Edward
Franklin Frazier,
the son of a bank messenger, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on 24th
September, 1894. After graduating from Howard
University he taught mathematics, history and modern languages
at the Tuskegee Institute (1916-17),
St. Paul's Industrial School (1917-18) and Baltimore High School (1918-19).
In 1919 Frazier returned to his studies and the following year obtained
a M.A. degree in sociology from Clark University. He went on to teach
sociology at the New York School of Social Work (1920-21), the University
of Copenhagen (1921-22) and Atlanta University (1922-27).
Frazier published a series of articles on African American life and
his Ph.D. dissertation, The
Negro Family in Chicago,
was published in 1932. Critics claimed that it was the most important
study since The
Philadelphia Negro
was
published by William Du Bois in 1899.
Frazier became research professor of sociology at Fisk
University (1927-34) before becoming head of the sociology department
in Howard University in 1934. While in
this post he published his most important work, The
Negro Family in the United States
(1939). The book was an analysis of the history of the African American
family since the 18th century. This included the impact of slavery,
segregation, racial discrimination and migration on the family.
Frazier's most controversial book was his study of the African American
middle class, Black
Bourgeoisie
(1957). Later he summed up the critical reviews
he had received: "In some of the scholarly reviews as well as
in the serious journals of opinion there was either an implicit or
explicit criticism that the book exhibited anger or lack of sympathy
in its stark objectivity. A leading political analyst said that the
book was cruel because if Negroes were happy in their world of make-believe,
why should I feel it was my duty to let them know the truth about
their real position in the United States?"
A strong supporter of African American civil
rights Frazier supported his mentor, William
Du Bois, when he was being denounced as a traitor during the McCarthy
Era. Edward
Franklin Frazier died on 17th May, 1962.
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