Wednesday, January 2, 2008
When We Were "Colored"
The piece below was written by a columnist that I don't always agree with, but in this case I agree with a lot of what he says.
I'm not really sure when Black folks stopped believing that hard work, studying and having a command of language is somehow selling out.
An inspiration, beyond debate
Monday, December 31st 2007, 4:00 AM
Monday, December 31st 2007, 4:00 AM
By Stanley Crouch
Our popular culture has a lot of trouble delivering affirmative feelings about what we once considered good, basic values. Consumed by cynicism, we seem embarrassed by our own goodwill. We leap at every opportunity to dismiss the better angels of our nature as no more than corny - or as the way a simpleton might see the world.
The affliction can be particularly serious in the black community.
In that context, "The Great Debaters" - starring and directed by Denzel Washington, who plays a poet who leads an all-black East Texas college debate team - is an important American film. Set in 1935, it shows that there is a substantial intellectual tradition from which black people come. That tradition was nurtured by the many black colleges that sprang up throughout the South after the Civil War. Those schools were intended to do the heroic job of educating a mass of Americans who had been enslaved for 250 years in situations where being caught reading or learning to read could result in violent consequences.
In showing black people going to college, thinking about books and enjoying rich interior, intellectual lives, "The Great Debaters" refutes the lazy, narrow stereotypes that have become so common in our time. Those reflexes have been reestablished in hip hop, far too much black comedy and the ongoing denigration of black Americans in television and film, where the expected characters are almost always buffoons, knuckleheads or hoochie mamas.
Things have gotten so bad that black authenticity is regularly defined as rude, criminal, contemptuous of education and disrespectful. Any other vision of black American culture is dismissed as "white" or suffering from an overdose of "white middle-class values."
That is the worst misunderstanding of all: White people are expected to have the right information; black people are expected to have nothing more than a lot of foul-mouthed sass and some kind of rhythm. It seems we have stumbled into a valley of stupidity where those at the bottom are told that embracing so-called middle-class values dilutes their "authenticity."
Let's straighten this out. There is no such thing as "white middle-class values." There are only middle-class values - and they can be had by any ethnic group, any religion and anyone else who believes those values fit them. Belief in education, hard work, stable families, hygiene and scientifically proven solutions to our common problems (rather than superstition) should never be color-coded.
"The Great Debaters" just might inspirationally speak to the misled black people among us. And it might speak to others who think that they are doing black people a favor by accepting substandard performance and hostility to subtle expression as parts of "urban culture."
In the film, Washington's character, Melvin Tolson, never gives the impression that books or learning or mastering the English language are worthless attempts to get a pass into another ethnic group. Rather, he inspires his students to pursue the sophistication of an educated inner life.
In other words, he connects them not to the black experience - but to the all-inclusive majesty of the human condition. It should come as no surprise that the film's producer is one Oprah Winfrey, whose career has proven that the particular and the universal do not have to be at odds.
Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Hollywood produced a string of movies that emphasized the glories of learning and the potential across all classes and backgrounds. Those films helped this country understand its possibilities and part of its mission.
"Debaters" continues that tradition. Inspirational stories like it may be one small part of what we need to wake up for the new global economic competition in which we find ourselves. Many predict that competitors like the Chinese will give us no more than a generation before sending us to the back of the class.
Our popular culture has a lot of trouble delivering affirmative feelings about what we once considered good, basic values. Consumed by cynicism, we seem embarrassed by our own goodwill. We leap at every opportunity to dismiss the better angels of our nature as no more than corny - or as the way a simpleton might see the world.
The affliction can be particularly serious in the black community.
In that context, "The Great Debaters" - starring and directed by Denzel Washington, who plays a poet who leads an all-black East Texas college debate team - is an important American film. Set in 1935, it shows that there is a substantial intellectual tradition from which black people come. That tradition was nurtured by the many black colleges that sprang up throughout the South after the Civil War. Those schools were intended to do the heroic job of educating a mass of Americans who had been enslaved for 250 years in situations where being caught reading or learning to read could result in violent consequences.
In showing black people going to college, thinking about books and enjoying rich interior, intellectual lives, "The Great Debaters" refutes the lazy, narrow stereotypes that have become so common in our time. Those reflexes have been reestablished in hip hop, far too much black comedy and the ongoing denigration of black Americans in television and film, where the expected characters are almost always buffoons, knuckleheads or hoochie mamas.
Things have gotten so bad that black authenticity is regularly defined as rude, criminal, contemptuous of education and disrespectful. Any other vision of black American culture is dismissed as "white" or suffering from an overdose of "white middle-class values."
That is the worst misunderstanding of all: White people are expected to have the right information; black people are expected to have nothing more than a lot of foul-mouthed sass and some kind of rhythm. It seems we have stumbled into a valley of stupidity where those at the bottom are told that embracing so-called middle-class values dilutes their "authenticity."
Let's straighten this out. There is no such thing as "white middle-class values." There are only middle-class values - and they can be had by any ethnic group, any religion and anyone else who believes those values fit them. Belief in education, hard work, stable families, hygiene and scientifically proven solutions to our common problems (rather than superstition) should never be color-coded.
"The Great Debaters" just might inspirationally speak to the misled black people among us. And it might speak to others who think that they are doing black people a favor by accepting substandard performance and hostility to subtle expression as parts of "urban culture."
In the film, Washington's character, Melvin Tolson, never gives the impression that books or learning or mastering the English language are worthless attempts to get a pass into another ethnic group. Rather, he inspires his students to pursue the sophistication of an educated inner life.
In other words, he connects them not to the black experience - but to the all-inclusive majesty of the human condition. It should come as no surprise that the film's producer is one Oprah Winfrey, whose career has proven that the particular and the universal do not have to be at odds.
Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Hollywood produced a string of movies that emphasized the glories of learning and the potential across all classes and backgrounds. Those films helped this country understand its possibilities and part of its mission.
"Debaters" continues that tradition. Inspirational stories like it may be one small part of what we need to wake up for the new global economic competition in which we find ourselves. Many predict that competitors like the Chinese will give us no more than a generation before sending us to the back of the class.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
Today is Black Solidarity Day!
REMEMBER THAT TODAY IS BLACK SOLIDARITY DAY!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
The Pledge We Took
In 1995, a million Black men stood on the mall in Washington, DC and took a solemn pledge to be better men. Time has passed and for many the Million Man March has faded into history. But for some of us we still try everyday to stick to the pledge that we made.I pledge that from this day forward, I will strive to love my brother as I love myself. From this day forward I will strive to improve myself spiritually, morally, mentally, socially, politically and economically for the benefit of myself, my family and my people.
I pledge that I will strive to build business, build houses, build hospitals, build factories and enter into international trade for the good of myself, my family and my people.
I pledge that from this day forward I will never raise my hand with a knife or a gun to beat, cut or shoot any member of my family or any human being except in self defense.
I pledge from this day forward, I will never abuse my wife by striking her, disrespecting her, for she is the mother of my children and the producer of my future.
I pledge that from this day forward, I will never engage in the abuse of children, little boys or little girls, for sexual gratification. But I will let them grow in peace to be strong men and women for the future of our people.
I will never again use the "b" word to describe any female, but particularly my own Black sister.
I pledge that from this day forward that I will not poison my body with drugs or that which is destructive to my health and my well-being.
I pledge from this day forward that I will support Black newspapers, Black radio, Black television. I will support Black artists who clean up their acts and show respect for themselves and respect for their people and respect for the heirs of the human family.
I will do all of this, so help me God.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
The Field Negro Index...
The index below comes courtesy of the blog "Field Negro". I passed with flying colors. Where do you stand?
One question that often comes up among my acquaintances who know my handle when I blog is: "Field, how would I know if I am a field negro or a house negro? I mean I see you with this blog, and you seem to be inimical to the house Negroes, so how do I know where I stand?"
That's a fair question. And I previously gave some tips on this very blog on how to identify the house negro. So now, to be fair, I think it's time I gave some tips on how one would know whether he or she is a field negro or not as well.
So again, with my apologies to Jeff Foxworthy, here are just a few ways that you can tell if you are a field negro:
1. If you look at the suffering of people in places like Darfur, Angola, and Iraq, and you feel genuine pain for them, well then you might be a field negro.
2. If you would rather read a good history book (any history)than watch BET, then you might just be a field negro.
3. If you think the biggest threat facing America is from those among us who are ignorant, bigoted fear mongers, and not Muslim terrorist, then you just might be a field negro.
4. If you think all citizens of the world are equal whether they were born within our borders or not, then I sense a field negro.
5. If you have watched at least five Spike Lee joints in your life (any five even Crooklyn) then you might be a field negro.
6. If you are feeling Nia Long, Lisa Raye, and Dawn Robinson, but not Halle Barry,Tracy Bingham,or Naomi Campbell, then you just might get this field negro thing.
7. If you are feeling Don Cheadle,Denzel Washington, and Djimon Hounsou, but not Cuba Gooding, Terrence Howard, or Samuel L. Jackson, then start looking for your field negro card.
8. If you were hoping OJ's sorry ass would get off, but knew he was guilty, well you just might have this field negro thing down.
9. If you always exercise your right to vote, not because you trust politricksters, but because you know what those who came before you had to go through to give you that right, well then you just might be a field negro.
10. If you have read Noam Chomskey, Franz Fannon, or Chinua Achebe, then you might just be a field negro.
11. If you value where you live more than what you drive, well then you might be a field negro.
12. If you hold down more than one job just because you can, well congratulations, I think you just might be a field negro.
13. Speaking of jobs, if you are working and going to school, well then you might have this field negro thing pretty much wrapped up.
14. If you think the sybaritic excesses of America is way too much, well then my friend, I think you are a field negro.
15. If you don't trust anyone with an offering plate and a promise, well then you might just be a field negro.
16. If you always want to learn more no matter how much you have accomplished, well step right up, because you might be a field negro.
17. If you think Paris Hilton is a restaurant in France, good for you, you might be a field negro.
18. If you believe that America could not have been the industrial power it is without the blood sweat and tears of your ancestors, well then you might be a field negro.
19. If you don't prejudge things like music,clothes, and places, well then you might just be a field negro.
20. Rule #19 applies to people as well (unless of course it's a white male over 50 :))
21. If your "bling" consists of just a wedding ring, a watch or a chain that your dying momma gave you, well then you just might be a field negro.
22. If Negroes who white people love makes you nervous, (see Oprah, Barack, and Tiger) well then welcome to the fields.
23. If you have a criminal record because some white person called you nigger in the past, well then you might have anger issues, and could be a field negro.
24. If you understand that there are white folks out here who have more in common with you and all the above traits than some black folks, well then guess what; you just might be a field negro after all.
25. If you tuck your child(ren) into bed every night, well then you just might be a field negro.
26. If you think Malcolm was just as important to the civil rights struggle as Martin, well guess what,you might be a field negro.
27. Finally, if you read this blog at least three times a week, I am thinking that you are more than likely a field negro :)
27. Finally, if you read this blog at least three times a week, I am thinking that you are more than likely a field negro :)
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