(Locke, 962) That meant to be educated, intellectual, self-determined and individualistic. At the same time however, it was necessary to accept ones historical backgrounds, both the African and the American one, and understand that one could not separate one from the other. (Locke, 254).
Locke had specific ideas on how to raise racial-awareness and raical pride. Blacks were to engage in African and African-American art in order to develop a common identity and bring along social and political change. Locke acknowledged that it was necessary to make Blacks realize that "the African representation of form, previously regarded as ridicioulsy crude and inadequate, appeared cunningly sophisticated and masterful."" (Locke, 589) He thus used the recent European interest in everything Negro to stress that, if white people took an interest in black art, it would be the Negro's duty to do the same. After all was "the African art object, (.) now universally recognized as a "notable instance of plastic representation,"" a genuine work of art, masterful over its material in a powerful simplicity of conception, design and effect."" (Locke, 258) Even more, the fact that European artistic movements like Modernism or Cubism were influenced by African sculptures and imagery should in his eyes cause black artists to look for that "vital connection between this new artistic respect for African idion and the natural ambition of Negro artists for a racial idion in their art expression."" (Locke, 262) Again, it is the black artists duty to reflect his racial heritage in his work, contribute to the rise of black art and thus Blacks in society. The work African-American were to produce had to be distinctevely black in both form and content, artists had to use and display African inspirations in order to express their messages.
As the New Negro as such had no biological bond or even authentical understanding of African art, saw Locke it as necessary that all influences, may they be African, American or European, were to be used to develop new art forms New Negros could identify with and which would bring them recognition among the international art scene.