The University of North Carolina Press, 1994

When Nathan Glazer and Daniel P. Moynihan published their book Beyond the Melting Pot in 1963 they wrote, “Without a special language and culture and without the historical experiences that create an élan and a morale what is there to lead them to build their own life, to patronize their own. . . . The Negro is only an American. He has no values and culture to protect.” Beginning in the late 1960s, scholars working within the field of African American studies challenged this assertion.