Racial Uplift, can be defined as a term within the African American community that motivates educated blacks to be responsible in the lifting of their race. This concept traced back to the late 1800s, introduced by black elites such as W. E. B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, and African American musicians like Florence Price who are known to be significant contributors. This concept is displayed by African Americans as a mean of assisting themselves to reach new heights in life. During the beginnings of racial uplift, hymns and negro spirituals played a vital role in shaping the spiritual culture of African Americans. Although these musical selections are mainly prevalent inside the black church, contemporary gospel music has been utilized for the liberation and uplift of the oppressed black race. Aside from music, African American leaders have used concepts such as Du Bois's double consciousness that describe the idea of blackness and the complexities of identity in the various lens in which the black race envisions themselves in American society. In the means of racial uplift, double consciousness is a struggle of racial uplift because it leaves the opportunity to believe that there is a superior race, which would look at you differently due to your skin. The talented tenth is a primary example of racial uplift for African Americans. Du Bois was one of the black elites that steered the talented tenth to become prevalent and of importance. Struggling to make racial uplift become relevant, he believed that the black leaders that were sent out to be representatives of their community did not always return to their communities.
Eugenics and its Correlation with Racial Uplift
is seen throughout the time of racial uplift due to the control that was placed on people of African American descent. Eugenics play a role in how racial uplift is viewed which includes how people are made to think, look, and create community. Some African Americans, both then and now, are said to take on roles which are prevailing in other cultures, making them alter the way in which they choose to live their life. In W.E.B Du Bois's novel titled The Souls of Black Folk he discusses his view on how African American are perceived both to themselves and to the ones whom are around them, with the term double consciousness. Du Bois himself is known to many as the father of Sociology and Pan-Africanism, which has been seen around the world and is the idea of all people from African descent becoming unified. Other African American authors such as Nathan Hare have written novels which attest to eugenics not only being seen in the African American community, but also its promoter of liberation through racial uplift. In Nathan Hare's The Black Anglo-Saxons, he writes about how African Americans had begun conform to with other races and abandon their own cultural identity. Although they are now seen as a higher class, these individuals have refused to step up and guide other African Americans to where they are, which is the concept of racial uplift. This novel like many other Nathan Hare novels, has caused African Americans to realize that not everyone who succeeds in life is willing to come back and give to their community. Nathan Hare himself, has written many books which deal with the concept of racial uplift and how African Americans operate in a society where eugenics exist.
With racial uplift being seen as a "self-help" for black people, there were also other aspects which focused on what African Americans were able to go out and receive an education. The beauty culture played a big role in who was sent out as a representative for the African American community. In W.E.B. Du Bois's novel The Souls of Black Folk, he uses this same idea to state how hair type, color, and attitude determined who was capable of receiving an education and could return to help the black community with lifting one another up. If the “wrong” individuals are sent out, then the community is looked at as doomed due to that individual's incapability to perform at a certain level. Touching on eugenics, many African Americans were unaware of how the way they look, their mannerisms, and how they interact with those around them affect their capability to be well educated. With the color of a person's skin being the first physical feature people seen during this time, a rise of colorism, which is a contradicting approach to racial uplift.
Colorism
Colorism, sometimes known as Shadism, is when someone is being treated differently due to the color of their skin by someone in their own race. Due to the time period that colorism occurred, people of light shades are said to be more favorable and according to W.E.B. Du Bois, these were the individuals that would have an easier time with receiving an education. Then, take that same knowledge that they learned and teach the community they live in. During this time, a test known as the "brown paper bag test" was used to see the shade of an African American. This test was not only used to attend Historically Black Colleges during the late 1800s and early 1900s, but also to be seen as a leader or relevant to their own kind. In connection with eugenics, colorism is a form of discrimination that excludes someone because of being a darker shade. With racial uplift, it is challenging for African Americans to uplift one another if they are concentrating on one's skin tone.
