"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : EDWARD FRANKLIN FRAZIER

During a recent conversation, a friend of mine alerted me of two "NEGRO CLASSIC" books written by a Black man named Edward Franklin Frazier. The first book is,"The Negro Family In The United States," and the second book is,"The Negro Family in Chicago." Well, I was quite surprised to find out that his two books were published around the same time that Carter G Woodson published another great Negro Classic titled,"The Miseducation of The Negro." Also, In addition to writing his other two books, in 1927, Edward published his "SMOKING" article titled "The Pathology of Race Prejudice" in the Forum Magazine, an American magazine founded in 1885 by a German-American businessman named Isaac Rice. What's astonishing about the article is that it took Edward over 3 years to find someone to publish his article, but it took less than a month for people in Atlanta and at Morehouse College to turn on him! Not only did a local newspaper run an editorial against Edward's article, but Edward received death threats against his life and was forced to resign his position at Morehouse College. As a result, Edward decided to move his family to Chicago, where he earned his PhD in Sociology in 1931. Edward Franklin Frazier was born in Baltimore, Maryland on September 24, 1894. In 1912, he graduated from the Colored High and Training School in Baltimore. Also, Edward was awarded a scholarship to attend Howard University, where he graduated with honors in 1916. After graduating from Howard, he attended Clark University in Massachusetts, where he earned a master's degree in 1920. It was at Clark University that Edward developed his interest in Sociology. He felt that his interest in Sociology and his deep interest in Negro History complimented each other very well! From 1920-1921, he studied in New York, at the New York School of Social Work, which later became a part of Columbia University. Next, he took a teaching position at Morehouse College in Atlanta,where he taught Sociology. At Morehouse, he established the Atlanta University School of Social Work. Following his abrupt departure from Morehouse College, Edward moved to Chicago, where he was able to teach at Fisk University of Chicago. In 1934, Edward decided to move to Washington D.C. to take a position at Howard University. A position that he held up until his death in 1962. Edward Franklin Frazier died on May 17, 1962 in Washington D.C., at the age of 67. A significant part of his legacy includes Howard University naming its E. Franklin Frazier Center for Social Work Research after him, and Clark University creating a chair and professorship in his name: The E. Franklin Frazier Chair and Professor of English. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that many Black People today consider Edward to be among the most important & influential Black Men of his era.