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The New Negro by Alain Locke

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The New Negro by Alain Locke
The essay The New Negro by Alain Locke’s defines what Locke believes to be the “Old Negro and the “New Negro. This paper will compare and contrasts Marcus Garvey The Future as I See it and Langston Hughes various poems on why Locke would have characterized them as either Old Negroes, New Negroes, or both. I believe Locke, Garvey , Hughes were determined to see Blacks succeed. Each writer expresses their idea in their own unique way, but they all wanted freedom, equality, and respect.
For example, Locke would characterize Garvey as the Old and New Negro. For instance, Garvey writes that it’s time for each person to decide on how they will discover freedom. Garvey writes “The hour has now struck for the individual Negro as well as the entire race to decide the course that will be pursued in the interest of our own liberty”. (p.1000) Garvey was writing his views on the future as he saw it. He wanted blacks to know now it’s your time to decide which path you want to take and you have the freedom to do so. Also, Locke writes “The Negro today is inevitably moving forward under the control largely of his own objectives”. (p.989) Blacks are achieving their goals because ‘ is something they desired on their own.
Also, Garvey informs the Negro that their will be people who will try to discourage you from reaching the freedom you so desperately want. Garvey writes, “ Some trying to capitalize the new spirit that has come to the Negro to make profit out of it to their own selfish benefit; some are trying to set back the Negro from seeing the hope of own liberty… “(p.1001). In spite of, what the white men might think or feel on how far Negros will get in life, we must not listen and believe what they feel. Garvey writes “white men may laugh at the idea of Negroes talking about government; but let me tell you there is going to be a government…” (p.1002) Garvey writes to the New Negroes that we can’t let anyone plant a seed in our minds and our spirit that we
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