St. Clair Drake
| St. Clair Drake | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
John Gibbs St. Clair Drake January 2, 1911 Suffolk, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | June 15, 1990 (aged 79) Palo Alto, California, U.S. |
| Awards | Bronislaw Malinowski Award, 1990 |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater |
Hampton University University of Chicago |
| Academic work | |
| Main interests | African-American studies, African studies |
| Notable works | Black Metropolis: A Study of Negro Life in a Northern City (1945) |
| Influenced | Franklin Rosemont |
John Gibbs St. Clair Drake (January 2, 1911 – June 15, 1990) was an African-American sociologist and anthropologist whose scholarship and activism led him to document much of the social turmoil of the 1960s, establish some of the first Black Studies programs in American universities, and contribute to the independence movement in Ghana. Drake often wrote about challenges and achievements in race relations as a result of his extensive research.
While studying at University of Chicago, in 1945 Drake co-authored with Horace R. Cayton, Jr. the work Black Metropolis: A Study of Negro Life in a Northern City, a landmark study of race and urban life. Drake was one of the first African-American faculty members at Roosevelt University in Chicago, at a time when academic opportunities for Black scholars were usually limited to historically black colleges and universities. He continued his research while a professor at Roosevelt for 23 years, before leaving to found the African and African American Studies program at Stanford University.
A major element in Drake's career was an interest in Africa and the pan-African movement, which sprang from his dissertation work with immigrants from Africa living in the United Kingdom, and was expanded upon during his later research projects conducted in West Africa. Ultimately he spent years working in the newly independent country of Ghana as an academic and an informal advisor to the national government there, before his return to the United States and his academic career in that country.
John Gibbs St. Clair Drake was born in Suffolk, Virginia, on January 2, 1911. Later in life, including professionally, he went by his last name only, St. Clair Drake. His father immigrated to the United States from Barbados in the British West Indies, becoming a Baptist minister and an international organizer for Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association. His father's devout religious faith did not allow for activities like dancing, going to the movies, or using playing cards, all of which were forbidden to Drake in his childhood. Drake's mother, Bessie Lee, was a native of Staunton, Virginia. When Drake was two years old, the family moved to Harrisburg, Virginia, when his father decided it would be best for the family to join the many African Americans who were then moving northward. During his childhood, St. Clair lived in a multi-ethnic neighborhood. He recalled that his understanding of race and prejudice was vague, but at least one of his fights occurred when he was insulted about the color of his skin.
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