From Savage to Negro: Anthropology and the Construction of Race, 1896-1954

by Lee D. Baker

Lee D. Baker explores what racial categories mean to the American public and how these meanings are reinforced by anthropology, popular culture, and the law. Focusing on the period between two landmark Supreme Court decisions― Plessy v. Ferguson (the so-called "separate but equal" doctrine established in 1896) and Brown v. Board of Education (the public school desegregation decision of 1954)―Baker shows how racial categories change over time.

Baker paints a vivid picture of the relationships between specific African American and white scholars, who orchestrated a paradigm shift within the social sciences from ideas based on Social Darwinism to those based on cultural relativism. He demonstrates that the greatest impact on the way the law codifies racial differences has been made by organizations such as the NAACP, which skillfully appropriated the new social science to exploit the politics of the Cold War.

Genres: Anthropology, History, African American, Academic, Race

313 pages, Paperback

First published October 24, 1998

About the author

Lee D. Baker is an American cultural anthropologist, author, and Duke University faculty member. He is the Mrs. A. Hehmeyer Professor of Cultural Anthropology, African & African-American Studies, and Sociology. He served as Duke's Dean of Academic Affairs and Associate Vice Provost from 2008 to 2016.

Reviews

[Michele · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is largely a synthesis that fills a gap in the literature of the history of the social sciences in America by providing insight on the development of the American school of anthropology. As is often the case with syntheses, it makes broad claims that are not deeply examined or substantiated--and therefore is not strongly argued or sharply nuanced, but it gives the reader a better understanding of the issues at stake.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baker traces the history of the discipline of anthropology as it conceives of race.

[Ani]

Classroom read

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book blew my mind and is a great review of how the American concept of "race" was shaped starting from 1896.

[Noelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baker argues that anthropology played a pivotal role in the institution of racism in the U.S.

[Betsy McGee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book about how "race" is constructed, internalized, and changed over time, and the role Anthropology has played in all of it.