Just in Peril
This entry is in response to At the Corner of Progress and Peril by Michael A. Fletcher.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/01/AR2006060102184.html
Connections
"On the streets, strangers frequently give each other an uptick of the head when their eyes meet, a nod of black male acknowledgment... Wherever black men congregate, there is often a comfort level that crosses class and generational lines..."
This acknowledgement is implied and expected. I've seen it more here than in NY, because it means more. It says I dont know you but you aren't alone. It says we are the same even though we're different. Its a matter of respect and puts every Black man, regardless of status or accomplishment, on the same level. Because where we are or ended up isn't necessarily due to a lack of drive or motivation, maybe it was lack of opportunity. Maybe it was a wrong place wrong time situation... because for black men those situations have a much greater impact on the rest of our lives... just as right place right time situations do.
I find myself battling because in a predominantly white environment, I don't want to just associate with black men like myself. Executives work hard to bring diversity to the workplace yet we segregate ourselves by sitting at the same lunch table. They learn nothing from us when we do that, but at the same time that is how we are most comfortable.
A black director here is two levels above me. I normally would set up an appointment with a director's secretary, or go thugh my manager, but I can walk into his office and have a conversation with him. We afford each other those luxuries, possibly because we have to. Because the black man you see cleaning the park, at work, driving a truck, or just out of college is you. There is a larger divide for other races, mainly because experiences growing up are so different. But for black men, even growing up in homes with higher income levels, school experiences, job experiences, media exposure, are all the same, regardless of where you live or how much your family makes. How can you not afford yourself a little preferential treatment when you encounter... you?
Black Boy - says you can't but causes some to do it anyway.
"You are a black boy. That's two things you will always have against you."
"Now, Ferguson understands that his father, an employee of the Santa Clara County transit system, was merely trying to prepare him for a harsh world. But in his young mind, his father's message was confusing -- and a little disabling. 'It kind of brings you down,' he says. 'I know it is supposed to make you strive harder. But when you hear that over and over, it makes you believe you are not supposed to succeed.'"
A good point was made. However, it should be noted that in many cases people achieve goals because they were told they couldn't. Perhaps there is duality to being a Black Boy - being set up to fail, but with a drive to succeed... and the three paths that we fit into that were mentioned in the beginning of the article, are either one, the other, or a combination of both.
However, in response to what he said, perhaps we do a disservice to our youth by alerting them to the hardships that will come. Youth is for some the only time one can enjoy not having to worry about the hardships. My parents never let me know... my mom alerted me to how people think in a different way. She used to ask me questions like, "When you saw that man, what went through your mind first?... the fact that he is a doctor or that he is black?" English says he is a black doctor... but when it really matters, in a life or death situation, he is a doctor first, then black. What do you see first? My brother and I were pretty sheltered... and I can't think of a better example of how two black men can be exactly the same, but just affected by society differently. We both think exactly alike, yet act very different, look at the world differently, present ourselves to the world differently. Its like two people being faced with the same situation, going through the same train of thought, yet somehow still arriving at different conclusions. Its the little experiences that make Black men different, so its easier for us to be the same when we're together.
Fear-Fascination
"When you look at American popular culture, it is really driven by hip-hop, and young, African American men are the face of hip-hop," says S. Craig Watkins, a University of Texas researcher. "It speaks to the fear-fascination relationship the nation has with black men."
I can't remember the report I wrote about this. However, I do remember that I was trying to explain to my humanities class how hip-hop bridges the cultural divide, and how many aspects of pop-culture start out of trends initiated in black culture. I've mentioned this in my blog before, but I'll say it again. She replied, "White America has never had a problem with Black culture, the problem has been with Black people." This speaks directly to the fear-fascination mentioned in the article. It almost seems the perfect designating phrase. I make it a point not to lock the car door in the similar situation mentioned in the article... but its still a problem if it crosses my mind. It just that images are so powerful they put us against ourselves. How can we ever unite as a race if we even fear each other? Yes there is fear-fascination, but that term applies to other races looking at black men. For us, its just fear, and perhaps this is the root of the problem that has spawned so much interest over the past 100 years. Perhaps we are destroyed by the pereceived image of ourselves being projected right back onto us. Why else would us as cultural leaders represent the least successful group in society if not for the fear in the fascination?
Thanks again Pops.
~JL
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/01/AR2006060102184.html
Connections
"On the streets, strangers frequently give each other an uptick of the head when their eyes meet, a nod of black male acknowledgment... Wherever black men congregate, there is often a comfort level that crosses class and generational lines..."
This acknowledgement is implied and expected. I've seen it more here than in NY, because it means more. It says I dont know you but you aren't alone. It says we are the same even though we're different. Its a matter of respect and puts every Black man, regardless of status or accomplishment, on the same level. Because where we are or ended up isn't necessarily due to a lack of drive or motivation, maybe it was lack of opportunity. Maybe it was a wrong place wrong time situation... because for black men those situations have a much greater impact on the rest of our lives... just as right place right time situations do.
I find myself battling because in a predominantly white environment, I don't want to just associate with black men like myself. Executives work hard to bring diversity to the workplace yet we segregate ourselves by sitting at the same lunch table. They learn nothing from us when we do that, but at the same time that is how we are most comfortable.
A black director here is two levels above me. I normally would set up an appointment with a director's secretary, or go thugh my manager, but I can walk into his office and have a conversation with him. We afford each other those luxuries, possibly because we have to. Because the black man you see cleaning the park, at work, driving a truck, or just out of college is you. There is a larger divide for other races, mainly because experiences growing up are so different. But for black men, even growing up in homes with higher income levels, school experiences, job experiences, media exposure, are all the same, regardless of where you live or how much your family makes. How can you not afford yourself a little preferential treatment when you encounter... you?
Black Boy - says you can't but causes some to do it anyway.
"You are a black boy. That's two things you will always have against you."
"Now, Ferguson understands that his father, an employee of the Santa Clara County transit system, was merely trying to prepare him for a harsh world. But in his young mind, his father's message was confusing -- and a little disabling. 'It kind of brings you down,' he says. 'I know it is supposed to make you strive harder. But when you hear that over and over, it makes you believe you are not supposed to succeed.'"
A good point was made. However, it should be noted that in many cases people achieve goals because they were told they couldn't. Perhaps there is duality to being a Black Boy - being set up to fail, but with a drive to succeed... and the three paths that we fit into that were mentioned in the beginning of the article, are either one, the other, or a combination of both.
However, in response to what he said, perhaps we do a disservice to our youth by alerting them to the hardships that will come. Youth is for some the only time one can enjoy not having to worry about the hardships. My parents never let me know... my mom alerted me to how people think in a different way. She used to ask me questions like, "When you saw that man, what went through your mind first?... the fact that he is a doctor or that he is black?" English says he is a black doctor... but when it really matters, in a life or death situation, he is a doctor first, then black. What do you see first? My brother and I were pretty sheltered... and I can't think of a better example of how two black men can be exactly the same, but just affected by society differently. We both think exactly alike, yet act very different, look at the world differently, present ourselves to the world differently. Its like two people being faced with the same situation, going through the same train of thought, yet somehow still arriving at different conclusions. Its the little experiences that make Black men different, so its easier for us to be the same when we're together.
Fear-Fascination
"When you look at American popular culture, it is really driven by hip-hop, and young, African American men are the face of hip-hop," says S. Craig Watkins, a University of Texas researcher. "It speaks to the fear-fascination relationship the nation has with black men."
I can't remember the report I wrote about this. However, I do remember that I was trying to explain to my humanities class how hip-hop bridges the cultural divide, and how many aspects of pop-culture start out of trends initiated in black culture. I've mentioned this in my blog before, but I'll say it again. She replied, "White America has never had a problem with Black culture, the problem has been with Black people." This speaks directly to the fear-fascination mentioned in the article. It almost seems the perfect designating phrase. I make it a point not to lock the car door in the similar situation mentioned in the article... but its still a problem if it crosses my mind. It just that images are so powerful they put us against ourselves. How can we ever unite as a race if we even fear each other? Yes there is fear-fascination, but that term applies to other races looking at black men. For us, its just fear, and perhaps this is the root of the problem that has spawned so much interest over the past 100 years. Perhaps we are destroyed by the pereceived image of ourselves being projected right back onto us. Why else would us as cultural leaders represent the least successful group in society if not for the fear in the fascination?
Thanks again Pops.
~JL
posted by JC at 9:36 PM
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