Jerry Gershenhorn, “Objectivity and the Development of Negro Studies,” in Melville J. Herskovits and the Racial Politics of Knowledge (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2000): 123-167

“Objectivity and the Development of Negro Studies” in Melville J. Herskovits and the racial Politics of Knowledge by Jerry Gershenhorn discusses the impact of Melville Herskovits and his ideas on racial politics. Herskovits’s work primarily focused on African American culture. Many of his colleagues and even African Americans of his time did not value his work because of his Jewish heritage and controversial viewpoints. However, today his work is viewed beneficial to the study of African Americans. Gershenhorn begins by describing the efforts by progressive intellectuals to create a more democratic society through their writings. He cites the views of Charles Beard, who stated, “I don’t say that you ought to write history on the basis of your assumptions but I say you do” (pg 124). Gershenhorn says some scholars moved away from an activist perspective, while others continued to embrace it. Melville Herskovits said he sought to understand African American cultures on their own terms, meaning people defined their own life, reality and culture and could not be evaluated by those not in the culture themselves. Although Herskovits was a very intelligent man his work was always questioned. For example he faced many anti-Jewish attitudes when looking for job after getting his Ph.D. It took him four years to earn a full time teaching position. Perhaps dealing with his own discrimination helped him understand the plight of African Americans. Gershenhorn describes in great detail the many organizations that played a role in Herskovits’ research, such as the NAACP and SSRC (Social Science Research Council). The SSRC studied the racial differences and