The New Abolition by Gary Dorrien
Gary Dorrien is the Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary and Professor of Religion at Columbia University. His exceptional work on the black social gospel movement is entitled, The New Abolition: W. E. B. Du Bois and the Black Social Gospel. This voluminous work, which no doubt will remain the definitive volume for some time, pivots on the biography and intellectual thought and influence of Du Bois. Nonetheless, this monograph is much more that a biography of Du Bois. The New Abolition chronicles all the significant players, organizations, and movements that preceded the Civil Rights movement. Each subnarrative locates itself at abolition and reconstruction, demonstrating that pivotal promoters of the black social gospel either knew or were told firsthand from their parents about a time when they knew no freedom. Each hero or heroine overcame diversity in order to gain education, which would then be the training ground to launch he or she into a role of influence.
The premier example that education is a vital trope throughout The New Abolition may be drawn from the story of W. E. B. Du Bois. Du Bois studied in Germany for two years before running out of fellowship monies and then returned to America to complete his Ph.D. from Harvard, making him the first Afro-American doctoral graduate of Harvard. Du Bois went on to have a distinguished career as a professor, with a number of important sociological titles in publication, until he became the founder and editor of Crisis, a magazine publication that was the news source for the NAACP. And of course one cannot overlook the importance that Booker T. Washington placed on the role of education—having founded Tuskegee College, fundraising for it so effectively, and creating a machine through it by which he might assert influence in all areas of the initiative to change social circumstances for blacks.
But these famous Civil Rights forerunners and rivals, Washington and Du Bois, are not the only characters that Dorrien describes. Dorrien sketches lives of black social gospel luminaries such as Henry McNeal Turner, Ida B. Wells, Reverdy Cassius Ransom, Alexander Walters, William J. Simmons, Nannie H. Burroughs, and Adam Clayton Powell Sr, among other micro-biographies. In the process, we learn about the schools they led (Tuskegee, Oberlin, Wilberforce), the publishing houses and periodicals they pioneered (Crisis, Opportunity, et al.), and the denominations/organizations that they created (i.e. Niagara Movement, NAACP, NBC, AME Zion, et al.). Dorrien’s retelling of the events and portraits of these leaders in no way could undergo the accusation of hagiography. These are raw stories—stories where heroes who could be a league of justice appear more often like a team of rivals, even enemies in some cases. Each character has his or her flaws. For instance, W. E. B. Du Bois’ intellectual superiority often isolates him from working with a team. Ida B. Wells’ passion and proclivity to create scenes makes her one who has to go it alone. Reverdy Cassius Ransom is plagued by alcoholism, which jeopardizes his influence, especially after his botched visit to Huntsville, Alabama.
Important to The New Abolition is the role that faith played in enacting social action and how Christianity was leveraged as an indelible link to the solution of the black man’s plight. Part of Dorrien’s argument is that many of the key figures were tied to the church. Though Du Bois was not himself a deeply spiritual man, others with their zeal, passion, and the organizational machines that they constructed were part of the critical vehicle that moved things forward in catalytic fashion towards Martin Luther King Jr. Dorrien argues that this was necessary for lasting transformation to occur. He says:
But small groups of middle-class activists were not going to transform U. S. American society by themselves. To be serious about abolishing racial caste, the new abolitionists had to reach deep into religious communities through which millions of Americans made moral and spiritual sense of their lives. (297)
Adam Clayton Powell Sr. and Reverdy C. Ransom are probably the best two examples of individuals who led in both the church and in other subsidiary organizations in order to further the message of race equality.
Helpful to Dorrien’s telling is the detailed research and vivid retelling of history. At times I felt like I was in the South or in the North or in the room with a featured character. Readers will understand the intense hate that existed in the South and will be horrified by the details of lynchings. Dorrien’s portrayal and reporting of these events caused me to be grieved that Ida B. Wells did not have greater success in her personal campaign to end that horror. Readers will be disappointed in Presidents who do not keep their promises of better race relations and give justice to all peoples. Likewise, readers will sympathize with whites, blacks, and colors of all sorts as they endeavored to effect societal change to better America. Perhaps that is one of the encouraging parts about The New Abolition. Dorrien reminds readers that though there were initiatives to migrate backs to Africa and resettle in Liberia, initiatives like Garvey’s, most of these culture-changers believed in America and were hopeful. Perhaps this is a message that is exceptionally fitting at this stage of American history. We need hope. Thus, the binding power of the American identity caused these black social gospel influencers to temporarily put their initiatives on hold and accommodate the status quo, for a time, as America rallied through WWI—knowing that a much greater threat existed at the time.
Another important point in regards to Dorrien’s historiography is how he delineates that there was no monolithic solution to the problem of race inequality. Black leaders had different solutions to the problem. Some thought they should repopulate Africa; others thought that they could accommodate Jim Crow regulations until they prove they are of equal standing, by pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, relocating themselves higher up the echelon in America’s social stratification, and proving that they can effectively partner with the South in stimulating economic growth. (I hope you can tell that this is my best attempt to summarize Bookerism in a sentence.) Still others fought more militantly leveraging agitation or bold rhetoric to incite blacks to act. And possibly the most astonishing reality is that some didn’t like the idea of bi-racial couples—I’m thinking of Burroughs in particular here. There was not consensus on how to best move things forward, which explains tensions between leaders like Du Bois and Washington who could not work together because neither believed the other proceeded with the best approach.
Those seeking an introduction to the Civil Rights movement from Abolition on through the Progressive Era will find Dorrien’s account to not just be sufficient but prolific. This is a massive read, requiring patience and stamina, but it is extremely rewarding for those who persevere. I eagerly anticipate Dorrien’s next installment that looks at Martin Luther King Jr. and the continuation of the Civil Rights movement.