Clovis E. Semmes's Invaluable Index

Google's collection of Negro Digest/Black World is an important resource, making it possible to trace back through dozens of issues of the publication. But, to effectively navigate all the materials, you need a guide. For me, that has been Clovis E. Semmes's Roots of Afrocentric Thought: A Reference Guide to Negro Digest/Black World, 1961-1976 (1998). The book has really helped me comprehend the overall productivity of writers in the publication and chart various works throughout the periodical. 

I can't say enough about how invaluable Semmes's index was for me thinking through Negro Digest/Black World as I completed my book The Black Arts Enterprise. In so many ways, my own bibliographic work related to black arts was made possible by what's found in Roots of Afrocentric Thought.

Semmes organizes the materials into two major sections. Part I consists of an annotated bibliography of original articles and speeches. Part II is a bibliography of poetry, short stories, plays, reviews, and interviews. Overall, there are 3,525 entries. 

In the introduction, Semmes makes the case for the value of  Fuller's publication:

There can be no definitive analysis of the formation and substance of Afrocentric methods and discourse, Black literary criticism, Black aesthetics, and the like without examining the content of Negro Digest/Black World.

I agree. I would also add that, it is difficult to fully grasp all that was taking place in the publication without a resource like Roots of Afrocentric Thought.

Related:
• Blogging about Black World magazine

Shifting: Chapter 4: Seeking a Voice

[Shifting: The Double Lives of Black Women in America]


In chapter 4 of Shifting, Charisse Jones and Kumea Shorter-Gooden record the ways that black women express themselves and possibly their dissatisfaction. As the authors note, Black women have found their voices in the arts, activism, careers in politics and a host of other professions and activities.

The subsection “Chilling Effect: The Suppression of Speech” discusses everyday situations that prompt black women to choose between speaking up against racial injustice and suppressing themselves. The authors acknowledge that the reason black women choose silence is because “they suffer the consequences” (116).

What stood out to you most concerning the issue of silence and suppression? Why or how so? Please provide a page number.

Between the World and Me, Part I: (52 – 71)

[Between the World and Me]

"The enslaved were not bricks in your road, and their lives were not chapters in your redemptive history. They were people turned to fuel for the American machine. Enslavement was not destined to end, and it is wrong to claim our present circumstance—no matter how improved—as the redemption for the lives of people who never asked for the posthumous, untouchable glory of dying for their children. Our triumphs can never compensate for this" (70).

In the current section of Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates continues mentioning his forma and informal education at the Mecca. He also discusses relationships, and the lessons he gained in those. And as the above quotation reveals, he is still passing along lessons to his son about history and power. 

What's something in particular that you found important or useful from the section? Why? Please provide a page number.

The Rise: Arctic Summer: Surrender

[The Rise]

In The Rise, Sarah Lewis references several different narratives when covering the concept of "surrender" (61 - 88). What did you find particularly useful about her discussion? Why? Provide page numbers. 

The Malcolm X Mixtape at the East St. Louis Charter High School

In March 2010, I assisted with the resources for an SIUE student named Dometi Pongo to produce what we called “The Malcolm X Mixtape.” Dometi had taken classes with me, and we agreed that he would use excerpts from Malcolm X speeches that we had covered in my literature courses to produce raps.

The results were wonderful. He produced several songs for a mixtape that fused Malcolm’s words with conscious rap lyrics. On September 23, at the East St. Louis Charter High School, we read, listened to, and composed responses to pieces from the mixtape.

 
Related:
• Fall 2015 Programming

Naming & Comparing Overseers

By Jeremiah Carter

In African-American literary and cultural traditions, naming is especially significant. In Douglass’s narrative, we are briefly introduced to one of his early overseers, the “rightly named” Mr. Severe. By Douglass’s account, Severe “seemed to take pleasure” in whipping the slaves.

Soon after this description, Douglass states that Mr. Severe became ill and died. He then introduces Mr. Hopkins, the overseer that replaced Severe on Colonel Lloyd’s plantation. He suggests that Hopkins was “less cruel, less profane” and did not “seem” to take pleasure in whipping slaves. Douglass writes, Hopkins “was called a good overseer by the slaves.”

It is important to note that Douglass does not call Mr. Hopkins a good overseer himself, rather he is suggesting that Hopkins is considered, by the standards of the enslaved, to be “good.” Douglass uses Severe’s name as a literary trope in order to juxtapose two possible types of overseers and highlight the difference between them. By following his description of Severe with that of Hopkins, Douglass renders a conscious critique and is likely to be suggesting that despite what the slaves “called” Hopkins, he is no less problematic as an overseer and participant in the enslavement.

Related:
• #FrederickDouglass: Technology & African American Literary Studies 

Jeremiah Carter is a graduate student in English at SIUE and a contributing writer for the Cultural Front.  

Kalamu ya Salaam and the Richard Wright Award for Literary Criticism

"The Richard Wright award for literary criticism," note the editors of Black World magazine in the January 1972 issue, "goes to Kalamu ya Salaam for the general excellence of his criticism of both books and records, although his review of the book, In Our Terribleness, tipped the scales in his favor." That review appears in the April 1971 issue of Black World, which is absent from the Google collection of Negro Digest/Black World.

Fortunately, I was able to track down that April issue, so I was able to read Salaam's review. I hope Google eventually includes those additional copies of the periodical. When Salaam published that initial review of In Our Terribleness, he was writing under the name Val Ferdinand. He published as Salaam in his subsequent writings for the magazine.

A few of those writings included reviews of:

• Calvin C. Hernton's Coming Together
• Amiri Baraka's Raise Race Rays Raze: Essays Since 1965
• A selection of picture books
• Nikki Giovanni's My House
• Black Review No. 1 edited by Mel Watkins

Salaam's reviews are extensive, especially in comparison to many of the standard short reviews in the journal. Given the imperatives related to a black aesthetic, that is, a distinct African American critical frameworks, the practice of reviewing was integral to the overall enterprise. Between 1961 - 1976, Negro Digest/Black World included 936 book reviews, 289 record (album) reviews, 8 drama reviews, and 2 film reviews.     

The award that Salaam earned reflects the importance of reviewing as a critical practice during the discourse of the era. Subsequent winners of the Richard Wright Award included Mary Helen Washington, Melvin Dixon, and Kermit Frazier. The Wright award was sponsored by Addison Gayle. Liz Grant and then later Shelby Steele won the Amiri Baraka Awards for drama. Geneva Smitherman and then Sarah Fabio Webster won the Woodie King, Jr. Awards for drama.  Those awards, all of which included a cash prize of $100.00, were based on reviews.

Related:
• Blogging about Black World magazine

The many appearances of Amiri Baraka in Negro Digest/Black World

A sample of covers featuring Amiri Baraka

It perhaps comes as no surprise that Amiri Baraka appeared more frequently than any other poet on the cover of Negro Digest/Black World. He's on the November 1970 cover. There he is, along with Barbara Ann Teer, Woodie King, Jr., and others, on the cover of the annual theater issue in April 1970. He's on the January 1969 cover. And there he is on the  cover of the April 1967 issue. He's on the cover of the April 1966 issue.

Negro Digest/Black World did more than simply provide Baraka with a platform. Instead, the publication was integral to helping establish his status as one of the most visible black artists of the 1960s and 1970s. In addition to presenting images of him on the cover, the magazine ran several images of Baraka inside the issue. Baraka's poems and essays appeared regularly in the magazine, and he was a point of reference in numerous issues.

I'm reluctant to refer to people as the "father" and "mother" of a movement. Besides, Baraka often acknowledged that he collaborated with a host of artists and organizers, including Larry Neal, Sonia Sanchez, and Askia Toure to formulate Black Arts in Harlem. What stands out, though, when covering the discourse on African American literary and cultural arts in the pages of Negro Digest/Black World is just how pervasive the writings, name(s), and images of Baraka were.

In retrospect, one of the many notable contributions of the periodical was what it did to produce or amplify Amiri Baraka as this multi-talented and revered black cultural figure.  

Related:
• Blogging about Black World magazine

Special issues of Negro Digest/Black World

The editors of Negro Digest/Black World displayed an interest in developing a distinct cultural calendar, dedicating issues to specific topics.

In addition to the annual poetry issues in September,  Negro Digest/Black World, regularly ran an annual history issue in February. The magazine ran an annual fiction issue in June; the issue was referred to as the "fiction festival." Each April, the magazine ran special issues on theater. The November 1973 issue was designated a special on "Black Music." An image of Duke Ellington appears on the cover.

The special issues assisted in making reader more aware of those distinct genres and select writers. Playwright Ron Milner appears on the cover of the April 1976 issue of Black World, and playwright Ed Bullins appears on the cover of the April 1974 issue of Black World. Fiction writers Hal Bennett, Ishmael Reed, and Toni Cade Bambara appear on the June 1974 issue of Black World. 


Related:
• Blogging about Black World magazine

From Poet-Scholars to Poets and Scholars

Just quickly, it occurs to me reading Negro Digest/Black World that there was a large number of poet-critics or poet-scholars publishing work in the magazine and in other venues. By "poet-critic," I mean that many writers such as Nikki Giovanni, Larry Neal, Amiri Baraka, Carolyn Rodgers published poems as well as reviews and essays.

Over the years, we seem to have less of those combinations. There are a few poets who produce criticism and essays, but by and large, that's not the case. I'm not necessarily saying we need to go back to that. 

One reason for the division (poets as distinct from scholars) emerged as each of the fields began to professionalize. In order to build careers, poets had little time and reason to produce prose. And scholars were inclined to specialize and seek publishing opportunities for apparent scholarly work as opposed to creative works. Thus, many, not all, but many poets and scholars were prompted to choose different paths.

It's worth noting Negro Digest/Black World was not producing the same kinds of scholarly articles that we encounter in journals today. For one, "full length articles" in scholarly journals became much longer and specialized over the last two decades. Also, related, Negro Digest/Black World, a monthly, was devoted to news in a way that scholarly journals are not.    

There's also the matter of audience. Under Hoyt Fuller's editorship, writers for Negro Digest/Black World presumed that they were producing work for a distinct black audience. The magazine also assumed that audience had some interest in militancy or at least black consciousness.  Whatever the case, it's worth considering how writing and writers focusing on black literary art and culture have changed over the years. 

Related:
• Blogging about Black World magazine

Covering Robert Hayden's "The Whipping" with young black men

Put 29 black men in a room and cover Robert Hayden's "The Whipping," and you already know there will be a tough conversation. For years in my classes of first-year black men, I've taught Hayden's poem about observing a boy being whipped. The poem always prompts a discussion about the many "beatings" that guys in my classes endured as youngsters.

Thursday was no different. There are 24 first-year college students in the course, 4 high school seniors taking the course for college credit, my graduate assistant, and me. All black men. Last year for some reason or another, I had skipped covering "The Whipping." So I almost forgot how intense the conversation about disciplining black boys can become.

Early on, I asked the class, by a show of hands, how many had received serious whippings with objects other than belts. Only three students did not raise their hands. Everyone else noted being hit with an assortment of items: sticks, brooms, shoes, hangers, and in one case, a wooden spoon.

Some of the guys spoke of black boys "needing" stiffer, physical punishment than others. They noted that some of us were "bad" and thus "deserved it." One student noted that he lives in a rough neighborhood, and that the guys who cause the problems probably did not receive "enough whippings." I pushed back on many of the initial comments.

It's common, at least in some realms, for us to speak of beatings as good things and humorous even. African American comedians have long made recollections of whippings a central set piece in their comedy routines. Eddie Murphy, Sinbad, and the late Bernie Mac performed memorable stand-ups about receiving and giving whippings. Folks regularly compete for the best, most humorous tales about whippings they received.    

But there's rarely talk of the short-term and long-term consequences of beating black boys. So I asked the guys in my class: what if the beatings did not necessarily solve certain behavioral problems? What if there were in fact better alternatives? What if mothers and fathers were sometimes wrong about beating black boys with shoes and brooms and a wooden spoon? What if some mothers, like the woman in Hayden's poem, were beating boys "in part for lifelong hidings she has had to bear"?

 A few guys began speaking up. One noted that if his parents really wanted to punish him, they should have limited his time participating in recreational activities that he loved like basketball as opposed to often whipping him. Someone else mentioned that the "whippings didn't hurt; they just made me angry. And it caused me to like them less." 

The back and forth continued though. Some guys insisted black boys sometimes "deserve it." Some questioned whether it was too much. The conversation was intense, active, painful, challenging, and important.

Related:
• Beating Black Boys in African American Literature
• Collegiate Students 

The concentration of black women critical writings during the 1960s/70s

During the 1960s and 1970s, Negro Digest/Black World published an outstanding body of reviews and essays by black women writers. Nikki Giovanni, June Jordan, Mary Helen Washington, Carolyn Rodgers, Sarah Webster Fabio, Ellease Southerland, Carolyn Fowler, Toni Morrison, Ruth Rambo McClain, Sonia Sanchez, Barbara Christian, and Miriam DeCosta among others produced prose writings for the publication.

The publication of their writings in Negro Digest/Black World between the late 1960s and early to mid 1970s makes the production especially notable in retrospect. The works were concentrated in this one venue, raising the value of the periodical and the magazine in turn adding value to the writers' publishing record.   


Related:
• Blogging about Black World magazine

Beating Black Boys in African American Literature

African American writers, especially the men, have done considerable work documenting incidents of black boys being beat by African Americans in their works. What follows is a partial list of works.

• The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845) by Frederick Douglass -- Douglass describes receiving beatings from Edward Covey: "I lived with Mr. Covey one year. During the first six months, of that year, scarce a week passed without his whipping me. I was seldom free from a sore back. My awkwardness was almost always his excuse for whipping me."

• Black Boy (1945) by Richard Wright -- Throughout his autobiography, he charts the violence that he faced as a black boy growing up in the South. One of the most notable scenes occurs at the beginning when the young Richard sets first to curtains in the house. His mother beats him: "I was lashed so hard and long that I lost consciousness."

• Invisible Man (1952) by Ralph Ellison -- In the famous "Battle Royal" scene of Ellison's novel, a group of black boys, including the unnamed narrator, are forced to fight each other blind-folded for the entertainment of whites.

• "The Whipping" by Robert Hayden -- In the poem, the speaker describes watching a woman whipping a young boy. In the process of watching, the speaker recalls moments in his youth when he was whipped.
    [Related: Covering Robert Hayden's "The Whipping" with young black men]

• The White Boy Shuffle (1996) by Paul Beatty -- The narrator of Beatty's novel mentions being beaten up as he tries to adapt to a new neighborhood.

• The Boondocks (comic strip and cartoon) by Aaron McGruder -- Several scenes from the comic strip and cartoon show Riley, the younger of the two children, receiving physical punishment.

• "leadbelly's lessons" from Leadbelly (2005) by Tyehimba Jess -- A persona poem, a young Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter receives the threat of violence. A Mr. Haney, who owned a store and would have Leadbelly play his guitar. Mr. Haney would become drunk and would slur "nigger, someday i'm gonna kill you."

• The Beautiful Struggle (2008) by Ta-Nehisi Coates -- Coates describes young boys assaulted in his neighborhood. He also describes receiving a beating from his father.

• "Battle Royal" from The Big Smoke (2013) by Adrian Matejka -- A persona poem in the voice of Jack Johnson, a young Johnson describes participating in a "battle royal" where young black men and boys fought each other blindfolded: "When the bell rang, / it seemed like I got hit from eight / directions."

• Between the World and Me (2015) by Ta-Nehisi Coates -- Coates mentions various instances of violence against black boys throughout his book. He regularly mentions harm to "the black body."

Related:
• Bad man poetry

Literary criticism for African American audiences

The high volume of critical writings in Black Dialogue, The Journal of Black Poetry, Negro Digest/Black World, and other publications of the 1960s and 1970s was remarkable. In addition though, the periodicals raised the possibility of black literary criticism for African American audiences.

Hoyt Fuller, among others, had made the case that "white" publications were not taking black artistic writing seriously. Hence, Negro Digest/Black World, for instance, produced so many reviews and criticism related to in part to model what active engagements with black poetry looked like.

Reading through issues of Negro Digest/Black World and it becomes evident that the production of writings for African American audiences is part of what gave the writers and editors a sense of purpose.  
 
 Related:
• Blogging about Black World magazine

Public Thinking Event: Smarter Than You Think

On September 23, we coordinated a Public Thinking Event that was based, in part, on "public thinking," the subject and title of Clive Thompson's book Smarter Than You Think. About 200 students met and responded to an activity about  our uses of social media as well as the value of thinking through challenges collectively and publicly.

Related:
• Fall 2015 Programming

Listening session activity with ENG 111 students at Lovejoy Library

On September 22 at Lovejoy Library, one of my English 111 courses participated in a listening session activity at Lovejoy Library. We read and listened to poems by Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Robert Hayden.

Related:
• Fall 2015 Programming

Listening session activity at the East St. Louis Charter High School

On September 16, at the East St. Louis Charter High School, we participated in a listening session activity. This time, we read and listened to poems by Tracie Morris, Tyehimba Jess, Patricia Smith, Kelly Norman Ellis, Treasure Shields Redmond, and Saul Williams.

Related:
• Fall 2015 Programming

Listening session activity at the East St. Louis Charter High School

On September 9 at the East St. Louis Charter High School, we participated in a listening session activity. We read and listened to poems by Gwendolyn Brooks, Nikki Giovanni, Robert Hayden, Sonia Sanchez, Maya Angelou, and Eugene B. Redmond.    

We used our trusty audio devices, which made it possible for students to have a somewhat mixed media experience by viewing and listening. 

Related:
• Fall 2015 Programming

Public Thinking Event: Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House

On September 9, we held our first Public Thinking Event of the academic year. We focused on the Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House -- a social services organization in East St. Louis. We looked at images from the organization's record of historical images that some of us have been scanning and labeling. Students observed the photographs and responded to questions.

Related:
• Fall 2015 Programming

Vision board activity at the East St. Louis Charter High School

On September 2, I coordinated a "vision board" activity at the East St. Louis Charter High School. I provided the students with boards and various images so that they could sketch out some of their plans for the year or visual self-definitions.

The young folks produced really engaging pieces, as they did last year. They are drawn to a wide range of African American cultural figures, so they found a variety of ways to incorporate those people into their vision boards.  

 

Related:
• Fall 2015 Programming

Fall 2015 Programming

• A photo-review of arts & humanities programming (Fall 2015) 

• December 8: Public Thinking Event -- Scholarly Culture 
• November 18: Bodies Matter 2015 event
• November 17: Photographs from Dear SIUE from BSU event 
• November 17: Gina Washington meets with Collegiate Black Women
• November 12: Covering Black Panther in the EBR Learning Center 
• November 12: Cindy Lyles gives opening reading at the Eugene B. Redmond Learning Center
• November 11: Remixing "Jetpacks & the Spivey" story
• November 3: Visiting the EBR Learning Center
• November 3: Public Thinking Event: Collaborative  Intelligence 
• October 31: Remixing Kelly Norman Ellis's "Raised by Women" 
• October 30: Andrew Theising leads tour of East St. Louis 
• October 14: Remixing Allison Joseph's "Thirty Lines" Poem at the East St. Louis Charter High School 
• October 7:  Remixing poetry at the East St. Louis Charter High School 
• October 6: Public Thinking Event: a focus on student demographics
• September 30: Here and There at the East St. Louis Charter High School 
• September 23: The Malcolm X Mixtape at the East St. Louis Charter High School
• September 23: Public Thinking Event: Smarter Than You Think
• September 22: Listening session activity with ENG 111 students at Lovejoy Library
• September 16: Listening session activity at the East St. Louis Charter High School
• September 9: Listening session activity at the East St. Louis Charter High School
• September 9: Public Thinking Event: Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House
• September 2: Vision board activity: The East St. Louis Charter High School

Online Reading Groups for Fall 2015
• Ta-Nehisi Coates's Between the World and Me
• Charisse Jones and Kumea Shorter-Gooden's Shifting: The Double Lives of Black Women in America (2003) 
• Sarah Lewis's The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery (2014) 

Frederick Douglass and Negro Digest/Black World

My brother Kenton and I were recently writing about the presence of the phrase "Frederick Douglass" in the Google Ngram database as well as the NYTimes Chronicle. So, I decided to take a look at appearances of "Frederick Douglass" in Negro Digest/Black World.  Not surprisingly, writers frequently mentioned Douglass throughout the pages of the magazine.

Douglass was one of many prominent culture heroes who became an increasingly important point of reference during the 1960s and 1970s. Writers and editors also mention the publication of editions of Douglass's books. 

An image of a "town house once occupied by Frederick Douglass, an ex-Foreign Service officer" appears in the December 1964 issue of Negro Digest. An image of Douglass appears along with other historical figures on the cover of the February 1965 issue of Negro Digest.

Douglass was not as pervasive as Malcolm X in the pages of the publication, but the famous ex-slave was no doubt important and frequently mentioned. 

Related:
• Blogging about Black World magazine
• #FrederickDouglass: Technology & African American Literary Studies 

The Rise: Blankness

[The Rise]

"We make discoveries, breakthroughs, and inventions in part because we are free enough to take risks, and fail if necessary. Private spaces are often where we extract the gains from attempts and misses" (49). Sarah Lewis

 In the third chapter of The Rise, Sarah Lewis discusses "blankness, or seeming non-responses, and private domains for creation. She discusses how "safe havens" might be used to allow work time to develop.

What aspects concerning discussions of safe havens, private domains, the uses of pressure for creating, or any other aspect of the chapter did you find most useful for thinking about creativity? Why or how so? Provide page numbers.

Between the World and Me, Part I: (39 – 52)

[Between the World and Me]

"My only Mecca was, is, and shall always be Howard University" (39). --Ta-Nehisi Coates

In this section of Between the World and Me, Coates discusses Howard University as a Mecca and place where he encountered diverse groups of black people and began to really deepen his knowledge or what we'd call "consciousness."

What scene or idea or description from the section captured your attention most? Why or how so? Provide a page number.

Shifting: Chapter 3: "The Many Shifts of Black Women"

[Shifting: The Double Lives of Black Women in America]

In chapter 3 of Shifting, Charisse Jones and Kumea Shorter-Gooden breakdown the many ways that black women “shift” in different environments. They explain that black women spend much of their time and energy, daily monitoring themselves and their environments in order to adjust.

In the subsection “Scanning, Surveying, and Scrutinizing,” the authors relate the process of shifting to the scientific method—involving “hypotheses, data collection, and revising theories” (70). They are suggesting that many black women intensely assess their environments in order to adjust/shift.

What aspect of shifting, as described by the authors in this chapter, stood out to you and why? Please provide a page number for your response.

--Jeremiah Carter

#FrederickDouglass: Technology & African American Literary Studies

Despite the broad range of studies devoted to Frederick Douglass and his Narrative, almost no scholarship concentrates on how we might utilize technology to deepen our understanding of Douglass’s life, his writings, and his connections to African American literary and black diasporic studies in general. More broadly, there is a lack of scholarship on black artistic writing and digital humanities. More work must be done in order to fully realize the ways that technology can enhance our engagements with a figure like Douglass.

Between now and March 2016, we – a diverse group of scholars all of whom focus on African American literature – are producing a series of interrelated blog entries and social media posts concentrating on Douglass. The project is designed to highlight some of the ways that scholars might utilize new technologies and social media to advance understandings of African American literary art. At the same time, the contributors are participating in an exchange of ideas that will publicly showcase the possibilities of collaboratively producing knowledge in the field.

Ultimately, our focus on Douglass, black poetry, rap artists, pedagogy, blogging, and text-mining will assist in pinpointing the convergence of technology and African American literary studies. The contributors to the project include Elizabeth Cali, Jeremiah Carter, Kenton Rambsy, Erin Ranft, and me.

We plan to present our findings as a group at the College Language Association conference in April 2016. In the meantime, we'll post short writings on Douglass here.

Entries:
2016
• February 21: More on Frederick Douglass's use of "Man" in the Narrative by Kenton Rambsy and Howard Rambsy II
• February 11: The Frederick Douglass books by Howard Rambsy II 
• February 11: Frederick Douglass and Teaching by Erin Ranft
• February 10: “Man,” “Covey,” and top 10 words in Douglass Narratives by Kenton Rambsy and Howard Rambsy II 
• February 9: Frederick Douglass, a 19th-Century Tummler by Elizabeth Cali

2015
• November 6: Quantifying Frederick Douglass’s Notorious Mr. Covey by Kenton Rambsy and Howard Rambsy II
• November 1: Word count and Frederick Douglass's Narrative by Kenton Rambsy and Howard Rambsy II 
• October 12: Notes on the critical work on Frederick Douglass by Jeremiah Carter
• September 29: Naming and Comparing Overseers by Jeremiah Carter
• September 23: Frederick Douglass and Negro Digest/Black World by Howard Rambsy II
• September 23: The Re-emergence of Douglass during the 1960s by Kenton Rambsy and Howard Rambsy II
• September 16: Frederick Douglass and the sorrow songs by Jeremiah Carter
• September 5: A partial timeline of memoirs & autobiographies by black men by Jeremiah Carter

The Re-emergence of Frederick Douglass during the 1960s

By Kenton Rambsy and Howard Rambsy II

NYTimes Chronicle Douglass findings

As part of a project we’re producing on Frederick Douglass, we were taking a look at Google’s Ngram Viewer as well as NYTimes Chronicle to track the word usage of “Frederick Douglass” over the last century.

For some time now, based on readings and conversations with fellow scholars, we’ve had the sense that Douglass gained new popularity during the 1960s. As the findings from Ngram Viewer and the Times dataset indicate, it was during that time period that “Frederick Douglass” began to appear with frequency again.

Ngram Viewer Douglass findings

In the Times, Douglass is at the height of mentions in the late 1860s. But for more of the 1900s, he is rarely noted in The New York Times until the 1960s, where he has steadily been referenced for the last 40 years. The findings from Ngram Viewer highlight the spike in Douglass mentions between in the 1960s and onward.

Related:
• #FrederickDouglass: Technology & African American Literary Studies
• African American Language and Culture Lab

Illegibility and Negro Digest/Black World

Many poem titles and various other titles are difficult to search for in Negro Digest/Black World. They simply do not show up and are unreadable. Part of the problem seems to be that the editors used cursive writing and other irregular font for titles. The titles are sometimes in different colors than the text of the poem.
Those things become a problem when it comes to what the scanners could not read. 

Consider a faded title of a review-essay by Keorpetse Kgositsile from the September 1974 issue of the publication. The original title was "Steps to Break the Circle," but those words are mostly illegible. There are titles that are even more faded and unclear throughout various issues.

The process of scanning was perhaps outsourced and completed by teams that were not as concerned about the accuracy of each detail of the project as a resource. Otherwise, there may have been a little more attention on what to do about the illegibility of some of the texts throughout the online collection.

Related:
• Blogging about Black World magazine

Announcing Ta-Nehisi Coates as New Black Panther Writer

A roundup of articles announcing Coates as the new writer for Marvel's Black Panther. 

2015
• Dec. 18: Axel Alonso Says Coates Not Done After 12 Issue - Albert Ching - Comic Book Resources
• Dec. 16: Black Panther Details Including Cover Artist, Debut Date, etc. - George Marston - Newsarama
• Dec. 2: Ta--Nehisi Coates Reveals Concept Art For 'Black Panther' - J. E. Reich - Tech Times
• Dec. 2: Ta-Nehisi Coates teases new Black Panther comic - Andrea Towers - Entertainment Weekly
• Oct. 2: New ‘Different Direction’ BLACK PANTHER #1 - Not a ‘Superhero Script’ - Lan Pitts - Newsarama
• Sept. 24: ‘Reparations For Wakanda. Namor Owe Us.’ – Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Answers Questions About Black Panther - Rich Johnston – Bleeding Cool
• Sept. 23: Ta-Nehisi Coates Is Writing the ‘Black Panther’ Comic for Marvel - Jason Concepcion - Grantland
• Sept. 23: Coates's Black Panther is a hopeful first step for diversity at Marvel - Arturo Garcia - The Guardian
• Sept. 23: Between Wakanda and Us - Joseph Phillip Illidge - Comic Book Resources
• Sept. 23: Ta-Nehisi Coates Takes on Black Panther - Marvel
• Sept. 23: NYT’s Bestseller Ta-Nehisi Coates to Pen Black Panther #1 - Laura Cerrone - Geek Chic Elite
• Sept. 23: Coates to write Black Panteher for Marvel - John Sexton - Breitbart
• Sept. 23: Ta-Nehisi Coates, ‘Black Panther’ and superhero diversity - Yanan Wang - Washington Post
• Sept. 23: Coates To Pen New Black Panther Comic Book Series For Marvel - Desire Thompson - NewsOne
• Sept. 23: Black Panther Gets New Ongoing Series from Marvel - Mike Cecchini - Den of Geeks
• Sept. 23: Coates To Write Black Panther Comic For Marvel - Gabrielle Souza - Baltimore Magazine
• Sept. 23: Marvel was smart to hire Coates to write Black Panther - David Betancourt - Washington Post
• Sept. 23: Ta-Nehisi Coates' Black Panther Comic Is a Dream Come True - Joshua Rivera  - GQ
• Sept. 22: Coates to author 'Black Panther' Marvel comic - Octavio Blanco and Tanzina Vega - CNN Money
• Sept. 22: Ta-Nehisi Coates Is Writing a Black Panther Marvel Comic Series - K.M. McFarland - Wired
• Sept. 22: Coates, Brian Stelfreeze launch Marvel's New 'Black Panther" Series - Comic Book Resources
• Sept. 22: The Black Panther: Ta-Nehisi Coates New Marvel Comic - Hunter Wallace - Conservative Headlines
• Sept. 22: Coates Will Write the New Black Panther Comics for Marvel - Eliana Dockterman - Time
• Sept. 22: Marvel wises up, hires Ta-Nehisi Coates to write Black Panther comic - Oliver Sava - A.V. Club
• Sept. 22: Coates Writing Black Panther Is the Year’s Biggest Comics News - Abraham Riesman - Vulture
• Sept. 22: Ta-Nehisi Coates to write Black Panther for Marvel - Susana Polo - Polygon
• Sept. 22: Ta-Nehisi Coates Will Write Marvel's New Black Panther Comic - Evan Narcisse - Kotaku
• Sept. 22: Marvel Announces New Black Panther Series from Coates - Spencer Perry - SuperHeroHype
• Sept. 22: Marvel recruited journalist Coates to write the 'Black Panther' comic book - Kirsten Acuna - Tech Insider
• Sept. 22: Ta-Nehisi Coates will write Marvel's new Black Panther series - Jevon Phillips - LA Times
• Sept. 22: Ta-Nehisi Coates will be writing Marvel’s Black Panther comic book - Alex Abad-Santos - Vox
• Sept. 22: Coates To Write New Black Panther For Marvel - Matt Ferner - HuffPost Black Voices
• Sept. 22: Marvel Announces New BLACK PANTHER Series from Coates - Eric Diaz - Nerdist
• Sept. 22:  Coates tapped to write new Black Panther for Marvel - Andrea Towers - Entertainment Weekly
• Sept. 22:  Coates is writing Marvel’s new Black Panther solo series - Charles Pulliam-Moore - Fusion
• Sept. 22: Ta-Nehisi Coates Will Write Marvel's Black Panther - Rob Salkowitz - Forbes
• Sept. 22: Ta-Nehisi Coates Tapped To Write Marvel’s Black Panther - Maddy Myers - The Mary Sue
• Sept. 22: Marvel’s ‘Black Panther’: Ta-Nehisi Coates to Write New Comic - Jacob Bryant - Variety
• Sept. 22: Ta-Nehisi Coates to write Marvel's Black Panther comic - Lanre Bakare - The Guardian
• Sept. 22: Marvel Announces 'Black Panther' to Be Written by Coates - Graeme McMillan - Hollywood Reporter
• Sept. 22: Ta-Nehisi Coates to write Marvel's new Black Panther comic - Quinn Kelly - Baltimore Sun
• Sept. 22: Ta-Nehisi Coates Set to Write 'Black Panther' Comic for Marvel - Dominique Hobdy - Essence
• Sept. 22: Ta-Nehisi Coates to Write Black Panther Comic for Marvel - George Gene Gustines - New York Times
• Sept. 22: Meet the new Black Panther writer - Axel Alonso - Twitter
• Sept. 22: Yes, Ta-Nehisi Coates Is Writing A New Comic Book For Marvel – Rich Johnston - Bleeding Cool
• Aug. 1: Is Ta-Nehisi Coates Writing A New Comic Book For Marvel? – Rich Johnston - Bleeding Cool

Related:
• A Notebook on Black Panther
• A Notebook on Ta-Nehisi Coates

Displaying images of poets and their publications

I'm sure there are more black books and poets in print today than there were in the late 1960s and 1970s. But Negro Digest/Black World celebrated the production of black books and presence of black poets in such ways that makes that fact hard to tell. The publication regularly included an assortment of books on the front covers, and poets were featured on the cover as well. Those are practices you're less likely to see today.

Managing editor Hoyt Fuller wanted you to see the books and the authors. The Sept./Oct. 1968 annual poetry issue of Negro Digest, for instance, includes an image featuring several volumes of poetry. The headline reads "The Annual Poetry Issue" and "Black Poets and Their Publications."

"Nowhere is the new Black Renaissance more evident than in the number of talented poets who are emerging on the scene," wrote the editors in that Sept./Oct. 1968 issue. Throughout the late 1960s and mid-1970s, they often displayed this idea through the images that they projected. 

Related:
• Blogging about Black World magazine

Malcolm X and Black World

Reading through issues of Negro Digest/Black World, it becomes apparent that "Malcolm X" was one of the most frequently referenced figures of the era. From the late 1960s to early 1970s, Malcolm was an important muse for poets. Several poems were dedicated to the leader after he was assassinated in February 1965.

The search function with the online issues of Negro Digest/Black World clarify that Malcolm was mentioned by poets, scholars, short story writers, and editors. In fact, I view "Malcolm X" as one of the central keywords in black arts discourse, in part because of how much he was mentioned in various publications by so many writers.     

An image of Malcolm appears on the cover of the November 1968 issue of Negro Digest. In the issue's lead essay "Brother Malcolm and the Black Revolution," poet  W. Keorpetse Kgositsile notes that "the reoccurrence of Malcolm's spirit is the source of our power, the power of the best possible productive uses of our lives." Writers of the era had perhaps absorbed those kinds of ideas. Indeed, recurring mentions to Malcolm were apparently sources of power or at least inspiration. 

Related:
• Blogging about Black World magazine
• An early poem for Malcolm X 

"The Black Aesthetic" and "The Black Arts Movement"

More than a decade ago when I first began studying African American artistic culture of the 1960s and 1970s, I would mistakenly use the "Black Arts Movement" and "Black Aesthetic" interchangeably. The former in fact referred to an overall movement, the latter related to a critical and theoretical concept. Of course, both appeared throughout African American arts discourse of the era.

As I looked back over issues of Negro Digest/Black World, particularly while utilizing the search function on Google, I have a better understanding about why I perhaps made the mistake. The phrase "black aesthetic" appears far more frequently than "Black Arts Movement." It's possible, while reading through issues, to think far more about black aesthetics, as poets, editors, playwright, and scholars regularly discussed and disagreed about the concept in the pages of Negro Digest/Black World.
   

Google Ngram Viewer

Much later, as the scholarly discourse on 1960s and 1970s African American literary art took shape over the last 10 or so years, the phrase "the Black Arts Movement" overtook "Black Aesthetic." A comparison on Google's Ngram Viewer seems to confirm my sense about the rise of "Black Arts Movement" and decline of "black aesthetics."  

Over the last several years, we've seen articles, books, conferences, and anthologies focusing on "Black Arts." There have been far fewer treatments on the "Black Aesthetic." But reading through issues of Negro Digest/Black World gives us a different impression.

Related:
• Blogging about Black World magazine 

An early poem for Malcolm X

"A Poem for Black Hearts"

Shortly after Malcolm X was assassinated in February 1965, dozens of poets began producing poems to honor the slain leader. "A Poem for Black Hearts" by Amiri Baraka (then LeRoi Jones) was one the earliest poems dedicated to Malcolm to gain national exposure when it appeared in the September 1965 issue of Negro Digest.

A note beneath the poem reads "April, 1965," a signal that Baraka's poem was produced even closer to the time of Malcolm's death. The April 1965 is also noteworthy as the month and year that Baraka and his collaborators launched the Black Arts Repertory Theatre/School in Harlem.

 In retrospect, the appearance of the poem  in September also carries significance. The September 1965 publication was the first time that the cover carried the designation "Annual Poetry Issue." That designation would continue to appear each September after that.

Finally, the poet's name was written as "Le Roi," not "LeRoi" as it usually appears. At various moments in the pages of Negro Digest/Black World, we come across the names "Le Roi Jones," "LeRoi Jones," "Ameer Baraka," "Imamu Amiri Baraka," and "Amiri Baraka"  in reference to this one poet. His name(s) as well as the name "Malcolm X" appeared regularly in the magazine.

Related:
• Blogging about Black World magazine

Tracing "Black Aesthetic" in Negro Digest/Black World

Read through issues of Negro Digest/Black World after 1966 or so, and there's increasing discussion of "the black aesthetic" and "aesthetics." It's one of the key terms of the era, and that's evident through numerous issues of the magazine.

 One of the advantages of having Negro Digest/Black World searchable through Google is the possibility to trace the use of the terms "black aesthetic" and "aesthetics" across dozens of issues. Doing so clarifies just how pervasive the concept(s) had become in a relatively short amount of time.    
 
Related:
• Blogging about Black World magazine

Back covers of Negro Digest/Black World, Pt. 1

The ranks of those who call themselves "Black", no matter what their pigmentation, grows hourly, and it seems possible now to peep the future and to foresee the day when all those "lost" children of the diaspora will be gathering their pride and power about them and coming home again.                                                                                --from the back cover of Black World, June 1974

The back covers of Negro Digest/Black World addressed a range of topics, and often presented a militant tone that supported black consciousness raising and solidarity. Rather than present advertisements on the back cover, the editors used the space as a place to project their concerns and interests.

The statements were unsigned, but the tone and focal points of the compositions resembled various other writings from the publication by the managing editor Hoyt Fuller. He definitely had to approve the contents of the back cover statements.

On my early encounters with Negro Digest/Black World, I gave relatively little attention to the back covers, as I was more interested in how the periodical presented poetry. However, moving forward, I'm planning to take a closer look and see how those back covers connected to the overall imperatives of the magazine.

Related:
• Blogging about Black World magazine

The Rise: The Unfinished Masterpiece

[The Rise]

In the second chapter of The Rise, Sarah Lewis mentions "near misses" and how those can motivate future actions. She provides several examples.  

What observation concerning "near misses" mentioned by Lewis did you find especially helpful or notable? Why or how so? Please provide a page number.