A Review of Lawrence W. Levine’s Black Culture and Black Consciousnness
Levine’s Black Culture and Black Consciousness, as the title suggests, devotes its attention to a people who at the time of the books publishing had been traditionally neglected and overlooked by scholars. In the 1960’s and 70’s, Levine along with other emerging scholars in the Afro-American studies field attempted to break the established mold. Levine’s text itself is significant in this movement because in tracing the birth, growth, and transformation of various elements of black culture—with a focus on the oral tradition—he acknowledges the significance and complexity of a culture that had been labeled up until that point as nonexistent. Levine argues that once brought to the New World, although a unifying language and set of institutions were nonexistent, the Africans were able to forge a culture expressing their shared values and ideals manifested through a rich oral tradition on which Levine focuses. The songs, beliefs, and folktales to which Levine devotes his attention separately “rev
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Black Consciousness, Black Laughter, black culture, slave culture, various elements, elements black, black secular music, various elements black, circumstances controlled, able forge, levine contends, values ideals, black secular, secular music,
Approximate Word count = 677
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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