Rejecting the premise that the literary magazine Ebony and Topaz (1927) should present a uniﬁed vision of Black American
identity, editor Charles S. Johnson fostered his contributors’ diverse perspectives by promoting their authorial autonomy.
Johnson’s self-effacement diverged from the editorial stances of W.E.B. Du Bois and Alain Locke, whose decisions for their
publications were more ______.
proﬁcient
dogmatic
ambiguous
unpretentious
Choice B is the best answer. A person who is "dogmatic" believes strongly that their principles and opinions are true.
Because Du Bois and Locke are implied to have one "uniﬁed vision" of Black American identity that they prioritize over the
"diverse perspectives" of different writers, they can be described as dogmatic.
Choice A is incorrect. "Proﬁcient" means "skilled." Du Bois and Locke are contrasted with Johnson, but nothing in the text
suggests that Johnson was not skilled at making editorial decisions. Based on the text, the three editors just have different
styles; they’re not necessarily more or less skilled. Choice C is incorrect. "Ambiguous" means "unclear" or "open to multiple
interpretations." However, it’s actually Johnson who encouraged multiple interpretations ("diverse perspectives"). Since Du
Bois and Locke are said to "diverge" from Johnson, we can assume that the views they published were not ambiguous, but
instead clear and ﬁrm (a "uniﬁed vision"). Choice D is incorrect. "Unpretentious" means "not trying to impress others with
greater skill or importance than is actually possessed." Du Bois and Locke are contrasted with Johnson, but nothing in the
text suggests that Johnson is pretentious (trying to impress others).