Thursday, July 9, 2009

Black Is As Black Does

FreeMan said; "...Black to me is defined by one's color and shared origins..."

First let's look at color.
Many Indians (from India) have a darker complexion than do many people who would be counted as Black in America.
But so would the Aboriginal peoples of New Zealand and Australia.
Skin color is obtained by one's historical location on the planet as much as one's ancestry.

But as far as "shared origins" - there seems to be a cutoff point.
Let's say that Master P enjoyed his Malibu home.
His son would be exposed to a lifestyle and culture that many Americans - let alone African Americans - would find foreign.
Then let's say that Lil' Romeo decided to attend Stanford University and then furthered his education at Wharton Business School.
LIl' Romeo would meet and form connections with many people of power who happened to not be Black.

Now, in the third generation... the trouble begins.
Lil' Romeo's children would probably have more in common with the kids from Beverly Hills than they would with the kids from Master P's hometown of New Orleans.
Lil' Romeo Jr. and his siblings would be exposed to things that others see as being endemic to rich white people.

So, would this third generation be any less Black than those from the third generation of the displaced New Orleanian flood victims?
And herein lies the problem - the cutoff point of "Blackness".
Many Blacks assume a sort of mutation into Non-Black with each (higher) level of achievement.
But this causes division when there should have been a greater amount of new resources within the community.
Since the new bougie (And I don't mean this in the pejorative (i.e. affectational/pretentious/ostentatious), just in the aspirational/bourgeoisie/middle class sense.) class of Blacks is ostracized from their roots - what is the incentive to give back to one's community?
What is the incentive to identify with a group that now calls you "other" solely predicated on haven overcome some of the obstacles dealing with race?

In reality, the whole "Blackest on the Planet" title was meant to instigate a discussion.
IMO- "Black" includes from;
HERE .....................................................................................................................TO HERE (inclusive).
It does NOT mean;
THIS ......................................................................................................................BUT NOT THIS.

I was at ed's spot when the topic came around to dealing with a group a Blacks who seem to perform at less than a desirable level.
Everyone had a story about how they dealt with the issue.
One guy described a situation in which his gardener was failing in his attempt to provide a marketable service to his customers.
But the guy commenting got it right.
He stated that in talking to his yardman - he discovered that the guy needed his help more than his ridicule.

Fighting a battle over what is "REAL Black" is foolish.
Fighting the battle within a battle of or between races is suicidal.

7 comments:

Truth B. Told said...

Fighting a battle over what is "REAL Black" is foolish.
Fighting the battle within a battle of or between races is suicidal
.

So true. The people that continue to do so only continue to associate Black with failure and poverty and underachievement.

FreeMan said...

Now of course I wasn't talking about where someone went to school as a point of origin. I mean in the bigger sense that most African Americans can trace their family back to the Black migration from the south. Those Blacks came from West Africa and thus that is the shared origin. So whether someone grows up differently doesn't invalidate him or her being black but when it comes to understanding what another goes through Lil Romeo children in Beverly Hills can't really speak for the family that came from the Magnolia Projects because they didn't live that life.

I agree the whole argument is foolish and it only shows how lost as a group we really are. No one defines what's mexican and tries to attach certain things to it like levels of excellence because they know they are capable of all things not just the good things.

FreeMan said...

- the cutoff point of "Blackness".
Many Blacks assume a sort of mutation into Non-Black with each (higher) level of achievement.
But this causes division when there should have been a greater amount of new resources within the community.

In this example what if Master P children went to live in Prince George County where they were part of a well to do black area would this same disconnect happen. Nope they would just be seen probably as bougie but not as how you describe. It's not the education or achievement at all it's the full immersion into white society that causes this disconnect.

uglyblackjohn said...

@ FreeMan - But doesn't Master P already have a house in Malibu?

FreeMan said...

UBJ - I wouldn't doubt that he does hey it's nice stretch of good beach and perfect weather there. But is he living around whites or his he living at the beach and it just so happens to be all white?

FreeMan said...

Yes and????

uglyblackjohn said...

He probably just liked the area and had the assets.
The lifestyle was secondary but is one to which his children will probably assimilate - and their children even moreso.

While they won't be able to speak FOR the kids in the 'Nolia - Can they at least speak TO them?
Or will they then be too bougie to have any credibility?