I want to carry always this central idea: to be African
A frican research
His years in London were spent in study and research in A fric a n la n
guages and culture He was one o f the first to make a deep, scientific study
o f African culture. He early identified important elements and traced them
to black culture in Am erica— "survivals” — since verified by the work o f an
thropologist M elvin Herskovits. M ore than any other culture tra it, A m er
ican blacks reflected an in fe rio rity complex that led him to im itate white
people, he said. It was only reasonable that, having been taught that whites
are superior, "his ambition is to become as nearly like a white man as is pos
sible. . . . I am convinced that in this direction there is neither fulfillm ent nor
peace for the N egro."
By 1934 he had studied the legends, folk tales and folk lore o f West A f
rica; researched West African music; learned several languages o f the area
He launched into a comparative study o f Indo-European, African and As
ian languages; studied A fric a n linguistics and several East A fric a n la n
guages. H e emphasized the sophistication o f A frican languages that cun
convey greater subtleties than English, and associated the rich spiritual heri
tage o f A frica with that o f the great civilizations o f Asia.
Robeson feared that black Americans would lose their African heritage
and fell "cultural independence" to be a burning need.
Robeson believed the main weakness o f the West was a loss o f spiritual
ity. " A blind groping after R atio n ality resulted in an incalculable loss in
pure S p iritu a lity ." H e maintained that the person who embraced Western
values entirely would find his creative faculties stunted and would become
entirely dependent on external gratification. “ This is a severe price to pay
even for such achievements as those o f Western science."
He maintained that it was to the American black’s benefit that he man
aged to keep some appreciation o f the spiritual world.
"T h e modern white American is a member o f the lowest form o f civiliza
tion in the world to d a y ," he wrote. " M y problem is not to counteract his
prejudice against the N e g ro .. . that does not matter. W hat I have set myself
to do is to educate my brother the Negro to believe in himself
W e are a
great race, greater in tradition and culture than the Am erican race W hy
should we copy something that is inferior?”
He determined to use his talents to this end. " . . in my music, my plays,
my films I want to carry always this central idea: to be African. Multitudes
of men have died for less worthy ideas; it is even more eminently worth liv
ing fo r."
Emperor Jones, 1933
Proud Valley, 1939
ír*
PROUDLY
SALUTE
Black
History
Month
M H a a r x /a r
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k -ftn r iia r v
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