Abstract
MR. A. T. LACEY'S opening statement in the discussion on “The Genius of the African” which took place at the meeting of the Education Circle of the Royal Empire Society on March 8, gave a clear view of the fundamental factors in the problem which awaits solution in the development of African peoples. As Director of Education in Nyasaland, Mr. Lacey has had an excellent opportunity of forming an estimate of the capacity of a good, but not exceptional, sample of the Bantu peoples, and his conclusions, which recognise the native's limitations without unduly stressing his failings, deserve the careful consideration due to an opinion based on an intimate knowledge of conditions and a clear perception of the forces which make the present moment a critical period for the future of the greater part of Africa. Mr. Lacey agrees with other students of present-day tendencies in Africa in diagnosing the essential element of the problem as a conflict between the mentality of a people whose whole outlook is conditioned by group consciousness and group responsibility, and the type of mentality which is produced by the individualism of a European economic and social organisation. He pointed out that with the native's traditional outlook goes a spontaneous observance of law and order; but to maintain this disciplined attitude in changing conditions and to meet the new individualistic attitude, the group or tribe must now find a new orientation. As an educationist, he, not unnaturally, pins his faith to the individual; and he, therefore, proceeded to demonstrate the educability of the African from the degree and character of the achievement of the natives under his jurisdiction. In rating it relatively high, he is in agreement with others whose acquaintance with the African is not less than his own.
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The Mentality of the African. Nature 133, 407–408 (1934). https://doi.org/10.1038/133407c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/133407c0