Sociology 307
African American Social Thought
Fall 2002
Dr. Scott Schaffer

Week 7 Discussion Questions -- Segregation and the "Atlanta Compromise" (CR 161-214; Washington)

Due Date: For in-class discussion on Fri Oct 11/2002.

1. Birnbaum and Taylor claim (161) two key issues that we've been discussing this semester:

The central question of Reconstruction had been the meaning of freedom for the former slaves -- the role and rights of free black labor. What did the counterrevolution, the overthrow of Reconstruction by the former Confederates, win? More than anything else, control over black labor.

Outline the ways in which the social policies discussed in this week's readings enabled Southern whites to regain control over the labor of African Americans.

2. Discuss the key claims made in the majority and dissenting opinions in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). How do different conceptions of humanity play a part in the Court's opinion? The dissent? And to your mind, what was the most drastic impact of the majority opinion in this case? (Keep in mind that you should discuss this in terms of the conception of humanity, not in terms of the institutional factors.)

3. To what extent did the Supreme Court decision in Plessy legitimate already-existing policies of segregation? To what extent did this decision further segregation? Are there elements in Plessy that could serve as the basis for counterhegemonic action?

4. Outline the essential ideas present in Booker T Washington's "Atlanta Compromise" and in Up From Slavery. To what extent do you see dominant and/or subaltern conceptions of humanity playing a part in Washington's logic in the Compromise? To what extent do you see Up From Slavery as representing a revolutionary, reformatory, or reactionary response to Segregation, and why?

5. MacLean's article on "The Second Klan" details the reasoning behind the change in the tactics of the KKK. Outline that reasoning, and show how it relates to (compares or contrasts with, contradicts, depends on, etc.) Plessy v. Ferguson, the US Constitution, Up From Slavery, and the conception of people as economic beings that was at work in the eras of slavery and Reconstruction.