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Manchild in the Promised Land

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Manchild in the Promised Land View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by OTHES DISSERTATION Titel der Dissertation „African American Ghettos Portrayed in Autobiography: The Long Steady March from Lincoln to Obama 1865-2009” Verfasserin Mag. Dawn Kremslehner-Haas angestrebter akademischer Grad Doktorin der Philosophie (Dr. phil.) Wien, 2011 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: A 092 343 Dissertationsgebiet lt. Studienblatt: Anglistik und Amerikanistik Betreuer: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Waldemar Zacharasiewicz To my dear husband Hermann, without whose loving support this study would have never been completed. Thematic Overview BLACK URBAN GHETTOS PORTRAYED IN AUTOBIOGRAPHY: THE LONG STEADY MARCH FROM LINCOLN TO OBAMA 1865-2009 I. SETTING THE STAGE: PRE-1965 IDEOLOGICAL VANTAGE POINT: ARGUMENT: AUTHOR: WORK: 1 Conservative Behaviorist Cultural Argument: Family Structure Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl 2 Liberal Structuralist Racial Argument: Historic Racism Malcolm X / Haley The Autobiography of Malcolm X 3 Liberal Structuralist Economic Argument: Great Migration Claude Brown Manchild in the Promised Land II. LOCKED INTO A SPIRAL OF DECLINE: POST-1965 IDEOLOGICAL VANTAGE POINT: ARGUMENT: AUTHOR: WORK: 4 Conservative Behaviorist Cultural Argument: Cultural Revolution Cupcake Brown A Piece of Cake 5 Liberal Structuralist Racial Argument: Residential Segregation Nathan McCall Makes Me Wanna Holler 6 Liberal Structuralist Economic Argument: Urban Restructuring John E. Wideman Brothers and Keepers I Table of Contents I. Introduction 1 1. General Introduction 1 2. African American Autobiography in the Context of Cultural Studies 7 2.1. The Historical Significance of African American Biography 7 2.2. African American Autobiography as an Interdisciplinary Subject 9 2.3. Autobiography in a Social and Political Context 11 II. The Political Underclass Debate 13 1. Recurring Episodes of Reform and Reaction: 1945 - 2009 13 2. Black Socio-Economic Progress since 1945: The Conservative Behaviorist versus the Liberal Structuralist Perspective 14 2.1. The Historical Conservative Perspective 14 2.2. The Historical Liberal Perspective 17 3. Conservative Behaviorist Explanations for the Development of the Black Urban Underclass 18 3.1. Family Disorganization (E. Franklin Frazier) 20 3.2. Social Policy (Charles Murray) 22 3.3. The Cultural Revolution (Myron Magnet) 23 4. Liberal Structuralist Explanations for the Development of the Black Urban Underclass 24 4.1. The War against the Poor (Herbert J. Gans) 26 4.2. The Postindustrial Economy (William Julius Wilson) 27 4.3. The Shattering of Black Civil Society (Cornel West) 30 III. Analyses Pre-1965: Setting the Stage 33 1. Broken Families 33 1.1. Socio-Historical Analysis 33 1.1.1. The Historical Cultural Link 33 II 1.1.2. African American Family Structure During Slavery 34 1.1.3. African American Family Structure after Emancipation 41 1.1.4. African American Family Structure Affected by the Great Migration 45 1.1.5. African American Family Structure from 1945 - 1965 49 1.2. The Underclass Debate 57 1.2.1. Social Dislocations in African American Family Life as a Cultural Explanation for Black Ghetto Formation 57 1.2.2. The Liberal Structuralist Response 59 1.2.3. African American Family Life in Impoverished Urban Communities Today 60 1.3. Literary Case in Point: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl 62 1.3.1. Harriet Jacobs: Her Life (1813–1897) 62 1.3.2. Harriet Jacobs‘ Autobiographical Work: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl 63 1.3.3. Critical Analysis: Redefining the Victorian Concept of New Womanhood 66 1.3.4. Incidents in the Context of the Underclass Debate 68 2. The Original Sin of Slavery and Historic Racism 73 2.1. Socio-Historical Analysis 73 2.1.1. The Expression of White Racism and the African American Response 73 2.1.2. Racism as a Hegemonic Ideology 74 2.1.3. Expressions of White Racism Prior to 1965: Embodying the Notion of Black Inferiority 76 2.1.4. The African American Response to White Racism Prior to 1965: Double Consciousness 78 2.1.5. Expressions of White Racism after 1965: The Crumbling of the White Hegemonic Citadel 80 2.1.6. The African American Response to White Racism after 1965: Boiling Rage 84 2.2. The Underclass Debate 88 2.2.1. Racial Injustice as a Structuralist Explanation for Black Ghetto Formation 89 2.2.2. The Conservative Behaviorist Response 91 III 2.2.3. Race Relations Today 92 2.3. Literary Case in Point: The Autobiography of Malcolm X 96 2.3.1. Malcolm X: His Life (1925-1965) 96 2.3.2. Malcolm X‘s Autobiographical Work: The Autobiography of Malcolm X 98 2.3.3. Critical Analysis: The Name Search 100 2.3.4. Malcolm X in the Context of the Underclass Debate 115 3. The Lure of Big City Lights: The Great Migration 117 3.1. Socio-Historical Analysis 117 3.1.1. The Most Significant Change in Modern American History 117 3.1.2. Out of Egypt 120 3.1.3. Land of Milk and Honey 121 3.1.4. Intra-Racial Struggle 123 3.1.5. Employment Opportunities for African Americans in Industrial Cities 126 3.1.6. Housing Patterns during the Great Migration 131 3.2. The Underclass Debate 134 3.2.1. The Great Migration as a Structuralist Explanation for Black Ghetto Formation 135 3.2.2. The Conservative Behaviorist Response 136 3.2.3. The Effects of the Great Migration on Black Urban Ghettos Today 138 3.3. Literary Case in Point: Manchild in the Promised Land 140 3.3.1. Claude Brown: His Life (1937–2002) 140 3.3.2. Claude Brown‘s Autobiographical Work: Manchild in the Promised Land 141 3.3.3. Critical Analysis: Manchild and the Black Arts Movement 142 3.3.4. Manchild in the Context of the Underclass Debate 153 IV. Analyses Post-1965 155 4. Sex, Drugs, and Rock‘n Roll – The Cultural Revolution 155 4.1. Socio-Historical Analysis 155 4.1.1. An Experiment with Cultural Values 155 IV 4.1.2. New Black Consciousness in African American Communities 158 4.1.3. Racial Unrest 161 4.1.4. The Emergence of the Underclass 164 4.1.5. The Emergence of a Distinct Subculture 167 4.2. The Underclass Debate 171 4.2.1. The Cultural Revolution as a Cultural Explanation for the Emergence of Black Urban Ghettos 171 4.2.2. The Liberal Structuralist Response 174 4.3. Literary Case in Point: A Piece of Cake 179 4.3.1. Cupcake Brown: Her Life (1967*) 179 4.3.2. Cupcake Brown‘s Autobiographical Work: A Piece of Cake 181 4.3.3. Critical Analysis: A Piece of Cake under Feminist Critique 182 4.3.4. A Piece of Cake in the Context of the Underclass Debate 192 5. Living in the Hood 195 5.1. Socio-Historical Analysis 195 5.1.1. The Hardening of the Color Line 195 5.1.2. The Construction of the Projects 198 5.1.3. The Social Isolation in Black Urban Ghettos 202 5.1.4. Education 204 5.2. The Underclass Debate 208 5.2.1. Residential Segregation as a Structuralist Explanation for Black Ghetto Formation 208 5.2.2. The Conservative Behaviorist Response 211 5.3. Literary Case in Point: Makes Me Wanna Holler 214 5.3.1. Nathan McCall: His Life (1955*) 214 5.3.2. Nathan McCall‘s Autobiographical Work: Makes Me Wanna Holler 215 5.3.3. Critical Analysis: The Modern Bigger Thomas 217 5.3.4. Holler in the Context of the Underclass Debate 225 V 6. Lost Jobs 230 6.1. Socio-Historical Analysis 230 6.1.1. The Urban Economy Transformed by Global Changes 230 6.1.2. National and Global Economic Trends 232 6.1.3. The Nexus of Class and Work 236 6.1.4. The Working Poor 238 6.2. Underclass Debate 241 6.2.1. Urban Restructuring as a Structuralist Explanation for Black Ghetto Formation 241 6.2.2. The Conservative Behaviorist Response 245 6.3. Literary Case in Point: Brothers and Keepers 248 6.3.1. John Edgar Wideman: His Life (1941*) 248 6.3.2. John Edgar Wideman‘s Autobiographical Work: Brothers and Keepers 250 6.3.3. Critical Analysis: From Postmodernism to Traditional Black Storytelling 251 6.3.4. Brothers in the Context of the Underclass Debate 258 V. Conclusion 262 1. Assembling the Pieces 263 2. Autobiography as a Literary Beacon of Hope 265 3. In Search of Effective Social Policy: Obama in Good Company 267 4. Attempting Solutions 269 5. Audacious Glimpses of Hope 272 Works Consulted 274 Index 289 English Summary 293 German Summary 295 Curriculum Vitae 297 VI 1 I. Introduction 1. General Introduction We black folk, our history and our present being are a mirror of all the manifold experiences of America. What we want, what we represent, what we endure is what America is. (Richard Wright) The African American population faces a puzzling paradox today: the economic division within its community has never been greater. While the black middle class has reached unprecedented numbers, the swelling ranks of the black poor encompass about one fourth of all black families today. Of the 37 million Americans whose economic situation places them below the official poverty line, a disproportionate number is black (see Edwards 3). ―According to statistics, while it is the best of times for the black middle class, it is the worst of times for an equally large segment of the African American community‖ (Gates, Future 24). This study is concerned with the disadvantaged group of African Americans, often referred to in the academic discourse as ―the black underclass.‖ Its members reside primarily in urban ghettos where conditions have been deteriorating steadily over the past 50 years.
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