A Common Destiny Blacks and American Society (1989) / Chapter Skim
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Identity and Institutions in the Black Community
Identity and Institutions in the Black Community
Pages 161-204
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Jacob Lawrence Rooffops (No. 1, This Is Harlem)
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In this chapter we sketch this society within a society, in which the social participation of most black Americans has been experienced. We focus on change over time in overall social structure, in black institutions, and in concepts of identity.
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Because of these desires and needs, predominantly black institutions continue to play important roles in the lives of most blacks. BEFORE THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT A Se,gre,gated Soc?
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Between 1912 and 1938, 73 percent of all black college graduates became ministers or teachers (Halsey, 1938, cited in Bates, 1986:23~. These professionals almost exclusively serviced the segregated black community.
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Black parallel society was not autonomous: lack of black control over local governments and other important institutions made that impossible. The subordinate social status of the black community was apparent in the weak position of blacks in government and the small size of the black business community.
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\ , In contrast, Ralph Ellison believed this approach gave an undue emphasis on the disintegrating effects of racism. Both Ellison and James Baldwin contested Wright's bleak view by concentrating on conscious and active black people, rather than blacks' actions as mere responses to racism.
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Some of the more important consequences of the enlarged opportunities for black Americans and the increasing socioeconomic diversity within the black population have been a significant alteration in black leadership structure; problems in the recruitment and retention of talented blacks by black organizations and institutions; and the creation of new forms of black organizations.
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From page 169... ...
Thus, the lack of a pronounced class differential in black attitudes toward the public sector can be partly attributed to the fact that the class structure and vested interest in the expansion of the public sector intersect in a very different way among blacks than among whites. The Changing Black Elite The trends of the black middle class in the occupational structure have had important implications for black leadership.
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From page 171... ...
INSTITUTIONS: INSTRUMENTS OF CHANGE important changes in both black institutions and organizations with black members have occurred since the 1960s. The two most important influences on black organizational life have been changes in blacks' socioeconomic status-education, incomes, occupations, and urban residence-and increases in black participation throughout American society.
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In this section we discuss some of the changes and adaptations made by black institutions and organizations during the past few decades. We also review briefly some important new developments in black organizational life.
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and later a member of Congress from Georgia-were activists at these schools. The civil rights movement drew people and resources from black churches and black colleges throughout the South (Childs, 1987; Morris, 1984:183~.
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The local church was often the center of black community life (Frazier, 1963 :44; Lincoln, 1984:72~. The three largest black religious bodies are Methodist, Baptist, and Pentecostal.
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The split among black Baptists in 1961 illustrates the changing political role of the black church. The conservative leadership of the Reverend Joseph Jackson of the National Baptist Convention became increasingly controversial as activists sought to involve the church more directly in the civil rights movement.
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COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES History The traditionally black colleges and universities have historically kept alive a tradition of scholarship about black concerns and also provided a means for improving the social and economic status of black Americans. The majority of black lawyers, dentists, and teachers in the United States today received their degrees from black institutions of higher learning (Hill, 1984:ix; Wilkinson, 1987:i)
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In the 1960s, "traditionally black institutions enrolled about one third of the approximately 434,000 black students in higher education" (Morris, 1981:8~. It was not until the 1970s that black students in large numbers began attending predominantly white public and private colleges and universities in the South.
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From page 178... ...
has argued for a deferment of integration within predominantly black institutions until there is a substantial increase in black enrollment at traditionally white schools (see Wilkinson, 1987:2-3~. Four of the historically black colleges and universities now have majority white enrollments: Bluefield State in West Virginia, West Virginia State, Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, and Kentucky State Wilkinson, 1987~.
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Title III of the Higher Education Amendments of 1965 targeted federal funds to underfinanced colleges historically considered to be out of the mainstream of the higher education establishment (Hill, 1984:xviii; Wilkinson, 1987~. In addition, the reliance of many black students on federal financial aid makes these programs vital to the financial stability of many black institutions (see Chapter 7~.
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These businesses were heavily, almost exclusively, dependent on the segregated black community for patronage. The poverty and small resources of that community necessarily meant that black firms were at a great commercial disadvantage.
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They have also become less dependent on black consumers by expanding outside traditional black consumer markets. This modest diversification in the 1980s is illustrated by the changing industry distribution of Black Ent~rpr~se magazine's list of top 100 black firms, ranked by sales revenue.
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The civil rights movement created a new emphasis by the government and private sector to promote the advancement of black businesses. During the presidential primaries in 1968, Richard Nixon addressed the question of black participation in ownership of businesses.
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Increased competition from nonblack firms is a consequence of the same factors that are altering the composition of black firms, an expanding black consumer market and improved race relations. Overall, changes in the composition and viability of black-owned firms reflect the same basic social forces that have been transforming black institutions throughout the period since 1940: increased competition from white organizations for talented blacks and competition for black clients in the post-civil rights era.
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The NAACP still remains the premier black organization in terms of membership (450,000 in the late 1970s) and reputation, although there now exist a variety of specialized organizations devoted to social and economic development in the black community.
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The National Urban League, founded in 1910, is the lineal descendant of a succession of social service agencies, dating back to 1906, that specialized in the problems of urban blacks. It has always been active in job training and placement activity, which has brought it into extensive contact with local businesses, social workers, and philanthropies.
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During the same period, the comparable figures for the NAACP were $104,000 in 1960, $388,000 in 1965, and $2,665,000 in 1970 (Haines, 1984:Table 1~. As of 1985, the National Urban League far surpassed all other black organizations in terms oidonations and program expenditures; its outside revenues totaled $23,573,000, compared with $7,686,000 for the NAACP.: POST-1 960s O ROAN IZATIO NS The very success of the NAACP in pursuit of ending de lure segregation stimulated new and more varied organizations in the black community, thereby lessening its once almost unique position as an exponent of the black condition in American life.
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There are several summit coalitions of black leaders that play special roles in the black community. Among the most important are the National Black Leadership Roundtable, a coalition of about 125 national black organizations that convey local community sentiment from their chapters to the black congressional leadership and also assist in mobilizing the grass roots for lobbying campaigns on national issues; the National Black Leadership Forum, a coalition of the executives of 16 major black political, fraternal, and civic groups (Smith, 1982:64~; and the "black leadership family," a more select and secretive group that played a key role in the strategy sessions over a black presidential candidacy in 1983 (Collins, 1986:94-98~.
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is an independent body, but within the national museum profession, it is a good example of a black caucus. It seeks to increase professional black participation in museums, to serve the black community, and to make museums more responsive to the needs of that constituency.
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The two caucus groups just noted are not unique; their basic features are characteristic of black caucuses. Organization-specific caucuses are subject to questions about their loyalty and allegiance: Is the caucus an instrument of the black community and thus suspect to the organization?
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By the early 1980s, the Joint Center had evolved into a major research organization specializing in issues concerning black Americans. While political research remains its major strength, it has recently expanded its coverage of economic and military policy.
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DIVERGENT DEFI N ITIONS Cultural Traditions Tensions between desires to emphasize a unique self-identity and desires to participate fully in wider American society have always existed among black Americans (Hugging, 1971:Ch.
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, one of the architects of the Harlem renaissance, agreed that there was a commonality in the works by black artists as a result of shared racial life (Childs, 198~. In contrast, black artists such as Hale Woodruff, Richmond Barthe, Romare Bearden, and others emphasized universal aesthetic issues and dismissed racial ones.
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The Nation of Islam had its origins among black Americans in Detroit curing the 1930s. In 1945, Muslim mosques were establishedin Milwaukee and Washington, D.C.
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Allen Williams, 1962~. Carson's commentary represents an important criticism that many black Americans direct toward mainstream white American perspectives on black America.
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Recognition of Afro-American cultural duality is essential to the study of black Americans and black-white relations. Failure to use this concept has often created flaws in analyses of AfroAmerican culture and society (see, for example, Ellison's [1964]
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However, it is possible to develop measures of black cultural pride and identity from survey data that are closely related to those topics. We must caution, however, that the survey data available do not fully reflect the depth and complexity of the views expressed in black literature, oratory, political commentary, or in ordinary discourse in the black community.
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From page 197... ...
Source: Data from the 1970-1980 National Survey of Black Americans. Percent 28 24 22 5 4 4 3 6 3 TABLE 4-6 Black Parents' Attitudes Toward Socialization of Their Children Percentage As Percentag~ Question and Response Saying "Yes" of Total Sample In raising your children have you dune or told them things to help them know what it is to be black?
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Very few black people responded by saying "nothing" or that there were no distinctive qualities about which blacks should be proud (3 percent)
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The questions about behavior asked whether "blacks should always vote for black candidates when they run" (39 percent agreed) and whether "black people should shop at black-owned stores whenever possible" (63 percent agreedj.
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First, most black Americans experience and attach importance to a group cultural identity. Second, an interwoven set of qualities-such as group cohesion, striving, and endurance-and a perceived need to continue to instill such qualities in future generations appear to be key elements of this cultural identity.
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Bates, Timothy 1986 Paper prepared for the Committee on the Status of Black Americans, National Research Council, Washington, D.C. Billingsley, Andrew 1982 Building strong faculties in black colleges.
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1986 Black Voter Mobilization Since 1960. Paper prepared for the Committee on the Status of Black Americans, National Research Council, Washington, D.C.
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Paper prepared for the Committee on the Status of Black Americans, National Research Council, Washington, D.C. Newby, J
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1987 A Profile of the Nation's Resources: The Academic Missions and Cultures of Traditionally Black Colleges and Universities. Paper prepared for the Committee on the Status of Black Americans, National Research Council, Washington, D.C.
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