Anténor Firmin: Photo published by the Public ArchiveLast month was the 100th anniversary of the death of Haitian scholar Joseph Auguste Anténor Firmin. Anténor Firmin is best known for his seminal work De l’Égalité des Races Humaines (The Equality of Human Races), which was published in 1885 as a response to French writer Count Arthur de Gobineau’s work Essai sur l’inegalite des Races Humaines (Essay on the Inequality of Human Races). Gobineau’s book asserted the superiority of the Aryan race and the inferiority of blacks and other people of color.
Firmin argued the opposite – that “all men are endowed with the same qualities and the same faults, without distinction
of color or anatomical form. The races are equal.” He pioneered the integration of race and physical anthropology and is now considered by many as one of the fathers of anthropology and the first Black anthropologist.
He was at first marginalized in the broad scientific community but recognized internationally by Black scholars and thought leaders. His work had a significant influence on leaders of African descent at the turn of the century – including his contemporary W.E.B. DuBois, whom he met at the First Pan-African Conference in London in 1900 – one of the founders of the first national
civil rights organization in the US: the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Last month was also the 100th anniversary of the Boston branch of the NAACP – the organization’s first chartered branch. It was celebrated with a memorable event at the Westin Copley hotel on September 17 with more than 700 people in attendance.
Current branch president Michael Curry, an attorney and longtime community activist, working to revive the chapter’s active role on numerous issues including high unemployment, education disparities and crime reduction, spearheaded the centennial
gala.
Michael Curry, Boston NAACP president
The group honored local community leaders Betty Robinson Hansen, former branch president and longtime executive committee member; Kenneth Guscott, former branch president and founder of Long Bay Management; Avi Green, co-director of the voting rights organization MassVOTE; and Tanisha Sullivan, Esq., president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Boston Alumnae
Chapter and co-owner of Black Pages of New England.
US Congressman James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, the third-ranking Democrat in the House, was awarded the lifetime achievement award. He began his civil rights work in his teens as president of his NAACP Youth Chapter in Sumter, South Carolina. US Senator John Kerry made an appearance with remarks centered on the importance of the work of the NAACP.
Roslyn M. Brock, chairwoman of the national NAACP board, gave a stirring call to action and reminded the dinner audience that the NAACP is “not a black organization, we are an American organization.”
“We need to close the economic gap…or our economic system will fail,” said Brock. “We didn’t fight segregation to end up with an education system that segregates based on luck… We must have courage to meet the challenges of today. We must not let courage skip this generation.”
The courage for each generation to face the day’s challenges is one that spans across communities. This link and its legacy are important. The NAACP was founded by leaders who were influenced by the research and activism of scholars from across the globe at the dawn of the century that marked the end of Jim Crow and Apartheid. We begin this new century with Black leaders at the head of Beacon Hill and Capitol Hill, a feat that Firmin boldly envisioned in 1885.
“Appearances to the contrary, this big country is destined to strike the first blow against the theory of the inequality
of the human races. Indeed, at this very moment, Blacks in the great federal republic have begun to play a prominent role in the politics of the various states of the American union. It seems quite possible that, in less than a century from now, a Black man might be called to head the government of Washington and manage the affairs of the most progressive country on earth, a country which will inevitably become, thanks to its agricultural and industrial production, the richest and most powerful in the world…”
This rich history and bold vision of past leaders in the face of the immense challenges that lie ahead are what focuses the work of the NAACP today, according to Michael Curry.
“Those are testaments to how far we have come, and that’s something we should be very proud of,” said Curry. “But the reality is we have not come far enough.”