FRANZ BOAS

RACE
AND
DEMOCRATIC
SOCIETY

1632

J.J. AUGUSTIN PUBLISHER NEW YORK

 WELLCOME INSTITUTE
LIBRARY

Coll. welMOmec
Cal!

No.

Printed in the United States

of America
Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction p. i

Race:

Prejudice p. /
Class Consciousness p. ij
What it is p. 20
Racism p. 28
The Jews p. 38
The “Aryan” p. 4$
The Negro in Africa p. j4
The Negro’s Past p. 61
The Negro in America p. 70
The American People p. 82

Units of Man :

Units of Man p. 97
National Groupings p. ioj
Nationalism p. 119
Solidarity p. 12;
Mental Attitude of the Educated Classes p.
International States p. 141

Democratic Society :

Ideals of the State p. ijj

Patriotism p. 156
Democratic Society (cont.)*

Principles of Government p. 160

Social Justice—Nations p. 165

Social Justice—Individuals p. 168

Human Resources p. 172

Intellectual Freedom p. 17s

Freedom of Thought p. 178

Academic Freedom p. 185

Education I p. 189

Education II p. 192

Freedom for the School p. 196

Freedom in Teaching p. 199

The University p. 204

University Government p. 209

Role of the Scientist in Democratic Society p. 21 j

 In the Sudan, the true Negro, the an¬
cestor of our slave population, has
achieved the very advances which the
critics of the Negro would make us be¬
IX lieve he cannot attain.

The Negro’s Past

The broad outlook over the development of mankind which

the study of the races of man gives to us, is often helpful to an
understanding of our own every-day problems, and may make
clear to us our capacity as well as our duty. I shall speak to
you from the standpoint of the anthropologist, of one who
has devoted his life to the study of the multifarious forms of
culture as found in different races.
Modern life makes certain definite demands upon us and
requires certain qualities of character. In judging the work of
men, it is, however, well to remember that there have been
cultures different from ours and that the qualities that are
today dominant and most highly esteemed, and the possession
of which makes a person a most useful member of society,
have not always had the same value; and may at a later period
be superseded by others not so highly valued now. In early
ages brute force was one of the highest qualities of man. Sagac¬
ity counted little. At the present time energetic self-assertion
counts for most, while in the age of early Christianity humil¬
ity won the highest praise. Such differences in the valuation
of our activities are also found at the present time in countries
that have developed untouched by the influence of modern
civilization.
Our gifts, our wishes and our ideals are determined not
Commencement Address at Atlanta University May 31, igo6. Atlanta Univer¬
sity Leaflet, No. 19.
62. RACE AND DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY

alone by the demands of the civilization in which we live,

but each of us has his own individuality which makes him
more or less fit to adapt himself to the demands of life. There¬
fore it behooves young men and young women to tarry long
enough before rushing into the activities of a busy life, to
know what powers are given to them, what they are able to
achieve and what place their work is to occupy in the con¬
flicting interests of modern life.
On the day when the student leaves the protecting wings of
the institution which has nurtured and trained his mind, he
naturally halts with a last glimpse backward. Then he looks
forward timidly, but at the same time with the exuberant joy
of having acquired the right of independent action, and now
he is in the midst of the struggle which even to the best, is
not all sweetness of success, but bound to bring the bitterness
of disappointment. Then will come the test of your strength,
of your loyalty to the ideals that your instructors have tried
to instil into you.
If these trials are not spared to the youth who is a member of
a homogeneous people, they will be encountered with even
greater certainty in communities where diverse elements live
side by side, and have to work for their joint welfare as well
as for the protection of their separate interests.
This is to be your future. The more clearly you recognize
the tasks it involves, the better you will be fitted to fill your
place in the life of the nation.
The fundamental requirement for useful activity on your
part is a clear insight into the capabilities of your own race.
If you did accept the view that the present weakness of the
American Negro, his uncontrolled emotions, his lack of
energy, are racially inherent, your work would still be a noble
one. You, the more fortunate members of your race, would
give your life to a great charitable work, to support the un¬
steady gait of your weak brother who is too feeble to walk by
himself. But you have the full right to view your labor in an
entirely different light.
The achievements of races are not only what they have
 THE NEGRO’S PAST 63

done during the past two thousand years, when the total
amount of invention based on application of knowledge de¬
veloped at an ever increasing rate. In this the European, the
Chinaman, the East Indian, have far outstripped other races.
But back of this period lies the time when mankind struggled
with the elements, when every small advance that seems to
us now insignificant was an achievement of the highest order,
as great as the discovery of steam power or of electricity, if
not greater. It may well be, that these early inventions were
made hardly consciously, certainly not by deliberate effort,
yet every one of them represents a giant’s stride forward in
the development of human culture. To these early advances
the Negro race has contributed its liberal share. While much
of the history of early invention is shrouded in darkness, it
seems likely that at a time when the European was still satis¬
fied with rude stone tools, the African had invented or adopted
the art of smelting iron.
Consider for a moment what this invention has meant for
the advance of the human race. As long as the hammer, knife,
saw, drill, the spade and the hoe had to be chipped out of
stone, or had to be made of shell or hard wood, effective in¬
dustrial work was not impossible, but difficult. A great prog¬
ress was made when copper found in large nuggets was ham¬
mered out into tools and later on shaped by smelting, and
when bronze was introduced; but the true advancement of in¬
dustrial life did not begin until the hard iron was discovered.
It seems not unlikely that the people that made the marvelous
discovery of reducing iron ores by smelting were the African
Negroes. Neither ancient Europe, nor ancient western Asia,
nor ancient China knew the iron, and everything points to its
introduction from Africa. At the time of the great African dis¬
coveries toward the end of the past century, the trade of the
blacksmith was found all over Africa, from north to south and
from east to west. With his simple bellows and a charcoal fire
he reduced the ore that is found in many parts of the continent
and forged implements of great usefulness and beauty.
Due also to native invention is the extended early African
64 RACE AND DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY

agriculture; each village is surrounded by its garden patches

and fields in which millet is grown. Domesticated animals
were also kept; in the agricultural regions chickens and pigs,
while in the arid parts of the country where agriculture is not
possible, large herds of cattle were raised. It is also important
to note that the cattle were milked, an art which in early
times was confined to Africa, Europe and northern Asia, while
even now it has not been acquired by the Chinese.
The occurrence of all these arts of life points to an early and
energetic development of African culture.
Even if we refrain from speculating on the earliest times,
conceding that it is difficult to prove the exact locality where
so important an invention was made as that of smelting iron,
or where the African millet was first cultivated, or where
chickens and cattle were domesticated, the evidence of Afri¬
can ethnology is such that it should inspire you with the hope
of leading your race from achievement to achievement. I re¬
mind you of the power of military organization exhibited by
the Zulu, whose kings and whose armies swept southeastern
Africa. I remind you of the local chiefs, who by dint of diplo¬
macy, bravery and wisdom united the scattered tribes of wide
areas into flourishing kingdoms, of the intricate form of gov¬
ernment necessary for holding together the heterogeneous
tribes.
If you wish to understand the possibilities of the African
under the stimulus of a foreign culture, you may look toward
the Soudan, the region south of the Sahara. When we first
learn about these countries by the reports of the great Arab
traveller Iben Batuta, who lived in the 14th century, we hear
that the old Negro kingdoms were early conquered by the
Mohammedans. Under the guidance of the Arabs, but later on
by their own initiative, the Negro tribes of these countries
organized kingdoms which lived for many centuries. They
founded flourishing towns in which at annual fairs thousands
and thousands of people assembled. Mosques and other public
buildings were erected and the execution of the laws was en¬
trusted to judges. The history of the kingdom was recorded by
 THE NEGRO S PAST 65

officers and kept in archives. So well organized were these

states that about 1850, when they were for the first time
visited by a white man, the remains of these archives were
still found in existence, notwithstanding all the political up¬
heavals of a millenium and notwithstanding the ravages of
the slave trade.
I might also speak to you of the great markets that are
found throughout Africa, at which commodities were ex¬
changed or sold for native money. I may perhaps remind you
of the system of judicial procedure, of prosecution and de¬
fense, which had early developed in Africa, and whose formal
development was a great achievement notwithstanding its
gruesome application in the persecution of witchcraft. Noth¬
ing, perhaps, is more encouraging than a glimpse of the artis¬
tic industry of native Africa. I regret that we have no place in
this country where the beauty and daintiness of African work
can be shown; but a walk through the African museums of
Paris, London and Berlin is a revelation. I wish you could see
the scepters of African kings, carved of hard wood and repre¬
senting artistic forms; or the delicate basketry made by the
people of the Congo river and of the region near the great
lakes of the Nile, or the grass mats with their beautiful pat¬
terns. Even more worthy of our admiration is the work of the
blacksmith, who manufactures symmetrical lance heads al¬
most a yard long, or axes inlaid with copper and decorated
with filigree. Let me also mention in passing the bronze cast¬
ings of Benin on the west coast of Africa, which, although
perhaps due to Portuguese influences, have so far excelled in
technique any European work, that they are even now almost
inimitable. In short, wherever you look, you find a thrifty
people, full of energy, capable of forming large states. You
find men of great energy and ambition who hold sway over
their fellows by the weight of their personality. That this
culture has, at the same time, the instability and other signs
of weakness of primitive culture, goes without saying.
To you, however, this picture of native Africa will inspire
strength, for all the alleged faults of your race that you have
66 RACE AND DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY

to conquer here are certainly not prominent there. In place of

indolence you find thrift and ingenuity, and application to
occupations that require not only industry, but inventiveness
and a high degree of technical skill, and the surplus energy of
the people does not spend itself in emotional excesses only.
If, therefore, it is claimed that your race is doomed to eco¬
nomic inferiority, you may confidently look to the home of
your ancestors, and say that you have set out to recover for
the colored people the strength that was their own before they
set foot on the shores of this continent. You may say that you
go to work with bright hopes, and that you will not be dis¬
couraged by the slowness of your progress; for you have to
recover not only what has been lost in transplanting the
Negro race from its native soil to this continent, but you must
reach higher levels than your ancestors had ever attained.
To those who stoutly maintain a material inferiority of the
Negro race and who would dampen your ardor by their
claims, you may confidently reply that the burden of proof
rests with them, that the past history of your race does not
sustain their statement, but rather gives you encouragement.
There is no anatomical evidence available that would sustain
the view that the bulk of the Negro race could not become
as useful citizens as the members of any other race. That there
may be slightly different hereditary traits seems plausible,
but it is entirely arbitrary to assume that those of the Negro,
because perhaps slightly different, must be of an inferior type.
The arguments for inferiority drawn from the history of
civilization are also weak. At the time when the early king¬
dom of Babylonia flourished, the same disparaging remarks
that are now made regarding the Negro might have been made
regarding the ancestors of the ancient Romans. They were
then a barbarous horde that had never made any contribu¬
tion to the advance of that civilization that was confined to
parts of Asia, and still they were destined to develop a culture
which has become the foundation and an integral part of our
own. Even later the barbarous hordes of northern Europe,who
at the time of the ancient Romans were tribal groups without
 THE NEGRO’S PAST 67

cultural achievements, have become the most advanced na¬

tions of our dav.
j

Thus, impartial scientific inquiry tells you to take up your

work among your race with undaunted courage. Success will
crown your endeavors if your work is carried on patiently,
calmly and consistently.
But in taking up your position in life you must also be clear
in regard to the relation of your work to the general life of the
nation, and here again anthropology and history will help
you to gain a healthy point of view. It is not the first time in
human history that two peoples have been brought into
close contact by the force of circumstances, who are dependent
upon each other economically but where social customs,
ideals and—let me add—bodily form, are so distinct that the
line of cleavage remains always open. Every conquest that
has led to colonization has produced, at least temporarily,
conditions of this kind. The conquest of England by the Nor¬
mans, the Teutonic invasion of Italy, the Manchu conquest
of China are illustrations of this point. But other instances are
more typical. The position of Armenians and Greeks in
Turkey, and the relations of the castes of India, bring up the
same problem.
The best example, however, is that of the Jews in Europe, a
people slightly distinct in type, but originally differing con¬
siderably in customs and beliefs from the people among whom
they lived. The separation of the Jew and the Gentile was en¬
forced for hundreds of years and very slowly only were the
various occupations opened to him; very slowly only began to
vanish the difference in customs and ideals. Even now the
feeling of inequality persists and to the feeling of many the
term Jew assigns to the bearer an exceptional position. And
this is so, although the old barriers have fallen, although in
the creative work of our times, in industry, commerce, science,
and art, the Jew holds a respected place. Even now there
lingers the consciousness of the old, sharper divisions which
the ages have not been able to efface, and which is strong
enough to find expression as antipathy to the Jewish type. In
68 RACE AND DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY

France, that let down the barriers more than a hundred years
ago, the feeling of antipathy is still strong enough to sustain
an anti-Jewish political party. I have dwelt on this example
somewhat fully, because it illustrates the conditions that
characterize your own position.
Even members of the same people, when divided by social
barriers, have often been in similar relations. Thus has the
hereditary nobility of Europe, although of the same descent as
the people, held itself aloof for centuries and has claimed for
itself superior power and a distinct code of honor. In short,
you may find innumerable instances of sharp social division of
a people into groups that are destined to work out jointly the
fate of their country.
You must take to heart the teachings of the past. You ob¬
serve, that in the case of the Patricians and Plebeians in Rome,
of the nobility and the townspeople of more modern times, it
has taken centuries for the exclusive groups to admit the
ability of the other groups, and that after this had been
achieved, it was impossible for long periods to break down
the constantly recrudescent feeling of difference in character.
You observe furthermore, that when there is such a slight dif¬
ference in type as between European and Jew, the feeling of
distinction persists strongly, long after the reasons that
created it have vanished. You must, therefore, recognize that
it is not in your power, as individuals, to modify rapidly the
feelings of others toward yourself, no matter how unjust and
unfair they may seem to you, but that, with the freedom to
improve your economic condition to the best of your ability,
your race has to work out its own salvation by raising the
standards of your life higher and higher, thus attacking the
feeling of contempt of your race at its very roots.
It is an ardous work that is before you. If you will remember
the teachings of history, you will find it a task full of joy, for
your own people will respond more and more readily to your
teachings. When they learn how to live a more cleanly,
healthy and comfortable life, they will also begin to appre¬
ciate the value of intellectual life, and as their intellectual