Harvard philosopher Alain Locke writes of the New Negro as an alternative path forward in the incredibly sad and frustrating race relations of the early 20th century in America. When W.E.B. Du Bois responded to this collection of essays, he correctly interpreted Locke's work as anti-accommodationist. Here's what Locke argues for in the essays.
First of all, Locke describes the Black American community not as a subsection of white society, but rather as a world culture, as foreign from American white society as India or China. Therefore, instead of attempting to blend in, the path forward was a proud folk movement of arts and literature.
Locke explains this idea further by discussing cultural pluralism, and how the pride of African American culture could help reshape the way America looked at diversity. In a way, Locke sees the culture as inherently misguided, and he hopes that by celebrating the beauty and art of the "New Negro," a proud Negro, that perhaps society will acknowledge the beauty of different points of view.
He then turns to an analysis of the past and the future, the "Old World," and the "New World," focusing specific attention to the city of Harlem where the black communities were beginning a renaissance for new racial identity and culture. He ends the work by highlighting the various ways in which the plight of the Black American has been improved, shining light on the hope for a better future.
