Negro Youth Speaks & The Best of The Brownies' Book

As we have recognized before, the writing pieces from the New Negro are full of hope and opportunities for African Americans to better themselves as a whole race. I have found this similar theme apparent through The Best of the Brownies’ Book. At first I had never heard of The Brownies’ Book and when I researched it, I found out it was a children’s magazine published by the NAACP in 1920-1921 (founders include WEB DuBois, Augustus Granville Dill, and Jessie Fauset). It gave a sense of racial uplift through folklore, stories, poems, letters, sketches, and photographs. “Dolly’s Dream” is an example of instilling racial pride in young children as the little girl determines that she does love her “cwinkly black curls” (43). It exposed children to racist stories but at the same time brought them hope for the future by successful stories. I think that’s the point of the column “Little People of the Month” (70). I think one of main goals of The Brownies’ Book is to motivate African American children to achieve more than their parents did, to especially take advantage of educational opportunities. “The Heritage” found on page thirty-four shows this idea as Mother Mason explains to Julie that she has it easy compared to her ancestors and “owes” it to them to complete her schooling. I think both the New Negro and The Brownies’ Book encourage African American’s to think and take a look at what they’re up against (reality), but that they can overcome this obstacle and prove to whites that they are a hardworking and intelligent race, capable of anything.

Passing

Passing by Nella Larsen is very similar to Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson due to the theme of passing. Both authors depict the positive and negative sides to passing. The narrator in Autobiography lived a pleasant and leisurely life while traveling Europe with his millionaire friend, but he felt he was missing something bigger than that. He was longing to find himself and where he belonged in society. Even after he decided to pass, marry a white woman and have children, he still felt lost and fearful of others finding out about his true identity. Larsen uses Clare to illustrate these same ideas, but down plays the fear. Irene shows more fear for Clare and her daughter Margery than anything. This just goes to show how selfish Clare is. She isn’t concerned about Margery or her husband and how her life would be ruined if anyone was to find out about her situation. It emphasizes Clare’s characteristics of being tough and “stepping always on the edge of danger” (pg. 4).

The difference I found between Larsen and Johnson’s novels is that Johnson’s character had a reason to pass, for his music career, while Clare didn’t. I think she just wanted to live the wealthy life and enjoy all the perks of it. At the same time Clare does express feelings of loneliness and missing her race especially when she invited herself to the Negro Welfare League dance. Her frequent visits after the NFL dance also support this idea.

The Gift of Laughter

I think the movie Ethnic Notions emphasized the situation of minstrels as discussed in Fauset’s “The Gift of Laughter.” It’s ironic how black actors had to blacken their faces to actually fit into the stage life. This idea is contrasting to Johnson’s Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man due to the fact that he decided to pass for white for he felt he would be limited as a black musician. I’m curious as to how other African Americans (who weren’t minstrels) felt about those such as Bert Williams who decided to be presented as the “funny man” of America. Blacks made jokes about themselves and gave into the racism, discrimination, and what whites wanted to see in the entertainment business.

From what I saw in Ethnic Notions, the acts that black minstrels played were degrading to all African Americans, but especially males. (due to the fact that black males played minstrels on stage) They made themselves look foolish and act as though the black race was a joke, which is how whites saw them instead of human beings. This reigns true for the ethnic caricatures that were displayed in cartoons and greeting cards during this time. Throughout slavery and the civil rights movement, blacks have felt inferior to the white race and these are just more examples of how they were degraded.