Friendship Rekindled, Pluralism Refined

This chapter explores how Horace Kallen and Alain Locke's friendship grew and developed over time. Through friendship, Locke helped Kallen overcome his prejudices. Kallen never admitted to that in print, but his eulogizing of Locke spoke volumes as to the effect his friend had on his racial thinking, and the boundaries of cultural pluralism. Kallen had learned from Locke to appreciate the cultural contributions of African Americans. Before the major moments of the civil rights movement, Kallen began to speak of Black people as he had of Jews and Irishmen and Italians, as a part of the United States' symphony of civilization. Locke's friendship proved pivotal not only to Kallen's greater appreciation for Black culture but also to Kallen's own understanding of cultural pluralism as friendship, an understanding he developed most clearly in his memorials for Locke.