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Full resolution (TIFF) - On this page / på denna sida - VII. Social Inequality - 28. The Basis of Social Inequality - 8. Attitudes among Different Classes of Whites in the South
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594 An American Dilemma
The exceptions are when he, in spite of not being a servant, can establish
a relationship of personal dependence and when he, in this relationship, can
act out a role of deference and humility. He is then in the position to
confer even more of a sense of status elevation to the white partner, and
he is also rewarded by more protection and favors. Moton gives us the
Negro angle of this situation:
In a much more matter of fact way the Negro uses his intimate knowledge of the
white man to further his own advancement. Much of what is regarded as racially
characteristic of the Negro is nothing more than his artful and adroit accommodation
of his manners and methods to what he knows to be the weaknesses and foibles of
his white neighbour. Knowing what is expected of him, and knowing too what he
himself wants, the Negro craftily uses his knowledge to anticipate opposition and
to eliminate friction in securing his desires.®®
The present author has time and again heard white men with a local
public interest praise Negro college presidents and other white-appointed
Negro leaders quite beyond any reasonable deserts, merely for their hum-
ble demeanor. One influential white editor in the Deep South indulged
with zest in lengthy descriptions of the particular manner in which the
principal and leading teachers of a nearby Negro educational institution
—
of which he spoke highly—walked, talked, and laughed, and he ended by
exclaiming: “They bear themselves just like old field slaves.” This was,
in his opinion, a praiseworthy thing. The importance attached by white
people to the forms of subservience on the part of Negroes can be measured
by the degree to which they show themselves prepared to give in on
material interests if those forms are duly observed. This attitude on the
part of influential whites puts a premium on the individual Negroes most
inclined and best gifted to flatter their superior whites, even if they lack
other qualities. It is apparent that this attitude still represents a main
difficulty in the effort to get Negro schools and other Negro institutions
manned by Negro personnel with high professional standards.
Generally speaking, this attitude on the part of upper class whites has
demoralizing effects on Negroes. In employment relations the paternalistic
pattern tends to diminish the Negroes^ formal responsibilities. The Negro
worker has less definite obligations as well as more uncertain rights. He
comes to be remunerated, not only for his work, but also for his humility,
for his propensity to be satisfied with his “place” and for his cunning in
cajoling and flattering his master. He has ready excuses for not becoming
a really good worker. He is discouraged when he tries “to work his way
up.” It is considered better for him never to forget his “place,” and he
must scrupulously avoid even any suspicion that he seeks to rise above it.
If successful, he might see good reasons to conceal it. Upper class Negroes
in the South have often confided to me that they find it advantageous to
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