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Full resolution (TIFF) - On this page / på denna sida - X. The Negro Community - 44. Non-Institutional Aspects of the Negro Community - 1. “Peculiarities” of Negro Culture and Personality - 2. Crime
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y66 An American Dilemma
it to avoid appearing ^^uppity” in the eyes of the whites. Few Negroes seem
to realize that the use of the dialect augments white prejudice, at least in the
North. Fourth, most of those who know how to speak perfect English are
members of the upper classes, and these are so segregated that a large
proportion of the whites can go through their entire lives without hearing
one of them speak. The high-toned, pleading voice of the Negro is also
associated with his speech. This trait was, of course, developed by the
demands of the caste etiquette.
There are only a few dozen words and phrases that are uniquely Negro,
except possibly in some isolated Southern rural areas.® Some of these words
refer to things which are unique to the Negro community—such as ^^peola”
and ^^high yaller” which refer to skin colors found among Negroes but
not among whites. Others refer to things or conditions for which there is
no adequate English word—such as ^^icty” which means trying to put
on airs and act upper class without having the basis for doing so. ^^Muck-
ety-muck” and a few other Negro words have been taken over into general
American slang. For the most part, the white American is not aware that
there are uniquely Negro words, although he may be vaguely aware that
there are some things said when Negroes talk among themselves that he
cannot understand.
As more Negroes become educated and urbanized, it may be expected
that they will lose their distinctive cultural traits and take over the domi-
nant American patterns. The trend will work slowly, since caste serves to
isolate Negroes from American culture and so hampers their assimilation.
Still, there is reason to believe that it is more rapid today than it was before.
As the trend proceeds, and as there emerges a class of Negroes which is
recognized by whites to have the same cultural traits as themselves, the
Negro will be thought to be less ‘^peculiar” than he is now. Recognition of
increased cultural similarity is not unimportant in the general attitude of
whites toward Negroes. Thus cultural assimilation plays a role in the
general circular process determining the Negro’s status in America.
Crime®
Negro crime has periodically been the subject of serious debate in the
United States and, at least since 1890, has often been the object of statistical
measurement. Just as the past year has seen an epidemic of reports in New
York newspapers of assault and robbery by Negroes, so other periods
have seen actual or alleged ‘^crime waves’ • among Negroes in other areas.
* In preparing this section we have relied most heavily on an unpublished manuscript
prepared for this study: Guy B. Johnson and Louise K. Kiser, ‘‘The Negro and Crime”
( 1 940) . A part of this study was incorporated in an article by Guy B. Johnson, “The Negro
and Crime,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (September,
*94x), PP- 93-»04.
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