Locke, Alain (1885–1954)

From an early age as a Harvard grad and the first African American Rhodes scholar, Locke was an important author, teacher, and philosopher of pluralism, culture, and race. He chaired the Department of Philosophy at Howard University from 1918 to 1953, where he developed a notion of “ethnic race,” emphasizing the social and cultural dimensions of race over the biological ones. He is ultimately known as the “Father” and philosophical architect of the Harlem Renaissance, particularly after publishing The New Negro anthology in 1925. See also New Negro.