E. Franklin Frazier facts for kids
Edward Franklin Frazier (born September 24, 1894 – died May 17, 1962) was an important American sociologist and writer. A sociologist studies how people live together in groups and societies. Frazier wrote many books and articles about African-American culture and how different races get along.
One of his most famous books was The Negro Family in the United States (1939). This book looked at how the African-American family changed over time, from the days of slavery up to the mid-1930s. It was a very important book because it was one of the first studies on Black people researched and written by a Black person. It even won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in 1940!
In 1948, Frazier made history by becoming the first Black president of the American Sociological Association. He also helped write a statement for UNESCO in 1950 called The Race Question, which talked about race and equality.
Frazier wrote many books during his life. One of them was The Black Bourgeoisie. In this book, he looked closely at the Black middle class. He wondered if African-American businesses were truly helping to create equality for everyone.
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About E. Franklin Frazier
Edward Franklin Frazier was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1894. He was one of five children. His father, James H. Frazier, worked as a bank messenger, and his mother, Mary (Clark) Frazier, was a homemaker.
Frazier went to public schools in Baltimore. At that time, schools were legally separated by race. In 1912, he graduated from the Colored High and Training School in Baltimore. This school is now known as Frederick Douglass High School. He earned a scholarship to Howard University, which is a famous historically black college.
College Life and Studies
Frazier graduated with high honors from Howard University in 1916. He was a very smart student, studying subjects like Latin, Greek, German, and mathematics. He also joined many clubs, including drama, political science, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the Intercollegiate Socialist Society. His classmates even chose him as their president in both 1915 and 1916.
After Howard, Frazier went to Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. There, he earned his master's degree in 1920. His master's paper was about "New Currents of Thought Among the Colored People of America." It was at Clark that he began to study sociology, combining it with his strong interest in African-American history and culture. From 1920 to 1921, he also studied at the New York School of Social Work.
Teaching and Important Writings
Frazier taught sociology at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. This is another historically Black college. While there, he helped start what is now known as the Atlanta University School of Social Work.
In 1927, Frazier wrote an article called "The Pathology of Race Prejudice." He wrote that prejudice was "abnormal behavior." He said it was like a sickness that made people act cruelly towards Black people. An Atlanta newspaper wrote against his article, which actually made more people hear about it. Because of the strong negative reactions and threats, Frazier and his family had to leave Atlanta earlier than planned.
He then went to the University of Chicago to continue his studies. He earned his Ph.D. in 1931. During this time, he also taught at Fisk University from 1929 to 1934.
In 1934, Frazier returned to Howard University, where he taught until he passed away in 1962. At Howard, he was a key member of the Howard School of International Affairs. His work helped people understand how race and power affected global issues.
His Impact and Ideas
Frazier looked at how money, politics, and attitudes shaped social relationships. He always tried to find the "social reality" in whatever he studied. His important work led to him being elected as the first Black president of the American Sociological Association in 1948. He was seen as the top American expert on the Black family and a leading thinker on social change and race relations.
Frazier believed that African-American culture developed as people adjusted to new ways of life in the Americas. His book Black Bourgeoisie, first published in French in 1955 and then in English in 1957, was a critical look at how some middle-class African Americans adopted a quiet, traditional way of life. This book received mixed reactions, especially from the Black middle class. But Frazier stood by his idea that the Black middle class often focused on showing off their wealth and living in a "world of make-believe."
Frazier wrote eight books, 89 articles, and 18 chapters in other books.
He passed away on May 17, 1962, in Washington, D.C., at the age of 67. He is remembered as one of the most important African Americans. His work helped push for economic, political, and social equality for Black people in America.
Some of Frazier's writings caused debate in the Black community because they focused on how slavery affected and sometimes divided Black families. During the McCarthy era, when there was pressure against people with liberal ideas, Frazier strongly supported civil rights for African Americans. He was also a member of the Council on African Affairs.
Legacy and Honors
- Howard University named its E. Franklin Frazier Center for Social Work Research after him.
- Clark University created a special teaching position in his name: The E. Franklin Frazier Chair and Professor of English.
Published Works
- The Free Negro Family: a Study of Family Origins Before the Civil War (1932)
- The Negro Family in Chicago (1932)
- The Negro Family in the United States (1939)
- Negro Youth at the Crossways: Their Personality Development in the Middle States (1940)
- The Negro Family in Bahia, Brazil (1942)
- The Negro in the United States (1949)
- The Integration of the Negro into American Society (editor) (1951)
- Bourgeoisie noire (1955)
- Black Bourgeoisie (English translation of Bourgeoisie noire) (1957)
- Race and Culture Contacts in the Modern World (1957)
- The Negro Church in America (1963)
- On Race Relations: Selected Writings, edited by G. Franklin Edwards (1968)
