ALAIN LOCKE
Alain LeRoy Locke was born on September 13, 1886, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
into a well-known family. Alain's father, Pliny Locke, had obtained a degree in
law from Howard University, and then became a mail clerk in Philadelphia. Mary
Hawkins, Alain's mother, was a teacher.
Pliny Locke and Mary Hawkins were engaged for sixteen years, not marrying until
they were middle aged. Alain, their only child, was brought up in a cultured
home environment. When Alain was just six years old his father died, and his
mother supported her son through teaching. Alain attended the Ethical Culture
School, which was a school with modern ideas about education, teaching moral
principles and human values. Young Alain became ill with rheumatic fever early
in his childhood. The disease permanently damaged his heart and restricted his
physical activities. He dealt with his weak physical condition by spending time
reading books and learning to play the piano and violin.
Locke attended Central High School, graduating second in the class of 1902, and
then studied at the Philadelphia School of Pedagogy, where he was first in his
class. He attended Harvard University and completed Harvard's four-year program
in three years, graduating magna cum laude (second in his class) in 1907, being
elected to Phi Beta Kappa (an honor society made up of high-ranking American
college and graduate students in the subject of liberal arts and sciences), and
winning the school's most distinguished award, the Bowdoin Prize, for an essay
in English. It was a remarkable achievement for anyone, especially an African
American during this highly segregated (separated because of race) era.
Locke was named a Rhodes Scholar (a person who receives a scholarship to Oxford
University for two to three years), the first African American chosen for this
award, and sailed to England in 1907 to attend Oxford University. In 1910 he
received a bachelor's degree in literature. From Oxford he moved to Germany for
advanced work in philosophy at the University of Berlin from 1910 to 1911. This
time in Europe helped to intensify his interest in modern art, music and
literature.
Became an educator
In September 1912, Locke was appointed assistant professor of English at Howard
University, an African American college, in Washington, D.C. Frustrated, because
Howard's Board of Trustees would not approve courses on comparative race
relations, Locke turned his attention back to philosophy. In 1916, he received a
one-year appointment as an Austin Teaching Fellow at Harvard. Two years later he
received his doctorate degree and returned to Howard as a full professor of
philosophy. He would head this department until his retirement in 1953.
During these years Locke was a major contributor to Opportunity: Journal of
Negro Life and Survey Graphic. He edited a special issue of the latter
publication devoted to the Harlem Renaissance, the flourishing of African
American art, literature, and music in New York City during the 1920s and 1930s.
Expanding it into a book and shifting the focus from Harlem to overall African
American cultural life, Locke authored The New Negro: An Interpretation in 1925.
It was an outstanding collection of the leading African American fiction, poetry,
drama, and essays written by himself and others describing the changing state of
race relations in the United States.
Locke became the leading authority on modern African American culture and used
his position to promote the careers of young artists. He encouraged them to seek
out subjects in African American life and to set high artistic standards for
themselves.
Locke's cultural influence
Locke served as secretary and editor of the newly established Associates in
Negro Folk Education. Between 1936 and 1942 this organization published nine "Bronze
Booklets" written by leading African American scholars. Locke wrote two of these,
Negro Art: Past and Present and The Negro and His Music, and edited a third, The
Negro in Art: A Pictorial Record of the Negro Artist and of the Negro Theme in
Art. The latter reemphasized his belief that African American artists should
look to the works of their African ancestors for subject matter and styles to
apply to modern painting and sculpture.
Locke continued his work in philosophy, actively promoting his theory of
cultural pluralism (a society made up of several different cultures and their
beliefs). This interest led to his pioneering 1942 social science anthology,
coedited with Bernhard Stern, When Peoples Meet: A Study in Race and Culture
Contacts, an examination of dominant and minority populations in various
countries around the world.
In demand as a visiting scholar
By the middle of the twentieth century, Locke was a member of the editorial
board of the American Scholar and, in 1945, the first African American elected
president of the American Association for Adult Education, a mainly white
national organization.
During the 1945 and 1946 academic year he served as visiting professor of
philosophy at the University of Wisconsin. The following year he was a visiting
professor at the New School for Social Research in what had become his second
home for many years, New York City, and held a similar appointment the next year
at the City College of New York (CCNY).
After 1948 Locke began teaching at both CCNY and Howard. His final achievement
was to secure a Phi Beta Kappa chapter at Howard in 1953, a major milestone in
the history of African American education.
Locke retired later that year and was awarded an honorary doctorate (a degree
given without the usual proceedings) by Howard. He moved permanently to New York
City and continued working on his magnum opus (highest achievement), The Negro
in American Culture, a definitive study of the contribution of African Americans
to American society. Unfortunately his recurrent heart problems returned in the
spring of 1954, causing his death on June 9, 1954, in New York City. His
unfinished manuscript was completed by Margaret Just Butcher.
Alain LeRoy Locke was born on September 13, 1886, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
into a well-known family. Alain's father, Pliny Locke, had obtained a degree in
law from Howard University, and then became a mail clerk in Philadelphia. Mary
Hawkins, Alain's mother, was a teacher.
Pliny Locke and Mary Hawkins were engaged for sixteen years, not marrying until
they were middle aged. Alain, their only child, was brought up in a cultured
home environment. When Alain was just six years old his father died, and his
mother supported her son through teaching. Alain attended the Ethical Culture
School, which was a school with modern ideas about education, teaching moral
principles and human values. Young Alain became ill with rheumatic fever early
in his childhood. The disease permanently damaged his heart and restricted his
physical activities. He dealt with his weak physical condition by spending time
reading books and learning to play the piano and violin.
Locke attended Central High School, graduating second in the class of 1902, and
then studied at the Philadelphia School of Pedagogy, where he was first in his
class. He attended Harvard University and completed Harvard's four-year program
in three years, graduating magna cum laude (second in his class) in 1907, being
elected to Phi Beta Kappa (an honor society made up of high-ranking American
college and graduate students in the subject of liberal arts and sciences), and
winning the school's most distinguished award, the Bowdoin Prize, for an essay
in English. It was a remarkable achievement for anyone, especially an African
American during this highly segregated (separated because of race) era.
Locke was named a Rhodes Scholar (a person who receives a scholarship to Oxford
University for two to three years), the first African American chosen for this
award, and sailed to England in 1907 to attend Oxford University. In 1910 he
received a bachelor's degree in literature. From Oxford he moved to Germany for
advanced work in philosophy at the University of Berlin from 1910 to 1911. This
time in Europe helped to intensify his interest in modern art, music and
literature.
Became an educator
In September 1912, Locke was appointed assistant professor of English at Howard
University, an African American college, in Washington, D.C. Frustrated, because
Howard's Board of Trustees would not approve courses on comparative race
relations, Locke turned his attention back to philosophy. In 1916, he received a
one-year appointment as an Austin Teaching Fellow at Harvard. Two years later he
received his doctorate degree and returned to Howard as a full professor of
philosophy. He would head this department until his retirement in 1953.
During these years Locke was a major contributor to Opportunity: Journal of
Negro Life and Survey Graphic. He edited a special issue of the latter
publication devoted to the Harlem Renaissance, the flourishing of African
American art, literature, and music in New York City during the 1920s and 1930s.
Expanding it into a book and shifting the focus from Harlem to overall African
American cultural life, Locke authored The New Negro: An Interpretation in 1925.
It was an outstanding collection of the leading African American fiction, poetry,
drama, and essays written by himself and others describing the changing state of
race relations in the United States.
Locke became the leading authority on modern African American culture and used
his position to promote the careers of young artists. He encouraged them to seek
out subjects in African American life and to set high artistic standards for
themselves.
Locke's cultural influence
Locke served as secretary and editor of the newly established Associates in
Negro Folk Education. Between 1936 and 1942 this organization published nine "Bronze
Booklets" written by leading African American scholars. Locke wrote two of these,
Negro Art: Past and Present and The Negro and His Music, and edited a third, The
Negro in Art: A Pictorial Record of the Negro Artist and of the Negro Theme in
Art. The latter reemphasized his belief that African American artists should
look to the works of their African ancestors for subject matter and styles to
apply to modern painting and sculpture.
Locke continued his work in philosophy, actively promoting his theory of
cultural pluralism (a society made up of several different cultures and their
beliefs). This interest led to his pioneering 1942 social science anthology,
coedited with Bernhard Stern, When Peoples Meet: A Study in Race and Culture
Contacts, an examination of dominant and minority populations in various
countries around the world.
In demand as a visiting scholar
By the middle of the twentieth century, Locke was a member of the editorial
board of the American Scholar and, in 1945, the first African American elected
president of the American Association for Adult Education, a mainly white
national organization.
During the 1945 and 1946 academic year he served as visiting professor of
philosophy at the University of Wisconsin. The following year he was a visiting
professor at the New School for Social Research in what had become his second
home for many years, New York City, and held a similar appointment the next year
at the City College of New York (CCNY).
After 1948 Locke began teaching at both CCNY and Howard. His final achievement
was to secure a Phi Beta Kappa chapter at Howard in 1953, a major milestone in
the history of African American education.
Locke retired later that year and was awarded an honorary doctorate (a degree
given without the usual proceedings) by Howard. He moved permanently to New York
City and continued working on his magnum opus (highest achievement), The Negro
in American Culture, a definitive study of the contribution of African Americans
to American society. Unfortunately his recurrent heart problems returned in the
spring of 1954, causing his death on June 9, 1954, in New York City. His
unfinished manuscript was completed by Margaret Just Butcher.