A Taste of Blackness Part 3: The Reconstructionist period



I have already discussed my plight as an alleged “oreo” and a brief history as to the development of the African-American intellectual and the sudden banishment from the American consciousness. I want to end this series of blogs by discussing the future of all my fellow outcasts and where we will go in society. The truth is that I am not 100% sure. I am not clairvoyant. I hope that maybe the idea that my behavior is not seen as assimilation but individuality. I do not think I have augmented my behavior, yet there is a theory that I was born with all of these characteristics and personality traits that all African-Americans have and committed the ultimate betrayal by somehow renouncing my status as a black man. It is my goal to try to publicly get rid of such patterns of thought. To eliminate the problem, one must first get to its root and the root of the “oreo” theory comes from the fear that African-American culture will be lost and rendered null in void. I believe the bigger fear is that some African-Americans fear that an actual choice IS being made and that this choice puts the entire essence of blackness as being somehow inferior to Caucasian culture.

There is no choice being made, at least on my part. I was never offered a piece of paper that had different behavior patterns I could adhere to and was asked to check one off. For better or for worse, I have always acted in pretty much the same way. I think that people have confused a couple of fundamental philosophies that this country was based on. The first concept is the notion of equality. I have never believed in equality. The idea is a ideological front used to make some people feel better about the fate of the world. I will say what the ACLU and rest of the world is afraid to. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS EQUALITY. Think about it. Everyone is not the same height, weight, or color. People look differently. Some people are classically beautiful. Some people are not. Some people are intellectually gifted. Some people are not. Some people have “street smarts”. Some people do not. Moreover, we do not treat everyone the same and I think that is a good thing. I do not treat everyone in my family the same. I do not treat all my students the same. My point is that this myth that all African-Americans adhere to the same philosophies, beliefs, speech patterns, political affiliations, and codes of conduct is completely erroneous. The same goes for Caucasians, Asians, and Latinos.

It has been a long time since I have taken a history class, but the last time I checked the United States was formed under the pretense that it would represent all people, hence the title of our nation. America is “the melting pot”. We represent all people and it is a good thing we do. Diversity is what makes life interesting. If everyone thought the same way and thinking became stagnant how would any progress ever be made? In regards to my dilemma, I sometimes feel that there are those African-Americans who are so enamored with their way of life and their thinking that they would prefer a Marcus Garveryesque move back to Africa. I have nothing personally against the continent of Africa and I would love to visit Africa but I have no desire or intention of relocating there on a permanent basis. Because I don’t have a fervent passion to go back to the “motherland” I have been accused of treason by some people of my own ethnicity. Why should my dissent to black supremacy confirm my allegiance to any other group?

Rehabilitation of this belief starts with children. I will admit sometimes that I wish I had more friends of color growing up, but my parents didn’t want me hanging out with the “wrong element”. Perhaps that is where the real problem starts. Any kind of differentiation/stereotype-reinforcement is permanently damaging to children. Stereotypes do not start from nothingness. They do have an origin, and usually that origin is a parent/adult influence. I would never call my parents racist or prejudiced but there were definite instances where sociological lines were drawn and they made sure to let me know where my proper place was. The problem is that sometimes that place isolated me from the same people I actually wanted to get to know better. I am not devaluing the friendships I have had in the past and currently do. I can honestly say that I love my friends. There is a difference though when your friends look like you. It’s an unspoken bond that strengthens the friendship. If parents take time to explain the value of all people and expose their children to these people and their cultures then maybe the concept of individuality might finally come to fruition.

Step two of solidifying the breach between African-Americans is to eradicate the theory that intellectual competency is a predominantly “Caucasian” characteristic. There is absolutely nothing hip about being academically lazy. And to those African-Americans who are academically gifted please relay your beliefs to all those around you. For those who have never seen Akeelah and the Bee I highly recommend you do because it demonstrates how cruel the road is to finding social acceptance for academic excellence. In the film, the main character, brilliantly portrayed by Keke Palmer, struggles to find a place to fit in as she struggles to advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee final in Washington, D.C. So much of Akeelah, I saw in myself. Her relationship with her parents was similar to mine. Although, I have always contended that my parents always expected me to succeed. I am not trying to come off as arrogant, but getting good grades never seemed to be a surprise to my parents. Everything I have accomplished always came off as routine. Kind of like they prepared me to succeed academically and set out very clear expectations, therefore, they expected the results I brought home. I am not saying that all parents need to be like mine, but I do think that there is a large contingency of African-American parents which have dropped the ball and allowed their children to develop attitudes and habits which are preparing them for failure. When students like myself, with the set of values I was raised with, encountered students who were raised without the same values there was always friction and probably a small sense of jealousy. No one wants to be labeled a “nerd”. But it is even worse to be labeled as a “fuck up”, “dummy”, or “lost cause”.

Step three is a shift that needs to occur in the mass media market. I have expressed my distaste for BET before but, in all honesty, the network truly is its own worst enemy. An entire cable network dedicated to the uplifting of African-American culture, values, etc. is taking the culture and validating a preposterous stereotype. It is not acceptable to promote an entire ethnicity in this way. I love music. I think it is at the pinnacle of personal expression and freedom, but when that music glorifies negative behavior on a frequent basis that is a problem. I have a problem that there has been this unspoken agreement that promoting certain characteristics with African-Americans in the media. In particular the characteristics of athleticism, anger, ignorance, slothfulness, and a bestial sexuality which are all marketed very blatantly every day. Athleticism is just a given. Black athletes do market well. LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Michael Vick (before his incarceration) were THE big names around. I very rarely saw black doctors or lawyers or astronauts in the news. Usually just black athletes who were in the spotlight. I love sports but having a large contingency of African-American celebrities being athletes refutes the stereotype that athleticism is a particularly African-American trait. Some people are reading this and thinking, “Big deal. I wish I were a great athlete!” The problem is when one group of people is allowed to carry a particular trait it allows for other groups to inherit other traits based solely on their ethnicity which is extremely problematic because that is where stereotyping originates from.

The sloth and laziness can be seen and heard everyday among African-Americans. The term “nigger” means someone who is lazy and shiftless. It is not a “black word”. Although it has been permanently intertwined with African-Americans because we seem content to call each other this insult in jest. There just isn’t a need to insult one’s own people in the name of conformity. I am always told, “Man it is different when we say it.” Why is it different? The entire nigger vs. nigga argument is passé. They both represent the same ignorant ideal that needs to be eradicated completely. Entire generations of people are being instructed that this word identifies them as an individual. That their name is just a legal marker for what they really are. Everyone on this planet should have a name given to them at birth. Calling someone out of their name is just unacceptable in my book. I also heard young African-American girls calling each other “bitch” as a term of endearment. I have never seen Caucasian youth saying, “What up honkey? Sup cracka?!” Let alone Caucasian or Hispanic students calling each other bitches. I mean…………..seriously. You are going to call a friend a female dog to greet them?!?!

The most complicated problem to deal with is the deconstruction of posting African-Americans as sexual objects. If you don’t think this happens I want you to think about a few famous cases. 1. Josephine Baker and her famous “banana dance”. 2. Dorothy Dandridge and her portrayal on the screen and poor romantic life. 3. Jack Johnson and his penchant for white women and the way he was depicted in the media. 4. Joe Louis and the way his caricatures found in newspapers. 5. Most famously, the case of Emmet Till and his depiction in the media after his supposed lust for a Caucasian girl. All I am saying is that there is a certain mystique associated with African-Americans and our sexuality. I am not saying that it has not benefited me in the past. The “black myth” definitely has its benefits, but it has its consequences as well. I have felt at times, particularly while engaged in interracial relationships that I was just an experiment of sorts. Kind of like part of a checklist of things to do. I say this because some of the girls I dated would complain of their friends constant pleading, “So tell me………….is it true? (insert giggles here)” It just seems that there is this hedonistic attitude concerning African-Americans and our sexuality. Like blackness can be transferred through sexual fluids. It just seems like the world wants to give a half-hearted compliment/stigma to a majority of African-Americans. Films like Obsessed, O, and Monster’s Ball completely objectify African-American sexuality. It wasn’t until I saw Something New that there was a semblance of morality or plausibility to interracial relationships and sentient African-Americans not lowering themselves into a stereotype.

The most important key to stopping this systematic conditioning that the African-American state of being is irrevocably tied to ignorance, despair, and an acceptance of mediocrity is to break down the rumor that there is such a thing as “acting black”. Setting up this rationale compounds the ignorance that seems to spew out of some people’s mouths. Individualism should never be seen as taboo, but something that exists on its own accord. My hope is that someone out there is reading this and feels the same way I do. I hope that the childish disdain that has come my way because of my existence and refusal to conform to a standard that I find demeaning, embarrassing, and flat out wrong ceases because I do not feel like I am wrong. Moreover, I feel that my life, in its pursuit of excellence is trying to show the best that qualities in my people. I am not a savior. I am not Black Jesus. I am just a guy trying to figure some things out and hope that a piece of mind can come from generations of social deconstruction. The onus is on all people, not just those of color, to examine their small little universe and see whether they contribute to the problem. And this is the problem of all problems. Until people can stop their inhumane treatment of themselves there will never be any hope for true intellectual or ideological progress. Some would marvel in their own magnificence but this social stagnation is unacceptable to me and hopefully unacceptable to others. To all those who have been persecuted for the supposed crime of being yourself, I wish you my deepest condolences and am telling you that you are normal. Normalcy does not have a definitive social standard. People are free to make their own decisions and make the best out of the life they have. To deny one the opportunity to pursue their happiness goes against the credo that this nation was founded on. I will end by giving a simple quote, “As long as one person can change, it proves people can change. If people can change, that means the world can change.” I look forward to the day when social progress has arrived and the isolation facing certain segments of society has been decimated and true brotherhood has come to fruition.