AFRICAN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHERS

The amazing book AFRICAN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHERS AND PHILOSOPHY by John H. McClendon III & Stephen C. Ferguson II (2019) is literally awash with wisdom and knowledge. Quoting Dr. Francis A. Thomas (1913-2001), of Central State University and Payne Theological Seminary, for example, they write: "Thomas succinctly proffers how this ubiquitous link finds its philosophical expression in the unity of theory and practice, which is allied with the content of philosophy itself. "'Theory, unless grounded in empirical data tends to fancy practice; practice not founded on theory , leans too heavily upon chance and usually results in chaos. In the history of mankind, communications through language and conceptualization constitutes both the mark and the method whereby men distinguished himself from subhuman animals. This ability to think on a high level of abstraction, and the desire to prove both the implications and consequences of thought have resulted in the development of the special field of philosophy which concerns itself with the formulation of theoretical assumptions. P.43. Elsewhere, they write: "Samuel Woodrow Williams...was a student of Alain Locke and Eugene C. Holmes at Howard University and would eventually serve as the chair of the Philosophy Department at Morehouse College. Williams was philosophy professor and mentor to Martin Luther King Jr. Of particular note, Williams gave an address , "The Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., Violence and Nonviolence in the Struggle for Equality," at Hebrew University in 1970. Unlike King, Williams does not completely dismiss the use of violence in the struggle to obtain civil rights. For Williams, in contrast with King, violence is not an absolute principle of immoral fiber. Thus, we discern the philosophy of nonviolence--among African American philosophers--is a rather complex conception with rich variance." P. 49. Dr. Richard I. McKinney of Morgan State University is also cited by the authors respecting philosophy and social activism: "'The question of the relation of theory to practice has often been of concern to philosophers. Sometimes it is claimed that all action proceeds from some recognized philosophical presuppositions. On the other hand, there are those who maintain that we develop habits of action and then seek philosophical justification for them. In any case, we recognize that every philosophy represents some foundation for conduct, whether or not it is developed in advance of that conduct. It is probable that among the participants in the protest movement, examples of both claims may be discovered .' P. 50.