The New Negro History

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The New Negro History

“….We form a spoke in the human wheel, and it is necessary that we should understand our dependence on the different parts, and their on us, in order to perform our part with propriety.” This excerpt from the first Negro newsletter was written by John Russwurm and made a bold statement to how unparalleled the Negro community is to America. Portraying the many changes the Negro Community has come through, life for the new Negro was advanced but nowhere near luxurious. Written in 1957, John Hope Franklin was born in Oklahoma. He graduated from Fisk University in 1935. He received his doctorate from Harvard and soon served as Legal Defense for the NAACP. Now walking the legacy of distinguished African Americans, Franklin has taught at many historically black colleges and universities, thus demonstrating his attributes as a scholar and well versed leader in the Negro community.

Throughout history many authors and generations of scribes have altered the events that shaped the past of a people. The Negro in particular, is a hard people to define. Many stories or two sided. They are simple and leave out so much that went on behind the scenes. Described by Franklin as slavery or freedom, right and wrong, and Democracy and its denial, the history of the Negro helped shape America to its present day prestige. In the early days of Negro writing it was simply just a black voice against the white collard Caucasians’.

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