Alain Locke: “Enter the New Negro”

Exploring the Primary Sources That Shaped America
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Alain Locke:“Enter the New Negro”
Overview
Context
About the Author
Explanation and Analysis of theDocument
Audience
Impact
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Abstract

In March 1925, Alain Locke edited “Harlem: Mecca of the New Negro,” a special issue of the journal Survey Graphic. In addition to work by a number of prominent African American writers, the issue contained his own essay “Enter the New Negro,” which highlighted the social, cultural, and artistic growth of African Americans, urged Black artists and writers to look to African and African American history for inspiration, and expressed his belief that art and literature could break down racial barriers. Locke was eminently qualified to speak to this subject. He was America’s first Black Rhodes Scholar and later earned a PhD in philosophy from Harvard University.

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