Kwame Speaks: The Learned Servants: Dr. Carter G. Woodson & Dr. John Hope Franklin

"When the Negroes had begun to make themselves felt in teaching, the attitude of the leaders was different from what it is today. At that time men went to school for the uplift of a downtrodden people. In our time too many Negroes go to school to memorize certain facts to pass examinations for jobs. After they obtain these positions they pay little attention to humanity."
-Carter G. Woodson, Miseducation of The Negro

From the above quote by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, former professor and dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Howard University, it is clear that he views the role of education as a tool necessary for the improvement of the black community.

Woodson's perspective is vital because he instructs us "learn to deal with the Negro as he is and where he is." He sees education as providing the knowledge necessary for productive engagement in our communities, though we must furnish the will to accomplish the task.

The above quote is also a critique of the class of black intellectuals who lack the integrity to produce quality scholarship and lack proper relationship with those who raised them to their lofty position.
Woodson expresses disappointment that the educated class has forgotten the purpose of their being sent to college: they were sent to gain knowledge to become scholars, and to retain their sympathies to become activists.

The educated of Woodson's generation have forsaken this obligation, instead, they chose an education that "does not bring their minds into harmony with life as they must face it."
Woodson offers as a remedy to the miseducated Negro: he must "find out exactly what his background is, what he is today, what his possibilities are, and how to begin with him as he is and make him a better individual of the kind he is."

This self-knowledge is the basis of scholar-activism, and it is the feeling that captured Howard University during the student takeovers. It was those actions, motivated by the desire for self knowledge, that produced African American Studies Departments across the nation. The work in these departments attempts to answer the challenge that Woodson poses.
We are encouraged that "if the ‘highly educated' Negro would forget most of the untried theories taught him in school…if he would fall in love with his own people and begin to sacrifice for their uplift- if the ‘highly educated' Negro would do these things, he could solve some of the problems now confronting the race.”

The only hope for the improvement of the black community is through those who are willing to give self-sacrificing service motivated from deep love. The possibility of falling in love with our people must happen through our memory. James Baldwin suggests to us: "Know whence you came. If you know whence your came, there is really no limit to where you can go."
This memory is the balm through which our toil and effort are replenished; through remembering the sacrifices others have made for us, our obligations become less burdensome and our own sacrifices less difficult.The lesson that Carter G. Woodson teaches is that we cannot be concerned with the lives of our brothers and sisters, that we cannot speak as their representatives or claim that we love them, from a distance.

Our education lays the foundation for the work that is set ahead of us, and our commitment inspires us to engage in the difficulties attached to that work.

Woodson's description of the scholar-activist is personified in the life and work of Dr. John Hope Franklin. This past year marked the republication of his popular textbook, From Slavery to Freedom, and more importantly, the celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Franklin as he became an ancestor.
Multiple panelists had remarked about his humble nature and tireless efforts to improve conditions within the academy and beyond. Panelists had testified to Franklin's high expectations that his students produce quality work, and his deep attachment to world affairs.

Dr. Franklin captures these sentiments in his autobiography, Mirror to America saying: "I began to feel that I had a duty to speak out in matters affecting the scholar and, in turn, in matters affecting the community." The greatness of Dr. Franklin, in his accumulation of honors and awards, did not overcome his humility.

A panelist had recounted that during his studies Dr. Franklin had often cooked him breakfast and provided him with transportation to conferences and other events. Dr. Franklin was widely accomplished man whose humanity seemed to impact those who knew him as deeply as his achievements.

The commemoration of Dr. Franklin impressed upon me the need of great people to walk humbly. In striving for humility, persons act in accordance with its Latin root, ‘humus,' meaning close to the ground. This closeness to the ground is to be contrasted with popular term of the university as the ‘ebony' or ‘ivory tower.' In working as social and intellectual elites in the academy, we must keep memory of the roots that ground us, lest we be distanced from our communities in the ways the academy provides.

Dr. Franklin makes these point, saying: "The longer I live the more I am inclined to question the capability of the human race to be consistent in its judgment and unswerving in its commitment to lofty, constructive principles." In the corrective environment of community, we remember our accountability to our people, and we keep our actions aligned with our intentions.

Woodson leaves us with useful insight: "The servant of the people, unlike the leader, is not on a high horse elevated above the people…the servant of the people is down among them, living as they live, doing what they do and enjoying what they enjoy. He may be a little better informed than some other members of the group; it may be that he has had some experience that they have not had, but in spite of this advantage he should have more humility that those whom he serves, for we are told that ‘Whosoever is greatest among you, let him be your servant."
-Damarius Johnson