Talk:John Hope Franklin

"Public Service"?
As an ex-working historian myself, I have considerable regard for Prof. Franklin's professional qualifications and publications, but categorizing his office-holding in the AHA and OAH as "public service" seems a bit odd. Serving on various national commissions certainly qualifies but I don't think I would characterize membership in professional organizations that way. . . . --Michael K. Smith 14:32, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

Where would it most appropriately be put? Thank you. Skywriter 21:57, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

"Professional affiliations/organizations and offices held"? 94.222.19.232 (talk) 13:34, 14 December 2015 (UTC)

WikiProject class rating
This article was automatically assessed because at least one article was rated and this bot brought all the other ratings up to at least that level. BetacommandBot 17:44, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

Phi Beta Kappa
In order to properly include him at List of Phi Beta Kappa members, I have been trying to clarify how Prof. Franklin was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. (The list separates those "elected as undergraduates" from "honorary members.") This interview indicates that he was not elected as an undergraduate since Fisk did not yet have a chapter; this indicates that Fisk got its chapter in 1953. Yet the implication from other articles (not to mention the fact that he served as President) is that he's been long active in the organization, and is not an "honorary member" in the usual sense of the term. His autobiography doesn't answer the question. If anyone has a lead on when and how Franklin became a member (possibly in graduate school?), I would appreciate it. Thanks.--Arxiloxos (talk) 17:22, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

In the ABC interview, Franklin said, "We didn't have Phi Beta Kappa then, we had Phi Beta Kappa much later after I had got my doctorate and my mentor had won a chapter for Fisk and I went back as a foundation member."

That sounds distinctly similar to the blurb at the Clemson University site, which states: "Foundation Members are honorary Phi Beta Kappa members, inducted at the chapter’s installation because of their aid in obtaining the chapter."

Phi Beta Kappa arrived at Clemson in 2007 when individuals who helped get it established there were inducted as foundation members (as was Franklin at Fisk back in 1953) Phi Beta Kappa is an undergraduate society. Franklin's efforts were accomplished after he'd acquired his doctorate, and so he began as a foundation member. You might check the status of some of the individuals on the Clemson page. Are they listed as honorary on the list? (I think it's safe to say that Franklin began as an honorary member.) Skywriter (talk) 11:51, 23 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Thank you, Skywriter. That sounds like a very credible explanation of what Franklin meant in that interview. I have not had much luck tracking down any other formal, official explanations of what, exactly, a PBK "foundation member" is, so the clear explanation at the Clemson link is especially appreciated. Best, --Arxiloxos (talk) 18:48, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

My pleasure. Skywriter (talk) 22:42, 23 January 2009 (UTC)


 * And, indeed, that's the answer, as verified here.--Arxiloxos (talk) 19:11, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

Nice find, Arxiloxos! Skywriter (talk) 22:42, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

Death
I received the sad news of Dr. Franklin's passing via email. I will post a citation as soon as it makes the news. Rest in peace, John Hope Franklin. — Mustang_DVS (talk | contribs) 19:04, 25 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Indeed. In the days ahead I expect we'll see a number of eulogies and encomiums from newspapers, historians, political leaders, etc. which will provide good information to add to Dr. Franklin's bio. --Bigtimepeace | talk | contribs 02:24, 26 March 2009 (UTC)
 * I put the note here, because, at the time, it was not public knowledge that Dr. Franklin had passed away. I work in the Franklin Center, so was privy to the information before much of the media and did not want my (then-unsourced) edits undone out of concern that it was vandalism. (Indeed, a friend of mine, who is very much alive, has repeatedly "died" according to his Wikipedia/IMDB entries.) I didn't want to be confused for Wikiality. — Mustang_DVS (talk | contribs) 03:22, 26 March 2009 (UTC)
 * A good precaution, but obviously now there are plenty of stories on Franklin's passing. If in the days and weeks ahead the Franklin Center publishes any good stuff on Franklin's life and/or work you should point other editors to it here on the talk page or add some information in yourself. Adding some further depth to Franklin's Wikipedia bio&mdash;with proper citations in good historian fashion, of course&mdash;would be a nice little tribute to him I think. --Bigtimepeace | talk | contribs 04:26, 26 March 2009 (UTC)

He got it... why?
While mentioned in the lead-in, no where in the article does it say why Franklin was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Considering he is listed as "Scholar, historian, author, professor" - should not something in the article itself say why he was awarded the medal, rather than make the reader chase it down to the List of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients ? 71.234.215.133 (talk) 16:37, 26 March 2009 (UTC)

Early Life
The following statement, "In the Second World War, Franklin would consider serving only in a clerical capacity, and offered to run an office. When the recruiter commented on his color, Franklin left, and refused from then on to serve his country in any way" is problematic. Most important, it provides no citation. Second, it trivializes the white supremacy confronted by Franklin by an innocuous "commented on his color" remark. Additionally, the polemic and misleading statement that he "refused from then on to serve his country in any way" is unjustified. Dr. Franklin spent his life committed to expanding democracy in his country. He risked his life and professional career to do so and, despite being barred from white-only libraries and archives, emerged as one of the leading historians of his time. He was honored by the federal government and dozens of organizations for his work to serve his country and wider humanity. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 137.99.56.152 (talk) 20:16, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

Weak DNA/ancestry source
The so-called article on Franklin's genetic ancestry is weak - a PR by the company that supposedly did the analysis, as a marketing tool. I don't think this qualifies as RS. Section: "According to a DNA analysis, Franklin was descended mainly from people of Cameroon." I deleted this (the first version did not even copy correctly what the press release said.)Parkwells (talk) 02:23, 27 November 2014 (UTC)

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Article reassessed
This article meets the requirements for class C and high importance. Bruin2 (talk) 14:41, 11 September 2018 (UTC)