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13. Scourges of the Negro Family

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E. Franklin Frazier Reconsidered
This chapter is in the book E. Franklin Frazier Reconsidered
13 Scourges of the Negro Family Frazier is variously celebrated and impugned for his pioneering studies of the Afro-American family. A close look suggests a more complex judgment about the originality of his scholarship, his innovative contri-butions, and problems in his analytical framework. It is necessary to get beyond a reductionist assessment—whether to idealize him as the "great man" of black sociology or to discredit him as the founder of the pathology perspective—and situate his ideas about the family in their historical and social context. Origins It has been argued that Frazier's work on the Afro-American family can be traced to the Chicago school. There is some truth to the claim, but, again, this one-dimensional interpretation underestimates both the va-riety of forces that influenced Frazier and also his own creativity and initiative. Frazier himself recalled that his first interest in the Afro-American family predated his studies in Chicago and was sparked by reading Du Bois's 1908 study, The Negro American Family, and work-ing as a social worker in the South. "My feeling in regard to the work which some of us are doing," Frazier wrote Du Bois in 1939, "has been that we are building upon a tradition inaugurated by you in the Atlanta studies."1 The tendency to ignore or underestimate Du Bois's influence on Frazier is echoed more generally by historians of sociology who typically do not take Du Bois seriously as a pioneer in the social sciences.2 Frazier's acknowledgment of Du Bois's influence was not just a po-lite gesture. His early work on the family was very much indebted to 133
© 1991 Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick

13 Scourges of the Negro Family Frazier is variously celebrated and impugned for his pioneering studies of the Afro-American family. A close look suggests a more complex judgment about the originality of his scholarship, his innovative contri-butions, and problems in his analytical framework. It is necessary to get beyond a reductionist assessment—whether to idealize him as the "great man" of black sociology or to discredit him as the founder of the pathology perspective—and situate his ideas about the family in their historical and social context. Origins It has been argued that Frazier's work on the Afro-American family can be traced to the Chicago school. There is some truth to the claim, but, again, this one-dimensional interpretation underestimates both the va-riety of forces that influenced Frazier and also his own creativity and initiative. Frazier himself recalled that his first interest in the Afro-American family predated his studies in Chicago and was sparked by reading Du Bois's 1908 study, The Negro American Family, and work-ing as a social worker in the South. "My feeling in regard to the work which some of us are doing," Frazier wrote Du Bois in 1939, "has been that we are building upon a tradition inaugurated by you in the Atlanta studies."1 The tendency to ignore or underestimate Du Bois's influence on Frazier is echoed more generally by historians of sociology who typically do not take Du Bois seriously as a pioneer in the social sciences.2 Frazier's acknowledgment of Du Bois's influence was not just a po-lite gesture. His early work on the family was very much indebted to 133
© 1991 Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents VII
  3. Preface and Acknowledgments IX
  4. Prologue. Neither Saint nor Stone 1
  5. Part One. Roots
  6. 1. Son of the Crossways, 1894-1912 11
  7. 2. Keep Well Thy Tongue, 1912-1916 21
  8. 3. A Cruel and Devastating War, 1916-1918 31
  9. 4. Learning Sociology, 1919-1920 41
  10. 5. A Complete Existence, 1920-1922 53
  11. 6. Practically an Outcast, 1922-1927 62
  12. 7. Publish and Perish, 1927 69
  13. 8. Becoming a Sociologist, 1927-1929 82
  14. 9. The Plantation, 1929-1934 93
  15. 10. Capstone of Negro Education, 1934-1942 103
  16. Part Two. Ideas
  17. 11. Setting the Record Straight 111
  18. 12. Saving the Negro's Self-Respect 121
  19. 13. Scourges of the Negro Family 133
  20. 14. Black Bourgeoisie 145
  21. 15. The Racial Question 156
  22. Part Three. Ideology
  23. 16. Enfant Terrible 173
  24. 17. Black and Red 180
  25. 18. Keeping the Faith 191
  26. 19. Hounded 200
  27. Epilogue. To Hell with 'Em All 213
  28. Notes 223
  29. Index 269
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https://doi.org/10.36019/9780813586953-015

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents VII
  3. Preface and Acknowledgments IX
  4. Prologue. Neither Saint nor Stone 1
  5. Part One. Roots
  6. 1. Son of the Crossways, 1894-1912 11
  7. 2. Keep Well Thy Tongue, 1912-1916 21
  8. 3. A Cruel and Devastating War, 1916-1918 31
  9. 4. Learning Sociology, 1919-1920 41
  10. 5. A Complete Existence, 1920-1922 53
  11. 6. Practically an Outcast, 1922-1927 62
  12. 7. Publish and Perish, 1927 69
  13. 8. Becoming a Sociologist, 1927-1929 82
  14. 9. The Plantation, 1929-1934 93
  15. 10. Capstone of Negro Education, 1934-1942 103
  16. Part Two. Ideas
  17. 11. Setting the Record Straight 111
  18. 12. Saving the Negro's Self-Respect 121
  19. 13. Scourges of the Negro Family 133
  20. 14. Black Bourgeoisie 145
  21. 15. The Racial Question 156
  22. Part Three. Ideology
  23. 16. Enfant Terrible 173
  24. 17. Black and Red 180
  25. 18. Keeping the Faith 191
  26. 19. Hounded 200
  27. Epilogue. To Hell with 'Em All 213
  28. Notes 223
  29. Index 269
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