Parallelism

In class we began to grapple with what the phrase “black power” really meant, later briefly discussing this idea of real and fake democracy. Fake democracy was understood to be the initial way that democracy was formed when the USA first originated. It was supposed to be a form of law and order that secured those that it was truly made for, the white race. Democracy was not initially made to cover and protect those that were a minority, it was what ultimately marginalized those minorities from the main stream of America.

Real democracy was assumed to be one of the reasons and/ or meanings of black power. It was a way to take pride in one’s blackness and begin to assert what was long overdue. In order to achieve real democracy, it was understood that there had to be more than a reformation to occur, this was something that would take a lot of time due to the fact that it would essentially take the reconstruction of the nation all over again. The question then and now is how do we get to this point of reconstruction and how long will it really take? When some progress begins there is always a storm that deters it. We find ourselves today still longing for this sense of true democracy, where minority groups are valued just as much as the majority.

In relating the rise of black power to today, we are still fighting the battle of real democracy for all marginalized groups. Although we are technically accepted within America there are still things that force us to stand apart from the privileged groups within society. It is still hard to get marginalized representation into the mainstreams of politics to a point that they would hold a spot within the leadership group of the country, outside of President Obama. As said before democracy was a way to keep groups separate and force one to realize their inferiority, and today still remains the same; however, it has evolved from enslavement to mass incarceration. The Netflix documentary 13^th was an hour long depiction of how slavery still exists today in 2016. The statement that slavery is still in existence, is a bold stance to defend given that the era of enslavement is in fact over; however, when saying slavery one is meaning the ties to the land of America that the African American Race still is chained by. Our government has once again found a way to profit off black bodies that are held captive and chained to a system that will follow them for the remainder of their lives. Just think, slaves could not vote nor can incarcerated peoples whether in or out of the institution of the prison system. It is tactics like these that keep us from fighting for our voices to be heard from a leadership position or at least an influence within America.

Fake Allies and False Saviors

            Although we like to think that the civil rights era was a time in which white people united with black folk in order to eradicate the evils of segregation, there were tension between white volunteers who wanted to involve themselves with the movement and oppressed black people. One element that stood out in Aram Goudsouzian’s Down to the Crossroads was how black and white people worked together during the Civil Rights Movement. Goudsouzian discussed how, “Poussaint kept hearing about black bitterness toward white civil rights workers” when examining black activists (Goudsouzian 93). This tension was present because some white volunteers infiltrated the movement for recognition or gain a sense of pride in their paternalistic actions for helping the “less fortunate”. Goudsouzian explained how black folk “complained that whites assumed leadership positions, had paternalistic attitudes, and returned to cushy homes after their civil rights vacations” (Goudsouzian 94). Goudsouzian’s use of the word vacation stands out to me because it seems to ring with truth. It is difficult for white volunteers to fully understand the black plight. For black people to see a white person stand on a platform advocating for black rights, just to return to privileged lives, was a slap in the face as they remained the target of oppression.

            Another incident that Goudsouzian discussed is Eugene Nickerson who used the Civil Rights Movement to demonstrate his liberal credentials. After arriving late to a march Como, Nickerson simply posed “for pictures and [drove] back to Memphis for his flight home” (Goudsouzian 95). Some white volunteers used the Civil Rights Movement to promote themselves, posing as saviors to the black community. In this case some white volunteers tried to be part of the movement without being “part” of the movement. This is not to say that all white volunteers tried to assume savior positions during the movement. However, we can apply Goudsouzian’s research to today as well. When considering Black Lives Matter, some black and white people have used it as a way to keep up with the current trend. People prance around in the Black Lives Matter apparel without knowing what the movement is really about, and this dilutes the movement. Professor McKinney discussed in an earlier lecture how one must read and have credible knowledge about the subject or movement to partake in the discussion. Aligning oneself with a movement is more than following a trend or self-promotion, it is about having a true connection with the cause and personal involvement to allow that cause to grow.

Embracing Different Black Identities: African vs. African American

While Zandria Robinson’s This Ain’t Chicago has done the job of educating us on the multiple souths and the many black identities present in the northern and southern regions of America, I have taken some time this week to think about the multitude of black identities in general. This week I was able to attend a Rhodes conversation hosted by the African and Black Student Associations on campus entitled, “The Complicated Relationship Between Africans and African Americans.” It opened my mind to the fact that black identity is not limited to northern and southern blacks, but blacks outside the country as well- specifically Africans.

Before the conversation, I knew only a little about Africans’ contempt for blacks in America. I had heard that Africans thought lesser of African Americans because we are disconnected from the ‘motherland’ of Africa, ‘the cradle of civilization.’ That sentiment always bothered me because it is not African American’s fault that our ancestors were kidnapped and transported to America against their will. It is not our fault that many of us can not trace our ancestry because of the slave trade. I also think that sentiment is ridiculous because as we have read in Homegoing, Africans took part in the slave trade as well. Some of us could very well be here because of an African king who paired with European slave companies for capital gain. At the end of the day, if allotted the proper tools and resources, all blacks could trace their roots back to Africa so I didn’t really understand why Africans thought of African Americans so differently just because we now inhabit a different land.

Much like Mrs. Pinkston in Homegoing, I believed that here in America, “black is black is black” (Gyasi, 273) regardless of where you were born or where you call your homeland, you are still more likely to get pulled over or arrested, still having to work twice as hard to get half as much. After the talk, I realized that the complicated relationship has less to do with regional ties than it does with a lack of effort to acknowledge and appreciate African and African American culture. Ignorance is a factor that stifles Africans and African Americans from fully accepting each other as we fail to acknowledge the different cultures and identities that lie in African and African American blackness. This in turn makes the one group feel un-welcomed in the presence of the opposing group. This was depicted in the cafeteria scene where Marjorie was made fun of “for talking like a white girl” as one of her classmates mocked her with a British accent (Gyasi, 268). The classmate was obviously uninformed on the fact that Marjorie’s seemingly British accent is a part of her black African culture as the British colonized parts of Africa. Black Americans are even at fault for similar shaming within our own community, as it is common for African Americans to proclaim proper speech or certain music as a means of ‘acting white.’ This only makes it harder for black people to embrace their identity within their own communities on top of the fact that it is already a struggle to do so in our society as a whole.

We also spoke a bit on cultural appropriation and how African Americans are now turning sacred and traditional African tribal dashiki into a fashion trend, almost a costume that completely devalues the African history and culture with which it originates. Many African Americans justify this act by claiming to celebrate their roots while simultaneously perpetuating the same toxic practices such as colorism and shaming others who don’t fit the mold of the ‘typical black person,’ taking part in divisive practices that only stifle the black community. These practices diminish space for Africans as well as African Americans to express themselves. We need to start acknowledging and embracing all identities and customs that come with the variety of blackness present in and outside our country. We have to uplift one another as a community before we can even begin the revolution needed to turn this country away from the hate and bigotry that has plagued us for too long.

Loving v. Virginia

Today, I had the pleasure of seeing the newly released film, Loving. The compelling film is based on the real story of Mildred and Richard Loving, the interracial couple whose Supreme Court case eventually rendered anti-miscegenation laws across the country unconstitutional. I researched the true story of the couple after watching the movie and was relieved to know that there were no embellishments written into the film interpretation of the story. The fact this movie stuck to the couple’s history spoke volumes to me as it made a statement that there is no need to dramatize film scripts to depict instances of civil rights struggles.

The Loving story reminded me that many who effected beneficial reform and civil liberties for us today had no intentions of being civil rights heroes. Only five weeks after Mildred and Richard made the long trip from their hometown of Virginia to Washington D.C. to get married, they were taken from their home and hauled to jail. At their first court date, the judge offered them two equally detestable punishments: a year in jail or to leave their home state of Virginia for twenty-five years.  Many civil rights cases like the Loving’s merely came about due to the many Jim Crow laws that continued to diminish the humanity of black people as well as spaces for them to embrace their identities with whomever they chose to love. 

Another interesting aspect of the movie was the pushback that Richard (Mildred’s white husband) received. Richard’s character was a man of few words, most of his scenes in the movie consisted of him vowing to protect his wife, expressing disdain for the couple’s constant media attention, and scenes where he didn’t speak at all, but admired his wife with the bright smile that only she could elicit from him. Richard never questioned his devotion to Mildred, but many questioned his decision to stay married to her. Her family was hurt that he had put Mildred under such scrutiny by the police, and his friends and co-workers were annoyed that he had given up his white privilege and freedoms to marry her. Richard disliked the constant media attention and incessant court hearings because, to him, their marriage was much simpler than all the red tape that came with their interracial union. He even refused to go to the Supreme Court hearing, expressing to Robert Kennedy that he only wanted one message relayed, “Tell the judge I love my wife.” The plight of racial prejudice was surreal to Robert until the moment the couple was hauled off to jail in the middle of the night by police only to be told that the marriage license over their bed ‘didn’t mean nothing’ in Virginia.

After losing their case on the county level, Mildred was advised to contact attorney Robert Kennedy who, alongside the American Civil Liberties Union, eventually took their case all the way to the Supreme Court. Following their victory, it became clear to Richard and Mildred that despite their original intentions to fight for their love and life in their hometown, they paved the way for the rights of all interracial marriages after theirs.