Tribute to Frank Freidel by Nell Painter
Frank Freidel was Nell Irvin Painter's dissertation adviser,
in the Department of History at Harvard University. She completed her
Ph.D. in 1974. This tribute to Frank Freidel was read at the dinner in
his honor given by his students to mark his presidency of the Organization
of American Historians, in 1976.
Oscar Micheaux and Frank Freidel
by Nell Irvin Painter
Frank Freidel probably doesn't think of himself as
a spiritual descendant of Oscar Micheaux. After all, Micheaux, a Black
man, wrote books and made movies especially for colored people. Neither
historian nor scholar, he never instructed graduate students or supervised
theses. Oscar Micheaux thought himself something of a teacher, however,
and he inserted in each of his novels and films a moment when the main
characters addressed the audience on the condition of the Race. They knew
and told us what we must do.
In The Conquest, written in 1913, Micheaux's
young pioneer pauses ot flay his fellows who are"unable to cope with
the trend of modern progress" because they think that no mater how
well this or that white man prospers, his success portends nothing to
anyone Black. The pioneer protests this self-defeating notion."one
of the greatest tasks of my life" he says, is convincing "a
certain class of my racial acquaintances that a colored man can be anything."
He found it quite a job.
Although some sixty years separate me from the young
sage of The Conquest, I confess having belonged to his "certain
class" of doubters. I admit to having seriously questioned what a
Black and female individual might achieve in this profession, in this
country. Happily for me, Frank Friedel shouldered Micheaux's burden.
Frank's humanity, sensitivity, and tactful concern
helped me hope that I could "be anything" as long as I did my
part. It sounds simple, but in this lumpy world, it's a much appreciated
achievement. Oscar Micheaux would have testified to its difficulty and
taken Frank's hand for doing his part in the work.
Nell Irvin Painter
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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