John Hope Franklin, at the age of 94, on March 25, 2009, made his transition to a more soulful place. The contribution of this revered historian about life in the South and the 400-year African American Experience has profoundly impacted Americans and his legacy is certain to be significant for future generations.
Although the Harvard University graduate was appointed in 1983 the "John B. Duke" Professor of History at Duke University and in 1995 awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, of greater importance was his highly reseached truth revealed in his book, "From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans," first published more than sixty years ago. This book reveals the truth about America and African Americans that had been willfully hidden from the storehouse of public knowledge.
In a more recent book, "Mirror of America: The Autobiograhy of John Hope Franklin," his memoir of the 20th Century struggle for Civil Rights, he offers Americans a challenge that should be the focus of any 21st Century discussion on race in America. Such focus woud likely keep discussions on race civil and substantive with a minimum of energy given to "white guilt" and "black blaming" which often torpedo any meaningful discussion on race.
I was privileged to be present when John Hope Franklin spoke to a capacity audience during the Twelfth Annual Virginia Festival of the Book on March 22, 2006, at the UVA Culbert Theatre in Charlottesville, Virginia. Sharing the dais with him was Rita Dove a former U. S. Poet Laureate. They read from their works and had a conversation between themselves on personal culture history. During the question and answer period I asked Dr. Franklin "What impact will the incarceration of an unheard of large number of black men, that account for America being the worlds's number one jailer, have in the future on African Americans, particularily, the black family?" I also wanted to know if there are lessons that can be applied from his own growing-up years to address this matter?
With tears in his heart and I believe in his eyes, as his voice conveyed, he said that this was his most painful concern, i e., to see what is happening to young black men today. He called for a Marshal Plan-like undertaking by America that is urgently needed to deal with this issue. Otherwise, there is a storng probability that damage beyond restoration will be done to African Americans as a race.
There is not any doubt in the minds of those who are aware of Dr. Franklin's contribution to humanity that this historian par excellence will continue to tower over other historians who will write about life in the South and the African
American Experience for many genrations to come.
Thank you Dr. Franklin for being the truth revealer about a portion of American life that other historians have failed to treat with the justice it was due.
Copyright 2009 by Uriah J. Fields
