Undermining Past and Ongoing Efforts

One of my biggest pet peeves is the use of the following phrases: the "whitest/blackest white/black guy I know", and "why you acting white/black?". I hate them. 

I use to argue that those phrases belittle black people and show a blatant disregard for the national efforts made by people of color to been seen and treated like their white counterparts. Here's why: 

It is obvious when a person says "[insert person] is the whitest black person I know" that they clearly are not talking about the melanin in someone's skin. In fact, they aren't talking about their skin color at all. The focus is on white people and seeing how close that black person comes to being like a white person. Based off the use of that phrase, people automatically think of a light-skinned, "fresh-looking", preppy black guy. He most likely enunciates all his word, has an advanced vocabulary for a black person, and does not act like the stereotypical black person. Basically, he's is doing well and not acting or appearing as a thug to society. The word "whiteness" carries a positive connotation to it, which cannot said for the word "blackness".

From our reading of  "The Monster of the Mind" with Jefferson's arbitrary definition of blackness to " Race in the American Dream", we have grappled with the the word "blackness". As we saw and discussed in class, there is not a single definition for the word. The definition changes based off who you're asking and when you ask them. The word is affected by ongoing racial tensions, strides toward equality and equity, and any recent racial hate crime. The fact is blackness is not absolute. The Civil Rights Movement ushered in black people embracing their culture and gave blackness a positive connotation. Examples of this being songs like "I'm Black and I'm Proud", the historic image of black athletes raising a fist at the Olympic games in support of Black Power, and the formation and operation of the Black Panthers. These examples show how black people took back their blackness and, like many other things, made it their own. 

However, when someone says"[insert person] is the blackest person I know", the mental image is not what I described. Instead of any positive images, we think of a stereotypical black person. Someone who is sagging their pants, looks like a predator of some sort, and appears to lack the success and intellect of their white peers. Blackness, in this sense, is the the complete opposite of what the Civil Rights Movement transformed it into.

Our society as a whole is implicitly allowing for small regressions like these to occur, yet still wonders why racial tensions remain an issue in our country.