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Difficulty: MediumThe New Negro Movement and Cultural Debates

Read the excerpt from George S. Schuyler's 1926 essay 'Negro-Art Hokum' and answer the question that follows:

"Aside from his color, which ranging from very dark brown to pinkish white has no influence on his mentalities and outlook, the American Negro is just plain American... As a class, the Negroes of the United States are as different from the African Negroes as two groups of humans can be. The American Negro writer, painter, and sculptor are subject to the same influences as their white fellow citizens, and their work is as American as their speech."

Which of the following contemporary perspectives directly challenged Schuyler’s argument by asserting that Black artists should focus on expressing their distinct racial and cultural heritage?

  1. Langston Hughes's defense of artistic freedom, which argued that Black artists must express their unique experiences and heritage without shame or the desire to conform to white standards.Answer
  2. B
    W.E.B. Du Bois's advocacy for the 'Talented Tenth,' which argued that elite political leadership and classical academic education, rather than cultural expression, was the primary route to civil rights.
  3. C
    Marcus Garvey's black nationalist platform, which rejected American citizenship and culture in favor of immediate and total emigration of all African Americans to West Africa.
  4. D
    Black feminist theories of intersectionality, which argued that the Harlem Renaissance's focus on racial uplift ignored the unique struggles of Black women under patriarchy.

Answer

Langston Hughes's defense of artistic freedom, which argued that Black artists must express their unique experiences and heritage without shame or the desire to conform to white standards.
The correct option is the one describing Langston Hughes's perspective. In 'The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain' (1926), Hughes explicitly argued that Black artists must resist the urge to assimilate into white aesthetic standards, declaring that they should express their individual and racial selves with pride and without fear or shame.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the provided excerpt from George S. Schuyler's 'Negro-Art Hokum'.
Identify Schuyler's core argument: that there is no distinct 'Negro art' because African Americans are fully assimilated into American culture and subject to the same environmental influences as white Americans.
Understanding the source material is necessary to find the perspective that directly opposes it.
2
Evaluate the contemporary arguments of the Harlem Renaissance that challenged Schuyler's assimilationist viewpoint.
Identify Langston Hughes's 'The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain' (1926) as the direct counter-argument, which championed the creation of distinct Black art as an expression of racial pride and self-determination.
This matches the prompt's request for the perspective that challenged Schuyler by advocating for a distinct racial and cultural artistic expression.

Key Concept

The Harlem Renaissance debate over assimilation versus racial distinctiveness in Black art and literature.
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Topics

The New Negro Movement and Cultural Debates

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