In 1971, when the formalization of African-American studies as a field of study in the mainstream academy was in its embryonic stages, social critic Harold Cruse (1971) observed a crucial rift in the historical knowledge of the 1960s generation of African-American scholars. This rift was characterized by a failed comprehension of pre-1930s, pre-World War II urban processes, which could have contributed to a more informed appraisal of the Black urban condition by Black scholars, as they found it. This epistemological break further retarded methodological and interpretive developments in the incipient field of African-American studies. These Black scholars, he observed, were hindered by, among other things, a White radical and liberal consensus--which generally dominated so-called progressive historiography and social science research--that, for the most part, shaped and limited production and interpretation of knowledge regarding African-American life. In short, Black intellectuals, as has been the case historically, were not free to cultivate and sustain continuity in Black intellectual traditions and, more importantly, to engage in independent liberation-oriented theory construction (see Cruse, 1967; Semmes, 1992). In the current era, Black scholars who, by default or by conscious choice, find themselves in the field of African-American studies are directed away from serious study of the discourse and theorizing surrounding the Black Arts and Black Consciousness movement of the 1960s and 1970s. This represents a similar kind of knowledge break symptomatic of the experience of the 1960s group of Black intellectuals. Elite doctoral institutions, through their intrinsic reward systems, tend to deselect or quiet Black scholars who examine the Black experience from the standpoint of reconstructing Black culture and institutions, empowering Black communities, stimulating Black solidarity, and dismantling normative and extremist forms of White supremacy. The 1960s and 1970s Black Arts and Black Consciousness movements embraced these issues. I would argue that today, as in the past, we find a culture of Eurocentric radical, liberal, conservative, structuralist, and post modern inventions that serve to delegitimize and repress intellectual activity that is geared toward advancing the group status of African Americans (see Cruse, 1969). Thus, to reestablish continuity in our understanding of Black intellectual traditions and to invigorate liberation-oriented theory construction in the field of African-American studies, serious and exhaustive study of the Black Arts and Black Consciousness movement of the 1960s and 1970s is necessary. Such study must extend beyond attention to a few prominent personalities or organizations. One way for scholars to proceed is to systematically and meticulously reexamine the most comprehensive voice of the Black Arts and Black Consciousness movement, Negro Digest/Black World. Negro Digest was the inaugural publication of John H. Johnson, publisher of Ebony, Jet, EM, and other magazines. Through this venture, Johnson became the most successful African-American businessman in America. Using his mother's new furniture as collateral, Johnson obtained a $500 loan and launched Negro Digest in 1942 as a monthly publication. He modeled his publication after Reader's Digest and reprinted articles by and about African Americans from scholarly publications and from the White and Black press. However, Negro Digest generally contained reproductions of entire articles and not digests. It also developed several original features (Johnson and Bennett, 1989). Negro Digest developed sales of 150,000 copies a month and proved to be very profitable. However, in 1945 Johnson launched Ebony, a picture-focused periodical similar to Look and Life magazines. Ebony quickly surpassed Negro Digest in circulation but was costly and could not support itself without advertising. After Ebony acquired advertisers, it became a powerful marketing conduit to a growing African-American consumer market because of its broader base of readers and the flagship magazine of Johnson Publications. …

Despite many accolades, E. Franklin Frazier, the first African American to be elected to the American Sociological Society, is also an object of scorn. Specifically, some accuse Frazier of a view that blames the ills of the Black community on female-headed households, illegitimacy, and family disorganization. Some also accuse Frazier of characterizing the Black family as broken and pathological and the opinion that families must be formal and nuclear in order to be viable. This paper argues that these representations of Frazier are mistaken and offers a more accurate and holistic portrayal of Frazier's sociological judgements and theorizing regarding the African-American family.

The US Black Arts, Black Power, and Black Consciousness Movements of the 1960s and 1970s spawned varied creative and entrepreneurial impulses that were inherently political. Political consciousness also meant cultural consciousness. Cultural consciousness involved critical assessment of how one should live and how one should consume, which created space for new commodities and markets. An important but overlooked dimension of this evolving social milieu for African-Americans was the search to produce a better person. This search was expressed through a human potential movement that was embedded in the broader movements mentioned above. This focus on human potential characteristically embraced spirituality, lifestyle and dietary change, naturalistic and alternative health care, and self-help efforts, believed to be fundamental to create a progressive, healthy, and liberated Black community. Comedian and social activist Dick Gregory became a highly visible symbol and proponent of this movement, drawing strength from pre-existing African-American innovators and entrepreneurs. Gregory applied his newfound knowledge to civil and human rights activity and later to entrepreneurial activity he hoped would progressively transform the Black community and the human condition.

In the twentieth century, race-based residential and commercial segregation that supported racial oppression and inequality became an elemental characteristic of urban black communities. Conflict-ridden, black-white relationships were common. However, the Chicago Defender Charities, Inc., the entity that sponsors the largest African American parade in the country and that emerged in 1947, embodied a tradition of charitable giving, self-help, and community service initiated in 1921 by Chicago Defender newspaper founder and editor, Robert S. Abbott. The foundation of this charitable tradition matured as a result of an early and sustained collaboration between Chicago's white-owned Regal Theater and the black-owned Chicago Defender newspaper. Thus, in segregated African American communities, black and white commercial institutions, under certain conditions, were able to find important points of collaboration to uplift the African American communities of which they were a part.

In this chapter we examine the circumstances that led to the Regal's dominance in the marketplace and its adjustments to the economic challenges of the Great Depression. Monopolistic corporate controls, connections to organized crime, changes in entertainment policies, shifts in management, and community involvement were all significant in this regard. Access to talent, the selection of talent, prevailing entertainment traditions, and broader societal developments affecting Black popular culture were also important. A defining event of this period (1930s) in the Regal's history was the shift to Black management.

During the 1940s, the corporate entities that owned and controlled the Regal began to lose their privileged position in the marketplace. In addition, big band jazz or so-called swing music began to decline, and new instrumental styles and performance genres were emerging. There were also innovations in comedy and vocalization. World War II created greater opportunities and visibility for women musicians, and Black-appeal radio began to emerge as a commercial force in Chicago.

This chapter explores the circumstances that led White investors to build a state-of-the-art entertainment complex in Chicago's Bronzeville or Black Belt community. It also examines the early organization and talent of the Regal Theater and its integration into this historic, Black, South Side enclave. Finally, the chapter reveals rapidly changing economic and technological conditions that severely impacted the Regal's entertainment policies.

The defining event of the 1960s for the Regal Theater was its shift to Black ownership. This shift symbolized the possibility that Bronzeville Blacks could retain and control desirable businesses in their own community. Ownership of the Regal Theater and the commercial complex of which it was a part did not represent a business opportunity that Whites had ignored. Ownership of the Regal had been a coveted and lucrative endeavor for thirty-five years. Blacks had always served as a theatrical workforce, whose cultural products formed the foundation of American popular culture. However, ownership of major institutions to exhibit and profit from those products was always elusive to African Americans. There were a few exceptions, of course, though small and short-lived.KeywordsBlack CommunityRegal TheaterStreet GangStage ShowBlack CultureThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

This chapter explores the breakdown in the system of racial segregation that gave the Regal Theater a captive African American market. Paralleling this phenomenon, diverse cultural outlets for top Black talent emerged to challenge the Regal in the marketplace. In addition, this chapter chronicles the transition of the Regal Theater from being a dominant industry corporation and chain to a solitary, independent ownership. This process was mediated by the rise and maturing of Black-appeal radio and the independent, disc-jockey promoter.KeywordsBlack CommunityRegal TheaterStage ShowBlack CultureLottery GamblingThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Despite many accolades, E. Franklin Frazier, the first African American to be elected to the American Sociological Society, is also an object of scorn.Specifically, some accuse Frazier of a view that blames the ills of the Black community on female-headed households, illegitimacy, and family disorganization.Some also accuse Frazier of characterizing the Black family as broken and pathological and the opinion that families must be formal and nuclear in order to be viable.This paper argues that these representations of Frazier are mistaken and offers a more accurate and holistic portrayal of Frazier's sociological judgements and theorizing regarding the African-American family.E. Franklin Frazier, who in 1948 became the first African-American sociologist to be elected president of the American Sociological Society (now Association), was thirty-three years old and a seasoned social scientist by the time he came to the University of Chicago in 1927 to complete work on a doctorate in sociology.Frazier graduated cum laude from Howard University in 1916 before sociology was established as a curriculum.However, after working three years as a secondary teacher, Frazier earned a masters degree in sociology from Clark University.From 1920 to 1921, Frazier was a research fellow at the New York School of Social Work, where he conducted a study of the longshoremen of

Introduction Annotated Materials (Original Articles) Literature and Literary Criticism History Mass Media and the Arts Social and Political Analysis Indexed Materials Poetry Short Stories and Plays Reviews: Book, Record, Drama, Film Interviews Index (Author and Selected Subject and Title) Index to Record Reviews (Performer and Selected Title)