From "Beyond the Melting Pot Reconsidered"

[KillerMuffin]

By Elijah Anderson

We now have an increasingly diverse black middle class in the midst of a black working class that has seen its fortunes decline rapidly with the industry that supported it. In turn, the weakest members of the working class find themselves slipping into the growing underclass. The Republican Right stirs up the latent racism of those who are inclined to see black people as incompetent, at best, and at worst, freeloaders who are getting something for nothing. At the same time, black leaders, such as Louis Farrakhan and the Reverend Al Sharpton, fan the flames of separatism, challenging blacks with the q2uestion of whether whites are really worthy of integration.

This places the middle class black in a bind: If he leaves behind his ethnic particularism, he may be3 seen by blacks as a sellout and therefore something of a failure even though he has achieved success in a white society; but if he embraces particularism, his chances for success may be adversely affected. This dilemma, previously unknown to whites, was thrust into the public spotlight in the O.J. Simpson trial, particularly with regard to Christopher Darden. Regardless of the merits of the case, many blacks found themselves disgusted with a black man who would prosecute another.

Darden's dilemma is one that many blacks in professional positions are experiencing in the 1990s but that could not have been foreseen in the 1960s when Glazer was considering the issue of assimilation. Many of these blacks face the dual pressures and expectations of being "professionals" in a white world and of dealing with what it means to be African American in the context of a reanimated racial pride. The choice of coming to terms with their situations as blacks or as professionals, as the example of Darden shows, is not always left up to them and is made all the more painful by those who see racial loyalty as an either/or proposition--you're either for us or against us, a race man or a sellout.

The idea of the race man goes back to the segregated black community, in fact, all the way back to the time of slavery. The term itself comes from the classic ethnographic study of the black community in Chicago, Black Metropolis, carried out in the 1940s by two sociologists at the University of Chicago, Horace Cayton and St. Clair Drake. By Cayton and Drake's definition, the race man )or woman_ was a particular kind of black leader who lived in a segregated society and felt strongly responsible to the black race, especially in front of whites or outsiders to the community. Such a person was intent on "advancing the race" by working as a role model, both to uplift the ghetto community and to disabuse the wider society of its often negative view of blacks. Implicit in this belief was a kind of racial solidarity, a peculiar celebration of racial "particularism," of putting matters of race above all other issues. For a long time, there was a critical mass of race men and women in the black community.


Discuss? Do you agree with him or not? Why or why not?

 

[Lancecastor]

I grew up in the '60's in a de facto segregated city in a place that had the largest per capita percentage of blacks in Canada.

There was one (1) black family in my neighborhood; they were petitioned by the neighborhood to move away (they didn't) and were ostracized by the black community as "Oreos" (black on the outside, white on the inside).

One of their sons was my only black friend growing up.

The father went on to earn The Order of Canada, and all the kids became respected professionals and strong contributors to public life.

But to this day that family is unaccepted by the black community locally.

I think people should live their lives to the best of their abilities and dreams, regardless of race, creed, color or religion.

The rest of it is crap and should be ignored and/or spoken out against as appropriate.

Lance

 

[calypso_21]

I think people should live their lives to the best of their abilities and dreams, regardless of race, creed, color or religion.

The rest of it is crap and should be ignored and/or spoken out against as appropriate.

Lance

One of the best comments I've read on this site in ages!

 

[KillerMuffin]

One of the best comments I've read on this site in ages!

Actually, it's rather insipid. Right up there with "Why can't we all just get along?"

So, where does the Race Man fit into Lance's world of should? Does he exist ? Or did Lance just skim, notice the words "black man" and post his general off-topic blather? Does the Race Man even really exist? What about this so-called dilemma of the black middle class? Does it exist? Is there such a thing as black particularism? Do you agree that a black man must choose between ethnic pride and succes?

I can spout "We should all get along!" too, but that doesn't actually answer the question or make for discussion, does it?

 

[RastaPope]

Why should we all have to get along? It's unnatural.

 

[horny_giraffe]

Whether or not race separatism is a good thing or not, I think that individuals who try to maintain cultural seperation from the mainstream will, in turn, be accepted less easily by the mainstream.

In Minneapolis, there are a great number of Somali immigrants. As immigrants, many of them have fought tremendous odds in getting here. As such, many of them are quite ambitious and hard working. Furthermore, they do not generally demonstrate the sense of entitlement that many American blacks demonstrate.

I recall one extremely intelligent Somalian man who worked briefly as a security guard where I work. He was clean, courteous, (handsome), and worked this job that was clearly beneath his capabilities with grace and dignity. On the other hand, an otherwise nice African-American woman who lives downstairs from me has begun to irritate me with her constant and ungracious request for favors and does not get along well with some of the other tenants.

One could argue that the Somalian man was more assimilationist. Some might say that his courtesy was kissing the ass of the white man, or whatever. But his ambition and grace will carry him far, I am certain. He is the sort of man that I admire.

I was raised in a family that valued being different. It showed in the fact that I had few friends outside my family, growing up. While I enjoyed the family solidarity, I did not like feeling separate from the rest of our community. Partly as a result of this upbringing, I now feel that it is sometimes valuable to accomodate other people's wishes even when they may clash with one's own. My brother, on the other hand, condemmed my father for changing his lifestyle when he married my stepmother. He felt that it was insincere and hypocritical.

When I lived in the south, there were those american blacks that demonstrated a certain racial pride. That is not a bad thing. One can demonstrate racial solidarity without offending others. I had an acquaintance that introduced me to some great reggae music and was very cool. But some accomodations are often required to avoid offending others. When someone is having a bad day, they might want to express a little aggresion. It's perfectly natural. But to justify aggressive acts (like playing music too loudly) as an ethnic validation is a mistake.

When my ancestors arrived from the Netherlands (I'm a third generation American) they were heavily assimiliationist. Many of them adopted Anglican names and worked hard to lose their foreign accents and mannerisms. As a result, I feel like an American. I don't feel like I'm Dutch. Yet, I don't feel as if I've lost anything. The ethnicity of my ancestors awaits my exploration.

The media works against american-born blacks. They often promote stereotypes. But worse yet, black stars often work with the media against themselves. Spike Lee called gangsta rap the "new minstral show" in the 90's, and I'd be inclined to agree with him.

In my experience, there are too many blacks of too many cultures to be tied down to any one type of culture. The condemnation of powerful people happens no matter what race they are. Frankly, I think that the condemmnation of powerful black people is often just sour grapes by their poor relations.

Communities are made up of individuals. Who represents "the black community," anyway? I don't believe that Louis Farrakhan and the Reverend Al Sharpton truely represent black people any more than right-wing republican's represent white people.

Perhaps the problem is that it is inherently racist to argue that one represents white people or black people--which is to say that prominent black politicians (Colin Powell, for example) would be extremely hesitant to say that they represented black people. That's what makes them more mainstream. So then you get these extremists like Farrakhan and Sharpton that say they speak for black people. It's like saying white supremists speak for white people because they're the only ones who claim to speak for white people.

 

[Johnny Mayberry]

Such a person was intent on "advancing the race" by working as a role model, both to uplift the ghetto community and to disabuse the wider society of its often negative view of blacks. Implicit in this belief was a kind of racial solidarity, a peculiar celebration of racial "particularism," of putting matters of race above all other issues.

This is the only issue I would have with anyone, regardless of race. When someone puts race ahead of things like truth or ethics, how can that ever advance equality? Absolutely, people should have role models from similar backrounds, I'm all for that. But, when a member of that community crosses a legal or ethical line, it is the responsibility of that community to hold the person responsible.

 

[Ishmael]

Actually, it's rather insipid. Right up there with "Why can't we all just get along?"

So, where does the Race Man fit into Lance's world of should? Does he exist ? Or did Lance just skim, notice the words "black man" and post his general off-topic blather? Does the Race Man even really exist? What about this so-called dilemma of the black middle class? Does it exist? Is there such a thing as black particularism? Do you agree that a black man must choose between ethnic pride and succes?

I can spout "We should all get along!" too, but that doesn't actually answer the question or make for discussion, does it?

I recently posted a thread very similar to this. There was no mention of the term "Race man" in the article, but the very same subject matter was dealt with.

And I still find this very troubling. It's as if the American black wants all of the benefits of an integrated society, but wants to maintain a segregated culture. With it's own set of moral codes and legal remedies. And those that step outside certain boundries to make success' of their lives are somehow 'tainted'.

This attitude does not seem to be part of the culture of blacks that immigrate here from other countries. The attitude in the article you posted, as well as the one I posted seems to be uniquely American.

Ishmael

My thread: http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=139331