The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1954-10-02
DR.. Alain LIE Roy Locke

II
several books and pioneer in the
Negro Renaissance movement of
the late twenties, he for MANY
| years carried the distinction of the
only Negro Rhodes Scholar. In
the sketch below DR.. Locke is
impressively depicted by Robert
E. Fennell, friend and former
student. Mr.. Fennell is at pres.
ent a member of the Douglass
High School faculty.
s@dsA>
IF God came in here today or
tomorrow, I'd ask him for his
credentials" an effective epitome
of his undisguised radicalism-
was occasionally threatened by the
late Alain LIE Roy Locke to the
amused reaction of his department
majors and colleagues. DR.. Locke
was obviously erudite. His know
ledge encompassed profoundly
such areas as music, the physical
sciences, art Che was the dean of
critics Of Negro Art), English
lierature, the classics, psychology,
etc. And knowledge, where he was
concerned, implied more than the
ordinary cultural acquaintance of
{ the dilettante with sundry topics;
it was rather that kind Of exhaus-
tive Recommendation, character
iStic of genius, correlated, evaluat-
ed, and made the more effective
by native logicality and an comic
memory.
Despite his unquestionable profun-
dity, Locke's point of fascination,
as one initiated would surmise,
was not in the role of the class
room teacher. Indeed, in formal
pedagogical capacity he often
proved dull and verbose. He was
/ probably somewhat aware Of this
himself, since in the survey courses
in philosophy, seldom would he
/ concern himself with the technical
ity Of the textbook logic, after the
several Introductory lectures. No.
The provocative, almost mesmeriz-
ing facet of Locke's intellectual
genius was, ironically, based on
a common sense realism, COM
pletely divorced, if necessary,
from the many complex theories !
of the myriad systems and schools |
of philosophy that it was enthusi-
aStically drawn in and initiated |
by many of the admirers and
self-styled proteges constituting |
his usual encourage.
Locke never hesitated, for ex-
ample, to admit once to grad
uate student, in all frankness, that
a large part in writing a success
full masters thesis lay in clever
padding of the dissertation. 1t
was here simply a matter of a
certain number of pages being
Officially required and ones hav-
ing to do them--'damn it." On
another dogmatism of one of his
other professors, by confirming
sub-rosa the youths assumption of
the said professors mediocrity
and shallowness. This unvarying
absence Of intellectual condos
cension and of the orthodox ped
agogical hypocrisy, coming from
man as obviously superior and
universally renowned as Locke,
could only produce on the intro
Spective young scholar the quite
natural effect of helping him at
tain premature intellectual awak-
ening, precociously divesting him
self of the usual inferiority feelings
and diffidence of youth.
Alain Locke's manner of reason
ing was always in terms of uni.
versal values and cosmopolitan
culture. Although racially proud.
his pride was more of the middle
class intelligentsia. He possessed
neither the sentimentality of wan
ton belittlement, both of which
distorted emotions his contem-
poraries have too often been guilty.
Very seldom did he even indulge
a stereotyped or trite discussion
of the Negro, per Sc, in class or
out.
His interest was consistently in
human values, and the Negro fit
in to this picture only as he
perSonified some one of these.
The only Negro Rhodes Scholar
had his moments, too, of sly
arrogance and pixilated eccentric
ity. At such times his listeners
were usually more amused than Of
Tended. Once during an informal
class lecture he ridieuled the col
loquial greeting What do you
know as stupid, and attacking it
in its literal sense, asserted that
it was utterly impractical and i'm
possible for him to tell anybody
at any one time all that he knew.
Digressions of this kind were
generally followed by the most
conceited smirk. They
invariably brought haf-credulous,
though amused stares from
sophomore students. On another
occasion he was discussing how
the mind becomes justifiably ir-
rational in moments of emotional
or anger. To illust-