教育「新黑人」（New Negro）－－二十世紀初美國黑人禮儀書之研究

Educating“the New Negro”: African-American Etiquette Books from the Early Twentieth Century

本文以《漂亮的黑人女孩》、《弗洛伊德給黑人孩子們的花朵，或責任和美麗》、《基本禮儀和童謠》、《黑孩兒之書》等，探討他們透過禮儀書教育「新黑人」，賦予其實質內涵與意義。研究發現，在禮儀書裡的「新黑人」兼具舊觀念與新意象的融合，一方面遵循傳統教育思維，強調清潔為禮儀之本、正向面對外顯種族特質、黑人社會重視家庭生活、稱職的黑人母職形象、情緒管理與品德教育是贏得尊重之鑰等，避免重蹈「舊黑人」的刻板印象。一方面則賦予「新黑人」符合當時社會的道德規範、價值觀與涵養，如強調互助的金錢觀、照片成為禮儀書中教育「新黑人」的新選項、服裝以得體為宜、鼓勵女性追求自我等，不僅回應社會變化，也提供方法，協助讀者面對進步時期現實生活的挑戰。

In this paper I examine several etiquette books written at the start of the twentieth century and addressed especially to African Americans. Among the books examined are The Colored Girl Beautiful, Floyd’s Flowers: Or Duty and Beauty for Colored Children, First Steps and Nursery Rhymes, and The Brownies’Book. I conclude that these etiquette books contain a mixture of traditional and contemporary ideas. They stress traditional notions such as the importance of having good habits, taking pride in one’s own appearance, family life and motherhood, emotional management, winning the respect of others through proper conduct, and so on. Contemporary ideas include having the right attitude toward money, paying attention to one’s appearance, advocating for independence for women, and stressing the importance of self-cultivation. Etiquette books helped African Americans combat negative stereotypes, while also encouraging them to embrace the notion of“the New Negro.”The books helped to raise the self-esteem of African American women during the Gilded Age, when the ideal beauty in American society was exemplified variously by the Gibson Girl and the Flappers.