HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE A PROBLEM ?

"How does it feel to be a problem" is the challenging "unasked" question that W.E.B. DuBois proposes in "Of Our Spiritual Strivings" from his book The Souls of Black Folk. The veil that DuBois illustrates  has been passed down through the black race, generation after generation. How insightful and foretelling that Dubois could nuance the experience of "twoness", or "Double Consciousness" of the "negro", which is very much the experience of  being Black in America in 2014?  With our discussion of Robinson and Woodson the question then becomes is this sense of double consciousness universal?  Does it look differently for different Blacks? Dubois writes " One ever feels his twoness,-- an American, a Negro;two souls; two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder". Do "emergent" Blacks feel this sense of Americaness or is their twoness routed in another set of double lenses? There is no doubt that a twoness exist for people who do not identify as African American, however, I think the twoness and double consciousness look different for different individuals. I would go as far as to suggest that Dubois' theory on double consciousness could apply to any person being marginalized in a particular space. In Irving Goffman's  Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity , he demonstrates the way in which stigmatized people respond to their known, perceived stigmas. Some people try to change them,  over compensate for them, or become isolated and discouraged (1963).  This is similar to the case of Black people, Dubois suggest "self-questions, self-disparagement, lowering of ideals, repression. This very response could be universally applied to any stigmatized individual in a marginalized space.

Not every black person in America is the same "problem", or so it appears. People understand different issues and identify different problems to discuss. Can Black people seek solidarity in expressing the experience of twoness? Even if it looks different for different people? Even if what they think is a sensible ideology does not look the same?

Welcome to our class. Here we are in deep discussion over crackers, tea, and coffee!

Past Futures

Our readings are demanding a lot of reflection and returns to the text as we try to deconstruct the various imaginings of black futures in the United States. Carter G. Woodson presents an interesting combination of DuBoisian and Booker T. Washington perspectives in his "Mis-education of the Negro." He urges and supports small, independent entrepeneurship, volunteerism and, like DuBois, a classical education for blacks -- but with a caveat that added to that pedagogy is a framework of need-based content drawing on contemporary realities as he saw them at the turn of the century. We are struggling with contextualizing this view with Eugene Robinson's "Disintegration" which proposes that in the 21st century there are 4 major sub-groups among African Americans: the Abandoned, the Mainstream, the Emergent and the Transcendent.  Question: Is Woodson's perspective still applicable, still useful? If so, why? If not, why not?

Is volunteerism still possible in the black community (read Abandoned) if done by blacks? What are the constraints (ie security, police agression, etc.)  Can Emergents be the credible inheritors of the black American cultural and ideological struggles of the 20th century? 

Economics: A Tool for Disintegration

                Last week’s class discussions really had me thinking if economics was just another tool to disintegrate the revolution. When looking at Empires both large and small, I’m realizing that Blacks are still trying to find their place in an empire that is failing miserably.  You see every empire is defined by a life span of six ages. They are the age of pioneers, of conquest, of commerce, of affluence, of intellect and of decadence (I think this is the one we’re living in). Just like ancient Rome, America is just another empire that constantly reflects great social inequality. In this Goliath of an economy “The Abandoned” (described by Eugene Robinson in his book Disintegration as Blacks who have little hope of escaping poverty and dysfunction) still make up a large percent of the Black population. When looking at all this through the context of American History, I have come to my conclusion that America doesn't care about its poor and never will. A nation founded by aristocrats, it has not strayed away from it roots. Sure we've had a plethora of initiatives to tackle poverty including the ever-so popular “War on Poverty”, but the bottom line is that there hasn't been any progress and instead a system of dependency is what’s being created as our capitalist system becomes more and more rigid and less sympathetic to the underprivileged. Especially with global economic forecast looking grim, the economic disparity that the Abandoned face is only going to spread and suck those who are in the Mainstream or Transcendent groups in.

Poverty in the Black Community(2012)

                Recent economic papers and current events have been painting for me a depressing outlook for the future of Blacks who classify as the Abandoned.  This group is unlike any population that’s ever faced poverty in my opinion. The economic history behind the Abandoned is atrocious. These people have been in poverty since the Civil War. They've been ravaged by violence, mis-education, drug war, destroyed families and a Goliath called the American government that has always been in war them. A great example is crack since the 80’s.

                After the Civil Rights Movement, it was understood that economic power is the means by which minorities can gain a step towards the American dream. If institutional racism was outlawed, it wouldn't make sense to not see African-Americans in high-level positions and in a class comparable to Caucasian aristocracy. This means that the gates have to be opened if the laws promoted equality. I can’t help but connect this idea to an interview with Bob Marley about the economic/entertainment channel used for disintegration. In this interview Marley explains how the revolution was cooled down by the system slowly opening its doors for the Blacks. Marley says “First they’ll let a black man star in a movie...and then government will let a black man be a mayor... black man be an ambassador... all of this is too cool down the fire”. I agree with Marley about cooling down the fire which means its all to silence the revolution.

(Disregard the images, just focus on the audio and on Marley's words.)

                American society broke apart the unity. The Transcendents, the Emergents, the Mainstream and the Abandoned are increasingly experiencing different worlds and are unable to fully connect because of their economic divisions in an increasingly capital dependent economy. The Transcendents and the Mainstream think they've found their place in American society due to their hard work and prosperity, while the Emergents and the Abandoned are simply trying to find a seat in American society. The grim reality is that all these groups are trying to find themselves in an individualistic society that does not promote economic empowerment through collectivism. By the simple fact of being involved in this individualistic culture whether that maybe from trying to fit into American society or prospering from it, it is not right formula for the diaspora. The importance of economics can go further than one can imagine. It can bring empowerment for all but a collectivist culture must be created if we want to uplift the entire diaspora (which can really include blacks oversees if we have the vision).