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Dr. John Hope Franklin

I sadly learned a few hours ago that Dr. John Hope Franklin passed away yesterday (March 25, 2009). I was first exposed to Dr. Franklin over 40 years ago when his book From Slavery to Freedom was assigned in the Afro-American History class my high school offered. Over the years since then I have often turned back to that classic work and used it as an authoritative reference work. Dr. Franklin was a scholar par excellence and his work has withstood the test of time.

I have often cited Dr. Franklin as the original source for the title of my work, Integration: Try It Again for the Very First Time. This concept, which I developed into a class I taught over 5 years ago, was taken from a quote of Dr. Franklin. In response to a question about the receding vision of racial integration Dr. Franklin said that “Integration has not so much failed as it has hardly ever been tried.” The point Dr. Franklin was making is that integration was a concept grossly misunderstood by both white and black America alike. I have made mention of this idea here several times so I won’t belabor the issue now. I am deeply indebted to Dr. Franklin, as are so many of us, and I want to call attention to his life and legacy for those who may not have previously been aware of him.

Blessings.

Shlomo