The Social and Educational History of a Minority Community, 1900-1950 by Vincent P
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The Education of Black Philadelphia: The Social and Educational History of a Minority Community, 1900-1950 by Vincent P. Franklin Review by: Clayborne Carson The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 66, No. 3 (Autumn, 1981), pp. 262-264 Published by: Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2716927 . Accessed: 26/09/2014 18:42 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of Negro History. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 171.64.248.221 on Fri, 26 Sep 2014 18:42:27 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 262 JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY Israel's Black Hebrews:Black AmericansIn Search of Identity. By Morris Lounds, Jr. (Washington,D.C.: UniversityPress of America, Incorporated,1981, IX 221 pp. $9.75; $18.25) Israel'sBlack Hebrews: Black Americans In SearchOf Identityis a comparativecase study of the developmentof groupidentity among a segmentof blackAmericans who are affiliated with a religioussect known as the Hebrew-Israelites.The authorstates that this is the first systematicstudy of the black Hebrews.Moreover, his primarypurpose is to find out how the Hebrew Israelites continue to exist and to maintain their cohesiveness despite their disappointmentat the failureof theirmillenium to materializein 1977.The authoralso seeksto determinewhat kinds of conciliationscan be reachedbetween the black Hebrewsand the Israelis. The introductiongives a synopticaccount of what the publicationentails and the research methodsused in collectingdata. It also givesa descriptionof the originand the developmentof the blackJews, the BlackMuslims, and the blackHebrews. Moreover, it givesa portraitof the foundersof eachof thesegroups. The authordeals with the periodfollowing 1977 known as the post-millenialera. The authoruses five sectionsto explainhis study. Sectionsone and two deal with the origin, idealogy,and the formationof group identity respectively.In sections three and four, the author discusses the difference between the Hebrew-Israelites,the Black Muslims,the black Jews of Harlem, and the perceptionof HebrewIsraelites and Israelistoward each other successively.Finally, the last portionof the book gives a summaryand conclusionof the study. Much of the informationdiscussed in this work has been elaboratedupon in some form, particularlyby those who adhere to such beliefs. Nevertheless,there are some interesting thoughtsreemphasized. There is also new information,especially that whichemanated from the interviews.For example, on page52, an explanationis givenby the blackHebrews as to how theirhistory was changedafter being stolen and how a racisthistory began. Another interesting topic in the book is found betweenpages 137-140. This section contrasts Black Muslims, black Jews,and blackHebrew Israelites. And they all claimto be God's chosenpeople. In addition, on page 154, they differ concerningtheir belief to remainor to leave the United States. Finally,perhaps the most interestingof all the examplescited is found in chapterfour which deals with a seriesof interviews.Between pages 167 and 171, when questionedabout their condition in Israel, one HebrewIsraelite responded by comparingtheir lives in the United Stateswith theirexperience in Israel.Hence, he painteda verydismal future for those blacks who remained in the United States. He concluded that they would eventuallydestroy themselves. This studyis well editedand has sufficientdocumentation. Having done some readingand researchin this area, the study was enjoyablefor the reviewerto read. The work is also an invaluableone in thatit maybe utilizedin a numberof waysespecially by thoseinterested in the religiousgroups discussed in the book. MississippiValley State University BufordSatcher The Education of Black Philadelphia: The Social and Educational History of a Minority Community, 1900-1950. By Vincent P. Franklin. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1979. xxi, 298 pp., $19.95). Acknowledging his indebtedness to Lawrence A. Cremin's pioneering studies in American educational history, Vincent P. Franklin has produced a work that clearly shows the historical breadth and depth of the best recent scholarship in the field of educational history. Franklin's study of public and community educational activities in Philadelphia's black community This content downloaded from 171.64.248.221 on Fri, 26 Sep 2014 18:42:27 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions BOOK REVIEWS 263 illuminatesthe many facets of the blackexperience in the city from the colonialperiod to the 1970s. His comprehensiveperspective, his deft use of previousscholarly research, and his effortsto revealconnections between educational policies and changingsocial conditions make this an importantcontribution to the literatureof educationalhistory and Afro-American history. Manyperceptive observations are imbeddedin this thoughtfulstudy. Franklin'sdiscussion of th impactof intelligencetesting on black educationduring the early20th Centuryreveals how studiesthat were intendedto measureinnate abilities were actuallyused to providethe veneerof "science" for traditionalanti-black educational policies. In his descriptionof the campaignagainst segregatedpublic schools, Franklinrecognizes the divisions that existed among blacksregarding the issue. Althoughhe generallydownplays the importanceof class divisionswithin the black community,he notes that the group interestsof black teachersled manyof themto opposedesegregation of teachingstaffs duringthe Depressionbecause of their well-foundedbelief that all-blackschools provided better employment opportunities than did integratedschools. Franklin'streatment of the community-wideeducational programs sponsored by black voluntaryorganizations demonstrates the vital role of these programsin contributingto black social advancement.In evaluatingthe role of black political leaders in pursuing racial objectivesin educationalfields, Franklindoes not hesitateto level strong criticismsagains cautiouslocal NAACP officialsand conservativeblack Democratswhose ineffectivenesswas apparentduring the early 1930sor againstblack politiciansof the 1960swho "vied for the supportof the Democraticmachine" and lackedthe leadershipqualities of the "newspaper editors,ministers, and lawyers"(p. 213) of the precedingera. Franklinis also dubiousabout the valueof interracialanti-discrimination efforts during and afterWorld War II, commenting that there was "little evidencethat the campaignsto increaseinterracial understanding and tolerancehad anysignificant impact upon the overallsocial conditions of the majorityof black citizens"(p. 166). Havingconceded the ambitiousscope and incitefulnessof Franklin'swork, however,some concernsremain about the coherenceof his studyand aboutthe futuredirection of workin this field. The initial pages of Franklin'sbook indicatethe superficialitythat may resultwhen a book attemptsto covertoo muchground too quickly.He breathlessly,and I thinkneedlessly, synthesizesprevious studies of Philadelphia'sblack community from the creationof the first Afro-Americanchurches in the late 18thCentury to the emergenceof a blackghetto in the early 20th Century.His penetratingtreatment of the years betweenthe World Wars reachesfar beyondthe publicschool system to examinethe deteriorationof blackeconomic conditions and the impactof New Deal programsin Philadelphiaduring the Depression.His discussionof unemploymentamong black youth duringthe decadesafter 1930includes an examinationof the problemof juvenile delinquency.Though the author clearlyintends to show the inter- relationshipsamong these aspects of black life and changesand continuitiesover time, the connectionsare often implicitrather than well-developed.Thus a sectionthat discussesblack employmentpatterns during the 1920sis followed,without transitional passages, by sectionson housing conditions, crime rates, and then patternsof segregationin the public schools. Relationshipsmay existlinking these phenomena,but they shouldhave been delineated rather than implied. The most convincingand originalpart of Franklin'sbook is his discussionof the black campaignduring the 1930sagainst discriminatory policies in the placementof black school teachers,but evenin thisinstance the analysisis somewhatunclear. Franklin mentions a variety of factors that might have affected the success of the black campaign.These include the depressedeconomic conditions of blacksin generaland blackschool teachers in particular,the desireof both major politicalparties to compete for black votes after 1934, and the limited This content downloaded from 171.64.248.221 on Fri, 26 Sep 2014 18:42:27 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 264 JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY victoriesof blackplaintiffs in previousanti-discrimination suits. WhenFranklin proceeds with his discussionof the final yearsof the blackcampaign against segregation, however, only the politicalfactors seem centralto