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E. Franklin Frazier

イー・フランクリン・フレイザー

E. Franklin Frazier

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1894-09-24 （Baltimore, Maryland）
Died
1962-05-17 （Washington, D.C.） age 67
Nationality
United States
Languages
English

Career

Occupations
Sociologist, Author, Educator
Active Years
1916-1962
Affiliations
Morehouse College, Fisk University, Howard University, American Sociological Association, Council on African Affairs
Memberships
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), American Sociological Association, Council on African Affairs
Influenced By
W. E. B. Du Bois, Robert E. Park
Influenced
William Julius Wilson, Orlando Patterson

Education

Howard University
Liberal Arts / Humanities
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1912–1916
Year of Graduation: 1916
Country: United States
Entered on scholarship. Studied Latin, Greek, German and mathematics; served as class president.
Clark University
Sociology
Degree: M.A.
Period: 1916–1920
Year of Graduation: 1920
Country: United States
Master's thesis on New Currents of Thought Among the Colored People of America; began formal study in sociology.
University of Chicago
Sociology
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 1920年代–1931
Year of Graduation: 1931
Country: United States
Earned Ph.D. in sociology; dissertation later published as a book.
New York School of Social Work (Russell Sage Foundation fellowship)
Social Work
Period: 1920–1921
Country: United States
Fellowship training later associated with Columbia University.

Awards

Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
1940
Work: The Negro Family in the United States
Organization: Anisfield-Wolf Foundation
Result: 受賞
President of the American Sociological Association (elected)
1948
Organization: American Sociological Association
Result: 選出

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Negro Family in the United States

1939 Academic / Sociology

Analyzes historical forces shaping African-American family structure from slavery to the mid-1930s. Developed from his Ph.D. dissertation and regarded as one of the first comprehensive sociological studies of Black families authored by a Black scholar.

Family structureImpact of slaverySocial adaptation

Black Bourgeoisie

1957 Sociology / Class critique

A critical examination of the Black middle class, arguing that conspicuous consumption and conservative accommodation limited its potential to achieve racial equality. The book provoked mixed reviews and strong criticism from parts of the Black middle class.

Middle-class cultureClass and raceConsumption and status

The Negro in the United States

1949 Overview / Sociology

An overview of the historical position and contemporary condition of Black people in the United States, discussing race issues from institutional and cultural perspectives.

Historical overviewInstitutional discriminationCultural analysis

Race and Culture Contacts in the Modern World

1957 International relations / Sociology

Explores contacts between European and non-European peoples across ecological, economic, political and social categories, arguing that Europe's economic expansion was the key factor shaping race relations.

International race relationsEconomy and cultureEmpire and colonialism

Bibliography

  • The Free Negro Family: a Study of Family Origins Before the Civil War (1932)
  • The Negro Family in Chicago (1932)
  • The Negro Family in the United States (1939)
  • Negro Youth at the Crossways: Their Personality Development in the Middle States (1940)
  • The Negro Family in Bahia, Brazil (1942)
  • The Negro in the United States (1949)
  • The Integration of the Negro into American Society (editor) (1951)
  • Bourgeoisie noire (1955)
  • Black Bourgeoisie (1957)
  • Race and Culture Contacts in the Modern World (1957)
  • The Negro Church in America (1963)
  • On Race Relations: Selected Writings (edited with introduction by G. Franklin Edwards) (1968)

Translations of Works

  • Bourgeoisie noire (French, 1955) → Black Bourgeoisie (English translation, 1957)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Empirical, historically grounded academic proseAnalytical, argumentative style emphasizing institutional and cultural relations
Recurring Motifs
Black family structure and transformationSocial change and adaptationRelationship between class and culture

Legacy

E. Franklin Frazier was a pioneering sociologist of the Black family and race relations. He taught for many years at Howard University and was elected the first Black president of the American Sociological Association in 1948. His writings influenced academic and public debates and, despite controversy, have had lasting impact on subsequent scholarship on race and class.

Museums

  • E. Franklin Frazier Center for Social Work Research (Howard University) Howard University campus (Washington, D.C.)

Academic Societies

  • American Sociological Association

Archives

  • Howard University Library - E. Franklin Frazier collections

Quotes

  • Prejudice is "abnormal behavior," involving delusional thinking, projection and other psychopathological features, I argue.
    Source: Forum ("The Pathology of Race Prejudice", June 1927) (1927)

Trivia

  • Elected first Black president of the American Sociological Association in 1948.
  • The Negro Family in the United States (1939) won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in 1940.
  • Black Bourgeoisie provoked strong criticism from parts of the Black middle class.
  • Taught for many years at Howard University; a research center there bears his name.