Summary

In 1906, W. E. B. DuBois followed anthropologist Franz Boas to Atlanta University. Boas was one of the first significant scholars to reject racist and anti-semitic ideas of "biologically distinct races (and ethnicities)" (295). Boas also recounted "the glories of precolonial West African kingdoms" (296). In 1908, the victorious heavyweight African American boxing champion Jack Johnson prompted some of the White community to look for a competitor who could "redeem Whiteness" (297). Johnson's victory in a match against former White heavyweight champion Jim Jefferies caused "a surge of excitement through Black America and a surge of fury through racist America" (299).

In 1912, Edgar Rice Burroughs published the novel "Tarzan of the Apes." This story depicts a white baby who is raised in a community of apes and eventually becomes the most skilled hunter and warrior in the region while also educating...