E. Franklin Frazier
Encyclopedia
Edward Franklin Frazier (September 24, 1894 - May 17, 1962), was an American sociologist. His 1932 Ph.D.
dissertation The Negro Family in Chicago, later released as a book The Negro Family in the United States in 1939, analyzed the cultural and historical forces that influenced the development of the African American
family from the time of slavery
. The book was awarded the 1940 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for the most significant work in the field of race relations. This book was among the first sociological works on blacks researched and written by a black person. He helped draft the UNESCO
statement The Race Question
in 1950.
in Washington, DC, from where he graduated with honors in 1916. E. Franklin Frazier was an excellent scholar, pursuing Latin, Greek, German and mathematics. He also found time to participate in extracurricular activities involving drama, political science, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) and the Intercollegiate Socialist Society
. His leadership skills were evidenced in his class presidencies of 1915 and 1916.
Frazier attended Clark University
in Worcester, Massachusetts
where he earned a master's degree in 1920. The topic of his thesis was "New Currents of Thought Among the Colored People of America". It was during his time at Clark that Frazier first became acquainted with sociology.
After spending 1920-1921 as a Russell Sage Foundation fellow at the New York School of Social Work (later Columbia University School of Social Work) and a year at the University of Copenhagen
as a fellow of the American Scandinavian Foundation, Frazier accepted an appointment at Atlanta University where he served as the director of the Atlanta School of Social Work and an instructor of sociology at Morehouse College
.
Frazier moved from Atlanta to Chicago where he received a fellowship from the University of Chicago
's sociology department. His studies at Chicago culminated in his earning a Ph.D. in 1931. Along with Howard University colleagues, Ralph Bunche
and Abram Lincoln Harris
, Frazier delivered an attack on older generations at the NAACP's 1933 Amenia Conference. Frazier spent a few years at Fisk University
, followed by a move to Howard University in Washington, DC in 1934.
In 1941 Frazier embarked on a year-long study of family life in Brazil
, supported by a Guggenheim Fellowship
. He spent the next twenty years associated with Howard University where his work focused on the environment of black colleges, especially that of Howard University. One of Frazier's colleagues in his final year at Howard was Nathan Hare, author of The Black Anglo Saxons which Frazier rival Oliver Cox excoriated as part of the "Black Bourgeoisie School" of race analysis. Like Frazier, Hare also went on to upbraid historically black colleges, principally Howard (self-styled in those days "The Capstone of Negro Education").
Frazier was a founding member of the D.C. Sociological Society, serving as President of DCSS in 1943-44. Frazier also served as President of the Eastern Sociological Society in 1944-45. In 1948, Frazier was the first African American to serve as President of the American Sociological Society (later renamed Association). His Presidential Address, "Race Contacts and the Social Structure", was presented at the organization's annual meeting in Chicago in December 1948.
Frazier's position formed one half of the debate with Melville J. Herskovits
on the nature of cultural contact in the Western Hemisphere, specifically with reference to Africans, Europeans, and their descendents.
Frazier's Black Bourgeoisie, the 1957 translation of a work first published in French in 1955, was a critical examination of the adoption by middle-class African Americans of a subservient conservatism that derived from the cultural style and traditional religion of the white middle class, viewed as itself intellectually and culturally barren.
Frazier was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha
fraternity.
Frazier died May 17, 1962 at the age of 68, in Washington, D.C.. He has been ranked among the top African Americans for his influence on institutions and practices to accept the demands by African Americans for economic, political and social equality in American life.
In 1995 the E. Franklin Frazier Center for Social Work Research was established in the School of Social Work at Howard University. The center is named in honor of Dr. Edward Franklin Frazier because of his hard work and for all of his contributions to Howard University. A leading American sociologist and scholar- and a Howard graduate- Dr. Frazier dedicated his life to the creation of empirically based knowledge useful to solving problems affecting black people.
His pioneering studies on Black youth and families established his scholarly reputation throughout the world. During his lifetime he produced nine books and over 100 articles and essays challenging conventional research in the field of social work.
Edward Franklin Frazier (1894–1962) was a graduate of Howard University. Once graduated, he was a professor of math, history and modern language at the Tuskegee Institute. Known for his writings, Fraziers' Ph.D dissertation was critically acclaimed as one of the most important reads since an earlier writing by William Du Bois, also someone Frazier called his mentor. Some of his writings caused controversy among the black community. Often making known through his literature that black Americans had not made any real progress and that the blacks Americans position in the United States was not at the top. Many of his writings focused on the impact of slavery and how it divided the black family. His support for African American civil rights during the McCarthy era resulted in his being acknowledged not for his brilliant work but as a traitor. Edward F. Frazier died May 17, 1962.
Frazier was also known for his numerous feuds with fellow academics, most notably Charles Johnson and Melville Herskovits. He was also briefly alienated from his mentor W. E. B. Du Bois in the 1930s.
http://www.naswdc.org/diversity/black_history/2005/frazier.asp
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
dissertation The Negro Family in Chicago, later released as a book The Negro Family in the United States in 1939, analyzed the cultural and historical forces that influenced the development of the African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
family from the time of slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. The book was awarded the 1940 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for the most significant work in the field of race relations. This book was among the first sociological works on blacks researched and written by a black person. He helped draft the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
statement The Race Question
The Race Question
The Race Question is the first of four UNESCO statements about issues of race. It was issued on 18 July 1950 following World War II and Nazi racism. The statement was an attempt to clarify what was scientifically known about race and a moral condemnation of racism...
in 1950.
Biography
E. Franklin Frazier was born in Baltimore, Maryland on September 24, 1894. Frazier was one of five children of James H. Frazier, a bank messenger, and Mary Clark Frazier, a housewife. Edward Franklin Frazier attended Baltimore public schools. Upon his graduation from Colored High School, June 1912, Frazier was awarded the school's annual scholarship to Howard UniversityHoward University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
in Washington, DC, from where he graduated with honors in 1916. E. Franklin Frazier was an excellent scholar, pursuing Latin, Greek, German and mathematics. He also found time to participate in extracurricular activities involving drama, political science, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
(NAACP) and the Intercollegiate Socialist Society
Intercollegiate Socialist Society
The Intercollegiate Socialist Society was the a Socialist student organization from 1905-1921. It attracted many prominent intellectuals and writers and acted as the unofficial Socialist Party of America student wing...
. His leadership skills were evidenced in his class presidencies of 1915 and 1916.
Frazier attended Clark University
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university and liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts.Founded in 1887, it is the oldest educational institution founded as an all-graduate university. Clark now also educates undergraduates...
in Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
where he earned a master's degree in 1920. The topic of his thesis was "New Currents of Thought Among the Colored People of America". It was during his time at Clark that Frazier first became acquainted with sociology.
After spending 1920-1921 as a Russell Sage Foundation fellow at the New York School of Social Work (later Columbia University School of Social Work) and a year at the University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
as a fellow of the American Scandinavian Foundation, Frazier accepted an appointment at Atlanta University where he served as the director of the Atlanta School of Social Work and an instructor of sociology at Morehouse College
Morehouse College
Morehouse College is a private, all-male, liberal arts, historically black college located in Atlanta, Georgia. Along with Hampden-Sydney College and Wabash College, Morehouse is one of three remaining traditional men's colleges in the United States....
.
Frazier moved from Atlanta to Chicago where he received a fellowship from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
's sociology department. His studies at Chicago culminated in his earning a Ph.D. in 1931. Along with Howard University colleagues, Ralph Bunche
Ralph Bunche
Ralph Johnson Bunche or 1904December 9, 1971) was an American political scientist and diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in Palestine. He was the first person of color to be so honored in the history of the Prize...
and Abram Lincoln Harris
Abram Lincoln Harris
Abram Lincoln Harris, Jr. was an American economist, academic, anthropologist and a social critic of blacks in the United States. Considered by many as the first African American to achieve prominence in the field of economics, Harris was also known for his heavy influence on black radical and...
, Frazier delivered an attack on older generations at the NAACP's 1933 Amenia Conference. Frazier spent a few years at Fisk University
Fisk University
Fisk University is an historically black university founded in 1866 in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. The world-famous Fisk Jubilee Singers started as a group of students who performed to earn enough money to save the school at a critical time of financial shortages. They toured to raise funds to...
, followed by a move to Howard University in Washington, DC in 1934.
In 1941 Frazier embarked on a year-long study of family life in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, supported by a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
. He spent the next twenty years associated with Howard University where his work focused on the environment of black colleges, especially that of Howard University. One of Frazier's colleagues in his final year at Howard was Nathan Hare, author of The Black Anglo Saxons which Frazier rival Oliver Cox excoriated as part of the "Black Bourgeoisie School" of race analysis. Like Frazier, Hare also went on to upbraid historically black colleges, principally Howard (self-styled in those days "The Capstone of Negro Education").
Frazier was a founding member of the D.C. Sociological Society, serving as President of DCSS in 1943-44. Frazier also served as President of the Eastern Sociological Society in 1944-45. In 1948, Frazier was the first African American to serve as President of the American Sociological Society (later renamed Association). His Presidential Address, "Race Contacts and the Social Structure", was presented at the organization's annual meeting in Chicago in December 1948.
Frazier's position formed one half of the debate with Melville J. Herskovits
Melville J. Herskovits
Melville Jean Herskovits was an American anthropologist who firmly established African and African American studies in American academia. The son of Jewish immigrants, he obtained a Bachelor of Philosophy at the University of Chicago in 1923 and obtained his Master's and Ph.D...
on the nature of cultural contact in the Western Hemisphere, specifically with reference to Africans, Europeans, and their descendents.
Frazier's Black Bourgeoisie, the 1957 translation of a work first published in French in 1955, was a critical examination of the adoption by middle-class African Americans of a subservient conservatism that derived from the cultural style and traditional religion of the white middle class, viewed as itself intellectually and culturally barren.
Frazier was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...
fraternity.
Frazier died May 17, 1962 at the age of 68, in Washington, D.C.. He has been ranked among the top African Americans for his influence on institutions and practices to accept the demands by African Americans for economic, political and social equality in American life.
In 1995 the E. Franklin Frazier Center for Social Work Research was established in the School of Social Work at Howard University. The center is named in honor of Dr. Edward Franklin Frazier because of his hard work and for all of his contributions to Howard University. A leading American sociologist and scholar- and a Howard graduate- Dr. Frazier dedicated his life to the creation of empirically based knowledge useful to solving problems affecting black people.
His pioneering studies on Black youth and families established his scholarly reputation throughout the world. During his lifetime he produced nine books and over 100 articles and essays challenging conventional research in the field of social work.
Edward Franklin Frazier (1894–1962) was a graduate of Howard University. Once graduated, he was a professor of math, history and modern language at the Tuskegee Institute. Known for his writings, Fraziers' Ph.D dissertation was critically acclaimed as one of the most important reads since an earlier writing by William Du Bois, also someone Frazier called his mentor. Some of his writings caused controversy among the black community. Often making known through his literature that black Americans had not made any real progress and that the blacks Americans position in the United States was not at the top. Many of his writings focused on the impact of slavery and how it divided the black family. His support for African American civil rights during the McCarthy era resulted in his being acknowledged not for his brilliant work but as a traitor. Edward F. Frazier died May 17, 1962.
Frazier was also known for his numerous feuds with fellow academics, most notably Charles Johnson and Melville Herskovits. He was also briefly alienated from his mentor W. E. B. Du Bois in the 1930s.
http://www.naswdc.org/diversity/black_history/2005/frazier.asp
Works
- The Free Negro Family: a Study of Family Origins Before the Civil War (Nashville: Fisk University Press, 1932)
- The Negro Family in Chicago (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1932)
- The Negro Family in the United States (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1939)
- Negro Youth at the Crossways: Their Personality Development in the Middle States (Washington, D.C.: American Council on Education, 1940)
- The Negro Family in Bahia, Brazil (1942)
- The Negro in the United States (New York: Macmillan, 1949)
- The Integration of the Negro into American Society (editor) (Washington, D.C.: Howard University Press, 1951.
- Bourgeoisie noire (Paris: Plon, 1955)
- Black Bourgeoisie (translation of Bourgeoisie noire)(Glencoe, IL: Free Press, 1957)
- Race and Culture Contacts in the Modern World (New York: Knopf, 1957)
- The Negro Church in America (New York: Schocken Books, 1963)
- On Race Relations: Selected Writings, edited and with an introduction by G. Franklin Edwards, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1968)
Reference
- Jackson, E. R. Frazier, E. Franklin. American National Biography Online. February 2000.
- Washington Post, September 6, 1966.
- Robert K. Merton, The Sociology of Science: Theoretical and Empirical Investigations, edited with an introduction by Norman W. Storer, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973, , p. 136.
External links
- Biography and bibliography from Howard University
- http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/368/E_Franklin_Frazier_an_astute_sociologist from Edward Franklin Frazier
- http://www.howard.edu/library/Social_Work_Library/Franklin_Frazier.htm from Howard University
- http://www2.asanet.org/governance/frazier.html from E. Franklin Frazier, an astute sociologist
- http://www.howard.edu/schoolsocialwork/SW/FrazierCenter.htm from bibliography of E. Franklin Frazier, Sociologist, Educator, Author, Scholar
- National Assoc. of Social Workers Award for Black History Month