Monday, November 22, 2010

A conversation with my grandpa

I have planned my lessons for tomorrow on the geography of Africa.
I have meticulously assembled the parts (the skills) in the hope that it connects with the students.
You know, …innovative teaching, making teaching more meaningful and relevant.
Now, slightly inebriated, I ask: What is going on with Black people?
Okay, let me refrain from articulating such a blunt statement.
Let me simply state that I love teaching. I love learning the behavioral processes, mechanical phenomena, and the societal clichés that encompass real learning. But, why don't we care about Africa, our culture, our roots; rather, why attempting in every way to embrace a eurocentric take on everything except on education?
I started writing a book on African Americans’ creative processes interconnected with the zeitgeist of the time. Half way through the book, I stopped.
I stopped because I know not when and where to end.
The vicious cycle is devouring my sense of creativity.
Here is a small section that I care to share with you (a conversation with my grandpa):

“ I am not disagreeing with you, my son.” He said. “Sapir makes an important point. The convoluted dynamics behind the linguistic industry in concocting the right mix of words to give shape to a particular group’s discernment of what is real is rather a very intriguing one.”
“Since language does not determine thought,” I said, “for they are separate entities, no matter the numerous negative connotations of the word black that have been plaguing the Black race, why don’t we give it a rest? Why don’t we start fixing it where we can?”
“Where is that, my son?” He asked. At this time, it was obvious to me, as it has always been, that Black people have been placed in the receiving end of an unfortunate history. Nevertheless, it became clearer that many of the problems that we are faced with today are a product of our own sluggishness. They have blamed prominent people during the Harlem Renaissance and thereafter for making such statement. I was ready to be crucified just as well.
With the number of African-American children being raised in single-family homes because their dad refused to assume responsibility as a man has no direct connection to slavery. So many other variables can be manipulated to change the current condition. Nonetheless, we remain inactive in that regard.
“Come one,” he said, “you can’t measure and will never be able to measure the factors that account for slavery with respect to the African-American problems! Slavery has been macabre and …”
“I was not disputing that slavery was not a horrible institution,” I quickly interrupted, “to claim a human being as one’s property is torturous enough, let along, the pain and anguish inflicted on slaves themselves through hard, forced labor and various exploitations of basic rights, and dignities. To refrain people from implementing anything to better their situation is certainly horrendous.”
“For sure!” He added.
“Black people’s problems at this juncture, however, are not a direct result of slavery.” I asserted.
“How can you know for certain?” He asked.
“They arose as Black people migrated from the southern region of the U.S. in the 20th century.”
“What prompted them to move?” He asked.
“I don’t know!” I answered puzzlingly. If I were not so stubborn, I would have conceded this argument for in the lives of African-Americans, all roads lead to the horror of slavery. “But, that is the problem!" I exclaimed, "We have used slavery in all aspects to justify any misfortune of the race; When will that be not the case?”
“It is sometime hard to fight such vicious cycle!” He said. “But, what was the argument you were making?” His face searched aimlessly.
“Well, the mass migration contributed to a sort of disconnect to significant cultural values.”
“Oh, I see! You are making a point as to why black kids are dwelling in single-family homes more and more?” he posed. “...But, marriage and family relations, respect for eldership, and general social harmony are characteristics that Black people strive on.”
“But, because of The Willy Lynch fairy tale about a White man who came from the Caribbean with his successful manual on how to turn an African to a slave…” This time was his turn. my grandpa abruptly interrupted me.
“Don’t bring this into the argument!” He stated firmly.
“Yet, many people ignore this fact of Black social harmony in the early- to mid-20th century in order to believe the Willie Lynch fairy tale.” I wanted to know what he really thought about Willie Lynch tale. The first time I have expanded a little on it," I posed, recollecting my conversation with an AP at a school in Williamsburg, "was with my supervisor who is from Jamaica who decided to let me in on the complexity behind the psychology of humiliation for a Black man."
“Okay…” He nodded, patiently waiting for me to finish my point.
“This fake speech is a serious distraction because instead of tackling the problem at its real sources we continue to falsely believe that ‘everything’ comes from slavery and that ‘Willie Lynch’ was a white god who gave a single speech with a single handbook that, ...somehow controls 40 million Black people 300 years later!" "They have been oppressed," He boasted, "through years of slavery. And, ...even if the Willy Linch theory…”
“I just don’t understand why you are angry, grandpa. It is what it is!” I was not sure that he was still on the topics he first walked in the room with or disenchanted with my blunt possible assertions on the Black race.
“Okay, my son, you are a jazz musician,”
I quickly inhaled and tilted my head to my left to correct him from articulating that I am a jazz musician. Though in theory everyone is a musician. If I play jazz, it is safe to say that I am a jazz musician.
“Okay, Okay,” he quickly modified the statement, “You are a jazz buff. You choose not to play jazz for money only for yourself. But, let’s take jazz for example.”
“What about it?” I asked defensively wishing that he tried noting as an attempt to dilute what I think of the music. “A genre of music cannot be compared to a race of such complexity. When we are referring to Black people, we are referring to the Hispanics, the Brazilians, the mulattoes, the people from the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, Europe, and a great deal of people all around the world. As a matter of fact, there is no measurement for calling a person Black! Jazz, we know!”

2 comments:

  1. Dear Blaze

    Hope you're well. Amsterdam is snowed in, at least that's how people conceive it. I'm doing well and having fun, especially on the bicycle :)
    reading your blog got some threads of thought unwound, so here goes

    you speak about Black people and the role of jazz in their emancipation
    yet you also speak about broken families, female headed households which you say are a common problem among Black people
    I googled the harlem renaissance
    googled the willy lynch fairytale
    and share with you the thoughts I had

    I should be starting to say that my view can be considered to be Dutch, female, white, educated-
    and these terms being one of the core problems of the way this subject is handled
    because these classifying- and opposite ends of the fields of discussion mark categories in a way which does not reflect the complexity of reality
    It is the field itself that holds the key, and not the focusing upon the reification of opposites (black-white)

    In Holland this argumentation would be called the polder-model, a polder being an area which is former sea turned into artificial land and for which the decision process necessarily involves a lot of compromising- thus the polder being a symbol for the Dutch middle of the road solutions in case of conflicting interests.
    So be warned, Dutchness is one of the characteristics of my identity. Even if you don't believe in country borders, like I ideally would, I use the terms 'Dutch' 'female' 'white' 'educated' to keep the subjects within the reach of language and be able to talk about it.
    So: black skin and white skin are visually different. The concepts of black and white exists to be able to talk about it, which is important. But be careful with words, believing too much in them makes a world which reinvents differences over and over again and transforms them into truths. This mechanism functions the same for all people; red, yellow, purple, green.

    The former is one aspect that immediately came into mind when I read your posts.
    As I realize, black/white differences play a more prominent role in the United States than in Europe. Why? Probably because black and white people in the US started off at the same time, while in Europe there has been less direct contact or competition over power. The white europeans were in control as colonizers and their black subjects being far away on exotic continents. Not meaning to say that there is no discrimination against people with other-than-white-skin colour.

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    Replies
    1. In Holland, discrimination is mostly against the biggest minority groups which are Moroccan and Turkish people, Islam being an ideological enemy of the so-called 'Dutch jewish-christian' tradition. Politically, not only Holland but many European countries are taking a right-wing turn. The climate is one of fear. Governments promise security while nobody seems to realize that the price they pay for this fake security is their civil rights of privacy and personal freedom. Also people don't seem to realize that security can only be created by a common ground that people should look for themselves and once found, should sustain actively. Governments shouldn't be given too much power because like all people, politicians have an ego and there are not many who will self-sacrifice this for the common good.

      The discussion about minority/majority makes me think about the concept of victimhood. For many reasons and at different times I feel a victim of various situations, peoples, institutions. That's ok. But on the long run it is a totally unproductive position and also functions in a paradoxical way as a hiding place, a valid 'it's not my fault' excuse for not-acting. For some people life is harder than for others and of course skin colour, or in broarder terms, being part of a minority and being discriminated against play a role in this. Yet taking up responsibility and fighting for ones own life is the thing one can do.

      When I traveled to Senegal for the first time a couple of years ago I constantly felt guilty being white. Because my ancestors colonized these people, turned them into slaves, made them less than 'us' whites. Walking along the streets I kept on wishing to turn black, not to stand out so much and no be a projection screen for all the ideas that circulate about what white people are. But how can I still feel guilty about this? It's not me who did this, I cannot be blamed for these terrible acts. It is thus impossible to hold a 'race' responsible for this. (I dislike the word 'race' and prefer the term 'ethnicity' because it points to the fact that identity is constructed socially and not determined from birth) And for that matter, it's also impossible to be a 'race' which did not win when the power was distributed.

      Visual differences are hard to deny, you're white I'm black. Why I am interested in this? Because somehow humans are so sensitive for categories like 'same' and 'other' and seem to react instinctively and without thinking. Same is ok, different means danger. That is biological determination, this reflex. But well as conscious monkies we can also follow the curiosity that goes with difference. I do not fear difference, I fear groups of people who think the same and are convinced there is one truth and that they are to wield it.

      don't be devoured by the vicious cycle, write!

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