These are (shocker, I know) thorny topics and I appreciate your exploring them. I think it can be helpful to consider the same questions from the perspectives of other marginalized groups. Ultimately, I end up in a similar place, noting that the central focus should be excellence.
At the same time, while headlining race (or other attribute) as a qualifier may reduce the sense of excellence, leaving it out altogether reduces the effect of opening minds shaped by "the familiar" in whatever social context applies. My view is that it is important to weave into the narrative the fact of an individual's personal attributes (this black left handed archivist struggled to overcome poor eyesight while inventing microphotography—not a real example). Race, etc. is incidental to the story...except, of course, when it isn't. Though even when it is central, it is not the whole story.
We seem to have descended into a time in which headlines have become the primary tool for communication and labels are used to communicate a substance that may or may not be relevant to the questions at hand, and being labels, are certainly inadequate to capturing the nuance that shapes all of our lives.
Of critical importance, to me, is our willingness to examine the lenses through which we filter the world. As a writer, I want to be a catalyst for this assessment. I hope that it can go some way toward reducing the power of labels. No one is defined by an "identity" be that imposed or chosen. We are all an amalgam of experiences—and those build upon each other over the years. We are, however, too often relegated to the embodiment of a label, both imposed and chosen, and usually based upon a snapshot, a point in time out of context of the life as lived.
We cannot be blind to that.
Your posts help to provoke thought (as the comments suggest). Thanks!
It did a good job (better than nowadays) at showing the subtle and not so subtle aspects of racism, growing older, changing & growing vs not changing and spiraling out of control. Feelings of guilt, of no guilt, of blame and of acceptance of responsibility & accountability, etc. Much better writing than now (and perhaps of much later episodes of that TV show.)
I’m struggling more in the 2020’s than in the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s (when this tv show was on originally and I watched them as a teen and 20-something) with these issues BECAUSE the issues have reduced to oversimplified issues, insistence that NOTHING has changed, that it’s an original sin that cannot be removed, replaced, reduced - NOTHING! The stereotyping of “White” people just to reduce them to the “only and always oppressors.” Race isn’t real but racism is; and we have obviously somehow gotten off track keeping a balanced and more positive view instead of cynical devolving rhetoric and undisguised political power grab. 😔 There must be a better way.
"This approach doesn't uplift or empower, and any semblance of empowerment it offers is merely superficial. I often find that the highlighting of black excellence or “black achievement” still perpetuates the narrative of "black adversity" instead of subverting it."
Is the reason that many who self-identify as "black" are terrified that others will be jealous and resentful of them, and that they will suffer large scale backlash?
Is emphasizing "black adversity" a way of blunting the attack:
"You didn't earn that. You stole that. You made your success off the backs of poor and marginalized people by oppressing, exploiting, suppressing, harming and engaging in hegemony against them. You are a coon black white supremacist. You made your success by engaging in the patriarchy, systemic racism, whiteness and capitalism."
Is the real danger with concepts such as "black excellence" that it will exacerbate the jealousy and resentment people who don't identify as "black" feel towards successful "black" people?
This ties into a related question. When people discuss "racism", is this generally but not always a proxy for "jealousy" or "resentment"? If so, why use the less descriptive phrase "racism" instead of the more precise terms "jealousy" and "resentment"?
What can be done to facilitate people being less jealous and resentment of "black" perfection, excellence, merit, competence, capacity, values, culture?
As the self-styled leading black British philosopher of my generation and founder of Black Cartesianism I've been dismissed as stupid, deluded and more. I'm okay with that. I never say 'we need more black philosophers', I set out long ago to be that person. Truth be told I never really set out to be a 'black philosopher'. 'Black Cartesianism' is a joke, I'm not 'black' as a matter of consciousness I am not 'black' and never have been. When I say Cartesian I mean a way of thinking or philosophising. I mean that I begin with me. To be a ' black philosopher' I would have to take a metaphysical leap. I would have to adopt a consciousness of the world that is chosen? selected? Imposed? Not a consciousness that evolves out of my own experience.
If we want to be great, then we have to become great, this involves recognising that we aren't great right now, perhaps divising a plan, and maybe at some point acknowledging that despite our best efforts we didn't quite make it. As for praise and recognition, who do we want praise and recognition from? The great jazz musician Miles Davis would famously turn his back to the audience as a sign of his indifference to them. A well-known soul singer, I can't remember who, said ' you need one other person apart from your mother who values what you do'. If we want to build something new (perhaps we need a 'we'), 'we' need to grow with our audience. To understand my Cartesianism you might need to find out something about Descartes. We (the new 'we') need to praise, recognise and challenge and criticise each other.
I think that Apa's list is a mixed bag, certainly Inaya has a remarkable skill-set. My super power is conceptual thinking, my challenge is to 'you', if you think that I'm wrong or deluded or whatever, that's okay, let me know. 'We' can combine our abilities.
These are (shocker, I know) thorny topics and I appreciate your exploring them. I think it can be helpful to consider the same questions from the perspectives of other marginalized groups. Ultimately, I end up in a similar place, noting that the central focus should be excellence.
At the same time, while headlining race (or other attribute) as a qualifier may reduce the sense of excellence, leaving it out altogether reduces the effect of opening minds shaped by "the familiar" in whatever social context applies. My view is that it is important to weave into the narrative the fact of an individual's personal attributes (this black left handed archivist struggled to overcome poor eyesight while inventing microphotography—not a real example). Race, etc. is incidental to the story...except, of course, when it isn't. Though even when it is central, it is not the whole story.
We seem to have descended into a time in which headlines have become the primary tool for communication and labels are used to communicate a substance that may or may not be relevant to the questions at hand, and being labels, are certainly inadequate to capturing the nuance that shapes all of our lives.
Of critical importance, to me, is our willingness to examine the lenses through which we filter the world. As a writer, I want to be a catalyst for this assessment. I hope that it can go some way toward reducing the power of labels. No one is defined by an "identity" be that imposed or chosen. We are all an amalgam of experiences—and those build upon each other over the years. We are, however, too often relegated to the embodiment of a label, both imposed and chosen, and usually based upon a snapshot, a point in time out of context of the life as lived.
We cannot be blind to that.
Your posts help to provoke thought (as the comments suggest). Thanks!
I concur. I was reading this while watching an old re-run of the 1980’s TV show In The Heat Of The Night, “prisoners” season 2 episode 5.
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0610658/
It did a good job (better than nowadays) at showing the subtle and not so subtle aspects of racism, growing older, changing & growing vs not changing and spiraling out of control. Feelings of guilt, of no guilt, of blame and of acceptance of responsibility & accountability, etc. Much better writing than now (and perhaps of much later episodes of that TV show.)
I’m struggling more in the 2020’s than in the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s (when this tv show was on originally and I watched them as a teen and 20-something) with these issues BECAUSE the issues have reduced to oversimplified issues, insistence that NOTHING has changed, that it’s an original sin that cannot be removed, replaced, reduced - NOTHING! The stereotyping of “White” people just to reduce them to the “only and always oppressors.” Race isn’t real but racism is; and we have obviously somehow gotten off track keeping a balanced and more positive view instead of cynical devolving rhetoric and undisguised political power grab. 😔 There must be a better way.
You're a credit to your race.
"This approach doesn't uplift or empower, and any semblance of empowerment it offers is merely superficial. I often find that the highlighting of black excellence or “black achievement” still perpetuates the narrative of "black adversity" instead of subverting it."
Is the reason that many who self-identify as "black" are terrified that others will be jealous and resentful of them, and that they will suffer large scale backlash?
Is emphasizing "black adversity" a way of blunting the attack:
"You didn't earn that. You stole that. You made your success off the backs of poor and marginalized people by oppressing, exploiting, suppressing, harming and engaging in hegemony against them. You are a coon black white supremacist. You made your success by engaging in the patriarchy, systemic racism, whiteness and capitalism."
Is the real danger with concepts such as "black excellence" that it will exacerbate the jealousy and resentment people who don't identify as "black" feel towards successful "black" people?
This ties into a related question. When people discuss "racism", is this generally but not always a proxy for "jealousy" or "resentment"? If so, why use the less descriptive phrase "racism" instead of the more precise terms "jealousy" and "resentment"?
What can be done to facilitate people being less jealous and resentment of "black" perfection, excellence, merit, competence, capacity, values, culture?
As the self-styled leading black British philosopher of my generation and founder of Black Cartesianism I've been dismissed as stupid, deluded and more. I'm okay with that. I never say 'we need more black philosophers', I set out long ago to be that person. Truth be told I never really set out to be a 'black philosopher'. 'Black Cartesianism' is a joke, I'm not 'black' as a matter of consciousness I am not 'black' and never have been. When I say Cartesian I mean a way of thinking or philosophising. I mean that I begin with me. To be a ' black philosopher' I would have to take a metaphysical leap. I would have to adopt a consciousness of the world that is chosen? selected? Imposed? Not a consciousness that evolves out of my own experience.
If we want to be great, then we have to become great, this involves recognising that we aren't great right now, perhaps divising a plan, and maybe at some point acknowledging that despite our best efforts we didn't quite make it. As for praise and recognition, who do we want praise and recognition from? The great jazz musician Miles Davis would famously turn his back to the audience as a sign of his indifference to them. A well-known soul singer, I can't remember who, said ' you need one other person apart from your mother who values what you do'. If we want to build something new (perhaps we need a 'we'), 'we' need to grow with our audience. To understand my Cartesianism you might need to find out something about Descartes. We (the new 'we') need to praise, recognise and challenge and criticise each other.
I think that Apa's list is a mixed bag, certainly Inaya has a remarkable skill-set. My super power is conceptual thinking, my challenge is to 'you', if you think that I'm wrong or deluded or whatever, that's okay, let me know. 'We' can combine our abilities.
PS some including Davis himself have said that he was not showing contempt for the audience but conducting the band, but the apocryphal version suits.
Excellent point!