In favor of the
view that they are in large part racial and hereditary, is the fact that
they persist in all environments. They are found, as Professor Mecklin
says, "Only at the lower level of instinct, impulse and temperament, and
do not, therefore, admit of clear definition because they are overlaid
in the case of every individual with a mental superstructure gotten from
the social heritage which may vary widely in the case of members of the
same race. That they do persist, however, is evidenced in the case of
the Negroes subjected to the very different types of civilization in
Haiti, Santo Domingo, the United States, and Jamaica. In each of these
cases a complete break has been made with the social traditions of
Africa and different civilizations have been substituted, and yet in
temperament and character the Negro in all these countries is
essentially the same. The so-called 'reversion to type' often pointed
out in the Negro is in reality but the recrudescence of fundamental,
unchanged race traits upon the partial breakdown of the social heritage
or the Negro's failure successfully to appropriate it."
Again, as Professor Ferguson points out, the experimental tests above
cited may be thought to give some support to the idea that the emotional
characteristics of the Negro are really inherent.
Pages:
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465