Cardon, Nathan. “The South’s “New Negroes” and African American Visions of Progress at the

Atlanta and Nashville International Expositions, 1895-1897.” Journal of Southern History, vol. 80, no. 2, May 2014, p. 287. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aqh&AN=95795796&site=eds-live.

Nathan Cardon, in the article, “The South’s “New Negroes” and African American Visions of Progress at the Atlanta and Nashville International Expositions, 1895-1897″ (2014), portrays the Atlanta and Nashville international expositions (occurring between 1895 and 1897) as places that provided greater opportunities for African-Americans to expose their views on the South’s economic and social progress. Cardon supports his claim by describing the facilities in the expositions called the “Negro Buildings,” through which African-Americans were given a greater socioeconomic voice and were able to coexist with whites amidst the racial turmoil of the era. Cardon’s paper also provides an account of the African-American leaders present in the exposition and their desire to portray blacks’ progress in the South after the Civil War. The paper has lesser focus on the media’s role in portraying African-American progress through journals such as the Atlanta Constitution. The author’s purpose is to analyze the participation of African-Americans in the international expositions in order to evaluate the exposition’s impact on black participation in the New South. Cardon writes in an informed and descriptive tone primarily for readers of the Journal of Southern History, an academic journal.

Cardon’s paper is very centered around my essay topic: African-American participation in the New South especially as it pertains to economic development. The idea of the “New Negro” will be crucial to my thesis, and the article provides a very good explanation and context of such concept. I also intend to use Cardon’s information on the media’s image of African-Americans and contrast it with the reality depicted in other sources.

 

“Chapter III: Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others.” Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du

Bois, Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, 3/1/2006, pp. 25-36. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=34413869&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

W.E.B. DuBois, in chapter III of his book Souls of Black Folk (2006) argues that African-American professor Booker T. Washington’s approach to reconciliation between blacks and whites would limit rights and freedom for African-Americans. DuBois supports his claim by analyzing Washington’s “Atlanta Compromise” and its pragmatic call for willful forgoing of certain African-American rights in exchange for harmonious coexistence with whites and economic development. In fact, DuBois goes beyond his critique of the “Atlanta Compromise,” also providing an account of Washington himself and his efforts among the African-American community. In addition, DuBois offers his personal views on how African-Americans should fight for the end of second class citizenship. The author’s purpose is to explain his views on Booker T. Washington and his doctrines, in order to reveal African-Americans’ struggles for rights and participation in society after the Reconstruction Era. DuBois writes in a critical and analytical tone for readers of his book and Civil Rights activists.

Perhaps what is most important about DuBois’ book is the fact that it is a primary source. Such type of source is fundamental in a historical research paper such as mine, given that it provides very accurate insight into one of the biggest African-American minds of the New South period. I will use this book to provide a firsthand account on how African-Americans were treated in the New South.

 

Link, William A. Atlanta, Cradle of the New South : Race and Remembering in the Civil War’s

Aftermath. The University of North Carolina Press, 2013. Civil War America. EBSCOhost,

ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=532689&site=eds-live.

William Link, in the book Atlanta, Cradle of the New South : Race and Remembering in the Civil War’s Aftermath (2013), argues that the concept of the New South originated through Atlanta’s recovery after the flames that brought it to ruins in 1864. Link supports his claim by providing a thorough record of Atlanta’s history before and after the Civil War and analyzing the origins of the term “New South.” Link more specifically focuses on the changes throughout Atlanta’s history, how they are seen by African-Americans, and how this group is affected by the changes. The author also focuses on how black Atlantans were able to overcome white supremacy and build a center for African-American culture. The author’s purpose is to ultimately analyze the New South and Atlanta’s revival from the ashes as they pertain to African-Americans, in order to reveal the differences in what the New South meant to whites and blacks. Link writes in an assertive and scholarly tone for historians and researchers of the history of Atlanta.

Link’s book will most likely be my main source for this essay, for it provides not only a historical account of Atlanta, but also focuses on the city’s African-American history. I will use Link’s thorough research all throughout my paper, especially Chapter 2 of the book, which deals with the Civil War’s aftermath and Atlanta’s rebirth, and what those two occurrences meant for African-Americans.

 

Seaton, Corey. “‘W.E.B. Dubois & Booker T. Washington: Approaches to Developing Citizenship

Post-Reconstruction in the America’.” Kola, no. 1, 2014, p. 51. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsglr&AN=edsgcl.365072224&site=eds-live.

Corey Seaton, in his article “‘W.E.B. Dubois & Booker T. Washington: Approaches to Developing Citizenship Post-Reconstruction in the America” (2014), explains that African-American leaders had different approaches to overcome prejudice and inequality in the Post-Reconstruction Era. Seaton supports this assertion by comparing the philosophies of two very prominent African-American leaders in the Post-Reconstruction Era: the pragmatic Booker T. Washington and the more insistent W.E.B DuBois. Seaton summarizes Washington’s approach as wanting to solve short-term economic problems, while second-class citizenship would be solved over time. DuBois’ approach is described as insistently and constantly working to increase African-American participation in society, and approach that would later be preferred. The author’s purpose is to provide greater insight into the different ways of approaching problems of the African-American society during the Post-Reconstruction Era by comparing two prominent figures and analyzing their impact on Civil Rights history. Seaton writes in a scholarly and concise tone primarily for readers of the academic journal Kola and scholars interested in Civil Rights.

Seaton’s paper provides a very concise view on the tactics of two very important African-American leaders during the New South period. I intend to take advantage of this conciseness in order to summarize the different African-American thoughts on the period and relate them to my audience. The paper is also exceptional at providing the historical context for each leader, something I also intend to mention in my paper.

 

Vivian, Bradford J. “Up from Memory: Epideictic Forgetting in Booker T. Washington’s Cotton

States Exposition Address.” Philosophy and Rhetoric, no. 2, 2012, p. 189. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edspmu&AN=edspmu.S1527207912200052&site=eds-live.

In the article “Up from Memory: Epideictic Forgetting in Booker T. Washington’s Cotton

States Exposition Address” (2012), Bradford Vivian explains that Booker T. Washington’s speech at the Cotton States Exposition is an example of a case where being a witness of atrocities does not readily result in the ability to call for an expansion of human rights. Vivian supports his thesis by analyzing the rhetoric behind Washington’s speech as it calls on the public to willfully forget the past brutality of slavery in exchange for socioeconomic harmony. Vivian also analyzes more recent speeches on other dark times, such as the Holocaust and World Wars, and compares them with Washington’s apparent forgetfulness of slavery’s atrocities to evidence that his behavior is uncommon. To explain Washington’s behavior, the author also draws from more recent witnesses of atrocity, such as Auschwitz victims, and their views on the moral obligation of a witness’ testimony. The author’s purpose is to analyze how the symbolism behind the failure of speaking as a witness may ultimately hinder the development and expansion of human rights. Vivian writes in a critical and analytical tone primarily for readers of the academic journal Philosophy and Rhetoric and people in the field of Communications.

Vivian’s paper provides very powerful insights into not only Booker T. Washington, a key figure in my research, but also into communication and rhetoric, an important element for all leaders of the New South period. I intend to use these insights to also analyze my other sources and the rhetoric of other leaders such as Henry Gray and W.E.B. DuBois.