Alain LeRoy Locke
Born	September 13, 1886 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Died	June 9, 1954 New York City, USA

Alain LeRoy Locke (September 13, 1886 – June 9, 1954) was an African American writer, philosopher, educator, and patron of the arts. He is best known for his writings on and about the Harlem Renaissance. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... 1886 (MDCCCLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ... Nickname: City of Brotherly Love, Philly, the Quaker City Motto: Philadelphia maneto (Let brotherly love continue) Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: Country United States State Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Mayor John F. Street (D) Area    - City 369. ... June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: Big Apple; City that never Sleeps; Gotham Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Manhattan Queens Brooklyn Staten Island Settled 1613 Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... 1886 (MDCCCLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ... June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... A philosopher is a person who thinks deeply regarding people, society, the world, and/or the universe. ... The Harlem Renaissance was a flowering of African American art, literature, music and culture in the United States led primarily by the African American community based in Harlem, New York City after World War I. Literary historians and academics have yet to reach a consensus as to when the period...

Alain Locke was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 13, 1886 to Pliny Locke (1850 - 1892) and Mary Hawkins Locke (1853 - 1922). In 1902, he graduated from Central High School in Philadelphia, second in his class. In 1907, Locke graduated from Harvard University with degrees in English and philosophy. He was the first African American Rhodes Scholar. Locke was denied admission to several Oxford colleges because of his skin color before finally being admitted to Hertford College, where he studied literature, philosophy, Greek, and Latin, from 1907-1910. In 1910, he attended the University of Berlin, where he studied philosophy. Locke attended the College de France in Paris in 1911. Nickname: City of Brotherly Love, Philly, the Quaker City Motto: Philadelphia maneto (Let brotherly love continue) Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: Country United States State Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Mayor John F. Street (D) Area    - City 369. ... Central High School is the second oldest public high school in the United States. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Death of Socrates, by Jacques-Louis David (1787) depicts the philosopher Socrates carrying out his own execution. ... Superscript text Rhodes House in Oxford, designed by Sir Herbert Baker. ... Hertford College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ... There is no institution called the University of Berlin, but there are four universities in Berlin, Germany: Humboldt University of Berlin (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) Technical University of Berlin (Technische Universität Berlin) Free University of Berlin (Freie Universität Berlin) Berlin University of the Arts (Universität der... The Coll ge de France is a higher education teaching and research establishment located in Paris, France. ...

Locke received an assistant professorship in English at Howard University, in Washington, D.C. There he interacted with W.E.B. DuBois and Carter Woodson, who helped develop his philosophy. Howard University is a historically black university in Washington, D.C. Howard was established in 1867 by congressional order and named after Oliver O. Howard. ... W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (pronounced ) (February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was a civil rights activist, sociologist, educator, historian, writer, editor, poet, and scholar, and socialist. ... Carter Woodson biographical cartoon by Charles Alston, 1943 Professor Carter Godwin Woodson (December 19, 1875 — April 3, 1950) was an African American historian, author, journalist and the founder of Black History Month. ...

Locke returned to Harvard in 1916 to work on his doctoral dissertation, The Problem of Classification in the Theory of Value. In his thesis, he discusses the causes of opinions and social biases, and that these are not objectively true or false, and therefore not universal. Locke received his Ph.D. in philosophy in 1918, the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from that school. Locke returned to Howard University as the chair of the department of philosophy, a position he held until his retirement in 1953. At Howard, he became a distinguished member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. ... The terms fraternity and sorority (from the Latin words frater and soror, meaning brother and sister respectively) may be used to describe many social and charitable organizations, for example the Lions Club, Epsilon Sigma Alpha, Rotary International, Ordo Templi Orientis or the Shriners. ...

Locke promoted African American artists, writers, and musicians, encouraging them to look to Africa as an inspiration for their works. He encouraged them to depict African and African American subjects, and to draw on their history for subject material. Locke edited the March 1925 issue of the periodical Survey Graphic, a special on Harlem and the Harlem Renaissance, which helped educate white readers about the flourishing culture there. Later that year, he expanded the issue into The New Negro, a collection of writings by African Americans, which would become one of his best known works. The Survey Graphic was a magazine written for the black culture during the Harlem Renaissance of the 20s and 30s in upper Manhattan. ... The New Negro is a book written by Alain Locke in 1925 about what the new negro is. ...

Major works

In addition to the books listed below, Locke edited the "Bronze Booklet" series, a set of eight volumes published by Associated Publishers in the 1930s. He also reviewed literature written by African Americans in journals such as Opportunity and Phylon.

His works include:

• The New Negro (New York: Albert and Charles Boni, 1925)
• Four Negro Poets (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1927)
• Plays of Negro Life: a Source-Book of Native American Drama (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1927)
• A Decade of Negro Self-Expression (Charlottesville, VA, 1928)
• The Negro in America (Chicago: American Library Association, 1933)
• Negro Art - Past and Present (Washington, D.C.: Associates in Negro Folk Education, 1936)
• The Negro and His Music (Washington, D.C.: Associates in Negro Folk Education, 1936)
• The Negro in Art: A Pictorial Record of the Negro Artist and of the Negro Theme in Art (Washington, D.C.: Associates in Negro Folk Education, 1940)
• When Peoples Meet: A Study in Race and Culture Contacts (New York: Committee on Workshops, Progressive Education Association, 1942)

Margaret J. Butcher's The Negro in American Culture (1956) was written with materials left by Locke. The New Negro is a book written by Alain Locke in 1925 about what the new negro is. ...

Religious beliefs

Locke was a member of the Bahá'í Faith and declared his belief in Bahá'u'lláh in 1918. It was common to write to `Abdu'l-Bahá to declare one's new faith, and Locke received a letter, or "tablet", from `Abdu'l-Bahá in return. When `Abdu'l-Bahá died in 1921, Locke enjoyed a close relationship with Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith. Although we do not know how much of his philosophy was influenced by the Bahá'í Faith, one can certainly see many similarities and themes that they share. Shoghi Effendi is reported to have said to Locke, "People as you, Mr. Gregory, Dr. Esslemont and some other dear souls are as rare as diamond." Seat of the Universal House of Justice in Haifa, Israel, governing body of the Baháís The Baháí Faith is a religion founded by Baháulláh in 19th century Persia. ... Shrine of Baháulláh Baháulláh (ba-haa-ol-laa Arabic: ‎ Glory of God) (1817 - 1892), born (Persian: ‎ ​), was the founder and prophet of the Baháí Faith. ... `Abdul-Bahá Sir `Abdul-Bahá `Abbás Effendí (May 23, 1844 - November 28, 1921) commonly known as `Abdul-Bahá (abdol-ba-haa Arabic: ‎ ), was the son of Baháulláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Baháí Faith. ... The last photograph of Shoghi Effendi, taken a few months before he died. ... Louis George Gregory Louis George Gregory (b. ... John Ebenezer Esslemont (1874-1925), was a prominent British Baháí from Scotland. ...

Additional Reading

• Christopher Buck. Alain Locke: Faith and Philosophy. Los Angeles: Kalimat Press, 2005.
• Clare Bloodgood Crane. Alain Locke and the Negro Renaissance. (Thesis) University of California, San Diego, 1971.
• Chielozona Eze. The Dilemma of Ethnic Identity: Alain Locke’s Vision of Transcultural Societies. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2005.
• Leonard Harris, ed. The Philosophy of Alain Locke: Harlem Renaissance and Beyond. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1989.
• Leonard Harris, ed. The Critical Pragmatism of Alain Locke: A Reader on Value Theory, Aesthetics, Community, Culture, Race, and Education. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999.
• Russell J. Linnemann, ed. Alain Locke: Reflections on a Modern Renaissance Man. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1982.
• Johnny Washington. Alain Locke and Philosophy: A Quest for Cultural Pluralism. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1986.
• Johhny Washington. A Journey into the Philosophy of Alain Locke. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1994.

Sources

• Goldsmith, James. Alain Locke. Planet Bahá'í. Retrieved on October 25, 2006.

Alain Locke was a good man to his peole. October 25 is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...