A Review of Lawrence W. Levine's Black Culture and Black Consciousnness

A detailed Summary of 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

Levine then contends that after emancipation, ex-slaves were thrust into a world no longer defined by slavery, so the sacred consciousness of the slaves necessary to survive was a no longer the central element of the slave culture-although still very significant. As a result of their new existence we see the rise of black secular music. This music, moreso than sacred music, allowed blacks to assert themselves, their feelings, and communicate with their peers and oppressors freely for the first time. Just like black fork belief, it gave blacks the sense of power and control they had been missing for 200 years.

Levine studies music as a distinguishing cultural form because of how much it illustrates about slave life. Levine contends that the religious emphasis of the slave music resulted from the slaves' attempt transcend the limited world to which they were bound. By expanding the world in which they existed the slaves were able to forge the values, community, and structure needed to surviv

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 677
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Foreign

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