they might once again become his burden.

'The White Man's Burden' (Apologies to Rudyard Kipling)
‘The White Man’s Burden’ (Apologies to Rudyard Kipling) Victor Gillam, Judge magazine, 1 April 1899)

Frankly, this idea of the “White Man’s Burden” is of course nothing new. It was first coined in Rudyard Kipling’s poem of the same name in the late 19th century as an excuse for continued imperialism. Colonialists, in an attempt to justify their holdings of foreign lands, believed that they were responsible for the edification and usefulness of Negroes and other non-white races. Assuming authority over these races was presented as an act of duty as these races could not provide for themselves. As a result, African Americans, subsequently, were forced into a relationship of complete codependency and subjugation to the “superior” white Americans who knew what was best for them.

This codependent relationship, however, began to overturn in the early 20th century. Instead of voluntarily consenting to this “burden”, Carroll suggests that white Americans were now resentful towards the idea of helping Negroes. The once altruistic sentiments of imperialism were now replaced by feelings of infringement and inconvenience. Charles Spurgeon Johnson and WEB Du Bois, who were both keenly aware of this opposition, therefore dedicated The Opportunity and The Crisis respectively to instilling this idea of Black sustainability. Instead of images of poverty and destitution, the periodicals would instead combat these misconceptions with stories of prosperity and advancement, showcasing Black accomplishments and potential.  As a result, many of these publications turned their sighs to the newly prosperous and culturally developing region of Harlem as their muse.

Initially published during the Harlem Renaissance The Opportunity, introducing itself as the “Journal of a Negro Life”, takes an objective approach to illustrating Black advancement. It’s stories and articles attempt to present non-fictional works and streams of data as stumbling blocks to the “inferior Black” narrative. “The Corner” by Eunice Hunton Carter, published in The Opportunity’s April 1925 issue, is a creative nonfiction narrative detailing the cultural robustness of everyday Harlem life:

Motor cars whizzed by carrying throngs of pleasure seekers, aliens many of them, in search of novelty and thrill, come to the black city for something new…In reality as their cars swept past the corner, they were passing life by. They had missed a chance of seeing life when they didn’t stop and watch the boy on the corner who for clapping companions in front of the drug store was doing a dance that was a bit of Buck and Wing, a bit of “Charleston” and many other things. They didn’t hear the errand boy who came out of the drug store singing a song that had drifted out of the cabaret to come from him purified by the sheer joy and spontaneity of his singing…

Harlem Socialites: Photo James Van Der Zee
Harlem Socialites: Photo James Van Der Zee

A group of school girls, bright felt hats perched jauntily on sleek bobbed heads, with short fur coats from which bright scarves fluttered in the night, passed by linked arm in arm, chattering as they went home from a late moving picture…” (pg 121 in archive)

The imagery is vivid and the result is clear; Carter is painting Harlem as a place of culture and community, where different characters occupy various stations of life. Also, Carter’s reference to Harlem as a “black city” represents that it is not only a stable community, but a thriving one. She paints for us images of music, industrialization, education, and economy. There is joy and prosperity by humble standards. What’s even more noteworthy is Carter’s description of the neighborhood as an attraction. “…pleasure seekers, aliens many of them, in search of novelty and thrill,” she writes. Carter therefore stipulates that Harlem is not just appealing to negroes, but is appealing to tourists as well. The “alien pleasure seekers”, as she calls them, are looking for the thrill of “Harlem life”, they see it is new and exciting, comparable to the other New York areas.

Eunice Carter - The Mob Museum
Eunice Carter

“The Corner” is just one of the many depictions The Opportunity uses to refute the new “white man’s burden” narrative. It highlights Harlem’s vivacity without ignoring the underlying problems of poverty and racism. In addition Carter herself , Manhattan’s first female African American prosecutor, perfectly exemplifies the kind of voice The Opportunity benefits from. Her success as a lawyer further proves that Blacks could be invaluable, self sustaining citizens if given the chance. Her work both in and out of prose exemplified Black productivity.

 

Works Cited

Carter, Eunice Hunton. “The Corner.” The Opportunity, Apr. 1925, pp. 114–115.

Crisis, Survey Graphic, The Opportunity, W.E.B. Du Bois

Social Progress and Racial Uplift

The Harlem Renaissance was a remarkable period during which African Americans experienced many obstacles and victories from the 1920s to the 1930s. As they over came these challenges, they established social progress and had a series of social accomplishments. The Harlem Renaissance was the upbringing of Social progress, and magazines and novels of this period represented the accomplishments of African Americans. Black people overcame racial injustice in order to obtain a better education, a better career, a better future, and better prospects. Black people made massive progress in the areas of art and writing (poetry),  music (opera), and education. Around this time period, African Americans began to be recognized for their efforts to expand and enhance their culture, acquire respect, and advocate for their rights. Social progress and racial uplift is significant to educate people today about the uplifting of black people and steps towards equality and recognition of black achievements. Typically, African Americans were viewed as merely labor and, before that, possessions. White people disproportionately imposed dispossession on African Americans. Harlem Renaissance literature indicates valuable African Americans’ contributions to a society that were often neglected and misinterpreted. My first 3 blogs demonstrate how the Harlem Renaissance accelerated black culture and now what black people overcame. During this time period, people gained knowledge and educate themselves about what African Americans have gone through and their upbringing of succeeding and black excellence.

 

Beginning with W.E.B DuBois, with the Crisis magazine that had an impact and was very popular and was mainly concentrated on African American history, politics, culture, social injustice, and their rights. Crisis Magazine had a representation for African Americans and reshaped people’s opinions on African Americans. The implications of “the New Negro “ is the Crisis Magazine on having a voice for African Americans to speak their truths and facts to educate other people. According to Donal Harris in Printing the Color Line in The Crisis “However, in 1910 another kind of magazine, the African American monthly, specifically The Crisis, emerged with the conscious desire to reshape the style, size, and color of commercial periodicals as well as the implicit race of the people who read and wrote them.” (Harris, 62). These covers of the Crisis Magazine show the experience of how African Americans had issues with racial stereotypes and racial discrimination and try to correct the stereotypes. These covers were supposed to be the new representation of the New Black America. The purpose of these covers was to overcome the stereotypes of African Americans. These covers also show and determine on how it was moving, how they showed African American accomplishments, and how they influenced. These covers of The Crisis Magazine are for readers in the world and African Americans as it helps them not only change the image of African Americans in the public eye. As well as help combat the narrative of the stereotypical and racism that was going on. This magazine also tries to have a voice for African Americans to expand and increase their culture and to gain respect, and to advocate for their rights. This can also help to open opportunities for their future. In the United States, African Americans were not acknowledged by the public and were not treated well.  

 

Viewing all of these covers, they are so descriptive, natural, and real, which made me visualize and interpret what W.E.B Du Bois was attempting to do with these covers. Based on the Crisis Magazine, what makes African Americans and Blacks American is having the freedom and independence to have their own choice and able to have opportunities for their future. For instance, in the Crisis Magazine in Vol. 18, No. 1 (1919-05-01) and Vol. 17, No. 5 (1919-03-01) they show on how many African Americans entered for World War I, which shows loyalty and being proud, and wanting to fight for their country. Another example of what makes African Americans American is based on what they have been through. They weren’t able to have an education but now they have the freedom and choice. For example in the Crisis Magazine in Vol. 24, No. 4 (1922-08-01) this shows and represents in the cover that African Americans are wanting to have an education and a career for their future. The covers are for African American descents can use the cover of crisis as a visual representation of what their culture has achieved and accomplished over the years. The Crisis wasn’t just a news magazine; it was a step towards equality and recognition of black achievements.

 

In Survey Graphic Harlem Mecca of the New Negro “The Making of Harlem” by James Weldon Johnson. Harlem became a place that doesn’t necessarily have ownership because due to the culture, art, literature, and music. Harlem was only the beginning of something new that puts America’s culture into shock. This made African Americans come together in Harlem to search for a new future and new opportunities and to become themselves. They also had the same interests of progressing and getting ahead without leaving behind their customs, culture, and beliefs, developing in this way. According to James Weldon Wilson, In the Making of Harlem, it states “Harlem is indeed the great Mecca for the sight-seer, the pleasure-seeker, the curious, the adventurous, the enterprising, the ambitious and the talented of the whole Negro world; for the lure of it has reached down to every island of the Carib Sea and has penetrated even into Africa.” (Wilson, 13). This quote determines that African Americans wanted to develop to grow and to achieve, and to have ambition and talent.  They developed many careers such as politics, arts, music, beauty, and entertainment. For example, in Black Culture in Bloom: The Harlem Renaissance by Richard Worth it states, “The Harlem Renaissance gave African Americans like A’Lelia Walker an opportunity to be proud of their success. Harlem had become the rage. Going uptown to Harlem was a popular fad that attracted many New Yorkers and travelers. The popularity of Harlem helped bring success to the writers, entertainers, and artists of the Harlem Renaissance.”(Worth, 75). This shows that the tireless struggle of African Americans to progress and teach their culture, which they are proud of, had a good result in many outstanding African Americans in art, music, and other fields. 

 

The progress of African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance was changing in the “Social Progress” in the Opportunity Magazine. African Americans have been achieving and succeeding with art, music, writing, and education. Around this time, African Americans have been acknowledged and received recognition to expand and increase their culture and to gain respect, and to advocate for their rights. This can also help to open opportunities for their future. 

African Americans were fighting and trying to have opportunities that enlightened themselves in different aspects, having an education, theatre, music, art, politics, and entertainment. Some of those people who sought for opportunities and became successful that I mentioned in my blog post are Gwendolyn B. Bennett, Carl Van Vechtim, and  Senator Adelbert H. Roberts. Many African Americans who started standing out because they kept searching for opportunities to get what they wanted and kept going to help their community and unity. According to Word, Image, and the New Negro  by Anne Elizabeth Carroll it states “Furthermore, while the primary purpose of Opportunity’s studies and news stories about African Americans’ achievements is perhaps to define African Americans as capable of integration and accomplishments, they also assert that American society would benefit if African Americans were granted greater opportunities.”( Caroll, 56). This represents and determines that African Americans are capable of having a better education and career, having a successful future for themselves and receiving better opportunities. 

 

During the Harlem Renaissance Era, social progress and racial uplift is very important to enlighten people about the uplifting of black people and steps towards equality and recognition of black achievements. African Americans have expanded and increased their culture and to gain respect and to fight for their rights. The literature, essays, and artwork of the Harlem Renaissance demonstrate the many values and views that are forming and changing during the period. Which can show that African Americans have seen success and black greatness as a result of their upbringing.

 

Work Cited

HARRIS, DONALD. On Company Time: American Modernism in the Big Magazines. COLUMBIA UNIV Press, 2019.

Harlem, Mecca of the new negro. Yale University Library. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://collections.library.yale.edu/catalog/17368696

Modernist journals: Crisis. Modernist Journals | Crisis. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://modjourn.org/journal/crisis/

Modernist journals: Crisis. A record of the darker races. vol. 18, no. 5. Modernist Journals | Crisis. A Record of the Darker Races. Vol. 18, No. 5. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://modjourn.org/issue/bdr512492/

Modernist journals: Crisis. A record of the darker races. vol. 17, no. 5. Modernist Journals | Crisis. A Record of the Darker Races. Vol. 17, No. 5. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://modjourn.org/issue/bdr511760/

Modernist journals: Crisis. A record of the darker races. vol. 24, no. 4. Modernist Journals | Crisis. A Record of the Darker Races. Vol. 24, No. 4. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://modjourn.org/issue/bdr521604/

Worth, Richard. Black Culture in Bloom : The Harlem Renaissance, Rosen Publishing Group, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/baruch/detail.action?docID=6228046.

https://books.google.com/books?id=JcgZAAAAIAAJ

Anne Elizabeth Carroll, Word, Image, and the New Negro : Representation and Identity in the Harlem Renaissance(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005).

Crisis, W.E.B. Du Bois

Blog 1

The Crisis was a very educated magazine that was used as a recruiting tool for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. This magazine has had an impact and was very popular and was mainly concentrated on African American history, politics, culture, social injustice, and their rights. The implications of “the New Negro “ is the Crisis Magazine on having a voice for African Americans to speak their truths and facts to educate other people. This magazine also tries to have a voice for African Americans to expand and increase their culture and to gain respect and to advocate for their rights. This can also help to open opportunities for their future. In the United States, African Americans were not acknowledged by the public and were not treated well.  According to Donal Harris  “However, in 1910 another kind of magazine, the African American monthly, specifically The Crisis, emerged with the conscious desire to reshape the style, size, and color of commercial periodicals as well as the implicit race of the people who read and wrote them.” (pg 62). This quote determines on how The Crisis Magazine had a representation for African Americans and can reshape people’s opinions on African Americans. These covers of the Crisis Magazine show the experience of how African Americans had issues with racial stereotypes and racial discrimination and try to correct the stereotypes. These covers were supposed to be the new representation of the New Black America. The purpose of these covers was to overcome the stereotypes of African Americans. These covers also show and determine on how it was moving, how they showed African American accomplishments, and how they influenced. According to Donal Harris “…The Crisis becomes quite clear here: first, it wants to aggregate information on African American achievements and circulate them to a national reading public so as to provide a counterhistory to racist mass culture..” (pg 69). This quote determines on how The Crisis Magazine wants to show information on African Americans’ achievements and accomplishments to educate people because other news articles were mentioning African American achievements due to racism.

These covers of The Crisis Magazine are for readers in the world and African Americans as it helps them not only change the image of  African Americans in the public eye. As well as help combat the narrative of the stereotypical and racism that was going on. The covers are for African American descents can use the cover of crisis as a visual representation of what their culture has achieved and accomplished over the years. This may survive as a guide to help pave the way against racism. Also, it’s for people who aren’t African American to gain knowledge and educate themselves about what African Americans have gone through and not pay attention to the racial stereotypes. The Crisis wasn’t just a news magazine it was a step towards equality and recognition of black achievements. Famous Colored Athlete