Dr. Alain Locke Installment #1

Alain LeRoy Locke was an African American philosopher, educator, and author during the 1920s Harlem Renaissance. Well before the Harlem Renaissance, Locke had received prestigious education and was apart of many exclusive organizations. He contributed greatly to the American and African American community and shared his wisdom with with world until his death in 1954.

Education 

To begin, Dr. Locke was born September 13th (the only birthday that matters) in Philadelphia in the year 1886. Born to a middle-class family, Locke had many opportunities that very few African Americans were able to take advantage of. He attended high school in Philly and graduated the second of his class in 1902 from the Central High School. After he graduated, he knew that he wanted to become an educator, so he attended the Philadelphia School of Pedagogy which helped him gain certification to become a teacher. 

After spending most of his life in Pennsylvania, Locke attended Harvard University, getting his degrees in English  and philosophy and graduated in 1907. While at Harvard he became a member of Phi Beta Kappa Society, which is one of the most well-known and notable honor societies in the nation. Dr. Locke is considered one of the most influential African Americans to our society because in addition to all of this, he was first African-American selected as a Rhodes Scholar — which gave him the opportunity to study at the University of Oxford where he studied from 1907-1910.  Although Locke received this once and a life time opportunity, he was faced with many accounts of racism and prejudice. Locke was denied from admitting to many colleges at the university, and encountered many people who seen themselves above him, and often removed themselves from his presence. Some refused to attend some of the same events as him, and did not want to live within the same vicinity. But, after finishing his graduate studies, he finally graduated in 1910. And within the same year, he studied philosophy at the University of Berlin.

Howard University

After earning of his degrees, Dr. Locke gained a job as an English professor at the HBCU (Historical Black Colleges and Universities) Howard University in 1912. It was at Howard that he became a member of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. In 1916, Locke briefly returned to Harvard to work on his dissertation, earning a PhD in philosophy. Once Dr. Locke returned, he became the chairman of the philosophy department and began teaching classes dealing with African American culture and race relations. After a few discrepancies, Dr. Locke remained at Howard until he retired in the 1953. While teaching, Dr. Locke heavily encouraged his black students to look towards their African heritage for inspiration and guidance.