Black Nationalism
...deology that grew out of the black-power movement of the 1960s and puts forward a withdrawal by blacks from the language, culture, values, and economy of white America. Actually, prominent black-nationalist figures had emerged by the middle of the nineteenth century and a nationalist strain can be recognized in the thinking of many of the leading characters in African-American history. The peak of nationalism as a mass movement came more than three quarters of a century ago, during the peak of Marcus Garvey. The reason nationalism is so confusing from the point of view of traditional white politics is that on the one hand, it tries to promote black businesses and other forms of self-help, resists the idea that the government can help blacks, and isn’t interested in civil rights and integration, but on the other hand, its world view would strike most whites as being left-wing. One example of the evolution of Black Nationalism is the growth of the number of Quasi-free blacks. Despite the fact that laws were passed to bar free blacks from certain occupations, the apprenticing system that was established and the practice of training many slaves as artisans caused many blacks to possess skills that enabled them to achieve some economic independence and affluence. Urban blacks used their skills in jobs such as making clothes and foods, operating machines, piloting ships and working in the building trades. Also, in Baltimore, there were several blacks working as confectioners, druggists, and grocers. In Boston jobs included paperhanging, engraving, photographing and tailoring. Even the unskilled found some kind of work to do because they were concentrated in areas that were losing white workers to the West. It was more important for African Americans to maintain a separate existence socially and culturally than it was for them to do economically. An important factor for maintaining group unity and self-help was the church. Church served as an agency for improvement of the social and moral conditions among blacks. It promoted education, the formation of literary societies among its younger people. Another contribution...