Apparently, there is an appropriate way to be a black man in 2013. Christian Coleman wants to discuss why it is that he doesn’t give a damn.
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“Talk/ like a nigger now, my white friend, M, said/ after my M.L.K. and Ronald Reagan impersonations,”- Terrance Hayes “Talk”
On a somewhat regular basis, I encounter a strange kind of racism. Like most racism, it’s not actually about me personally, but instead, what I’m perceived to represent. Unlike other kinds of racism, it is firmly rooted in the content of my character. You see, black people sometimes call me white or accuse me of “acting white.” I’m accused of this brand of race-betrayal because I speak standard American English and attend graduate school. That’s most of the reason, at least; there are some nuanced reasons, such as my clothing choices (as much Justice League as is reasonable, then a little more Justice League).
I have a Bachelor’s degree, and I’m in the process of getting a Master’s degree, so this colors my manner of speech somewhat. I read as much as I can and not nearly as much as I would like. Spend five minutes in a conversation with me, and you’ll get peppered with equal parts superheroes and political snark. Apparently, none of this is adequately “black” (No, not even John Stewart or Luke Cage). I’ve heard these accusations my entire life, but until now, I haven’t understood them for what they are. This is racism. It’s not about me, personally; it’s about a perception that academia and pretty much any area historically dominated by whites is unfit for a black man (except for sports).
I’m of the opinion that this viewpoint is a reaction to the racism that pervaded American life until, oh, some time last month. I went to the University of Alabama, famous for an obnoxiously talented football team and an even more obnoxious Jim Crow-era governor. When George C. Wallace stood in the schoolhouse doors and barred black students from registering for class, he wanted to send a message that higher education was for whites only.
Side Note: George Wallace took the Oath of Office to the Alabama governorship at the exact place where Jefferson Davis took the Oath of Office to the CSA presidency. Mmm mmm Dixieland…
Well, it seems that some black people took that message to heart. I’ve literally walked through those schoolhouse doors. I’ve gone where, in the minds of some, no black man belongs. For this, I’m said to be ‘acting white.’ They’re expressing a level of racism that no conscientious white person would dare countenance. The people I’m thinking of, specifically, have never been to college, so they don’t know what it felt like; they especially don’t know what it felt like to go to a university that so famously barred black students. Enrolling at the University of Alabama felt like the fulfillment of the struggle my grandparents’ generation had been fighting; squandering my opportunity would be a betrayal of The Dream. Now, to some, that march forward is akin to a betrayal of my skin tone.
Essentially, when these racists say that I’m white, they’re saying that a black man is supposed to be uneducated and poorly-spoken. When they say this, they don’t know they’re insulting me, and that’s partially because they aren’t insulting me personally; they’re insulting all black people.
This post was born from a conversation with a co-worker. I deliver pizza to pay the bar tabs while I write poems. My co-worker said that I act “white”, because I was telling her that I don’t listen to Lil Wayne anymore due to his flippant, disrespectful treatment of Emmett Till’s memory. She responded that I don’t like Lil Wayne, because I’m “white”. I asked her what she knew about Emmett Till, or the Scottsboro Boys, or Medgar Evers. The answer to all of these was the same: nothing. She didn’t know where Martin Luther King had been shot or by whom. She’d never read The Souls of Black Folk, or Autobiography of Malcolm X, or Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. She’d never even heard of Frederick Douglass. This is the kind of “black”-ness that these ignorant people are promoting, one completely divorced from the history of black people in America dating back to around 1620.
In his biography, Revolutionary Suicide, Huey P. Newton discusses learning to read and attending community college saying, “I was advancing on them.” The ‘them’ in this quote is racists, bigots, sexists, vampire capitalists, anybody from the old establishment that Newton felt was holding down black people. Now, that ‘advancement’ is seen as inauthentic to the black lifestyle.
There’s a good chance you’ve heard this sort of talk around you. You’ve heard jokes about someone being an “Oreo”, black on the outside, white on the inside, or something similar. Don’t stand for it anymore. Don’t allow it to be said around you. These ideas are insults to all black people; silence is approval.
The last thing I want to say, I want to say loudly: I’m black, and I’m proud. No one will take that from me.
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photo: public domain
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Further Reading: “I Don’t See Race”: Racial Color Blindness and Eradicating Racism
How the Rules of Racism Are Different For Asian Americans
Trayvon Martin and the Fate of the Alabama Segregation Reference Ban Amendment
Is the 21st Century Colorblind?
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All the comments are so refreshing to read. KKZ I admire your honesty. I’m not american so I don’t have the same perspective but it still resonates because I’m black african raised outside Malawi attended international schools where all the students inexplicably acquire an “American” accent and when I returned home and to this day I’m repeatedly told I’m not Malawian or black. As a teen it hurt because I used to dream of returning home to be with “others like me” only to find they don’t consider me one of them either! Suffice it to say I’ve long accepted… Read more »
Yup, yup…people can say the most ignorant and hideous things…I have been called a “banana” in the past (way, way in the past), meaning I am Asian-American and “too white”,…. I guess too well-spoken and too hard rock for some people (am I supposed to listen to disco to qualify as more Asian??)….I am in my 40’s and have a professional degree and wear business attire on my suburban train everyday, but I still get the amazed looks of some older guys who say they are amazed that I can read the NYT so fast (I just want to scream!)…I… Read more »
This makes me think of my first year in college. For context, I am white and grew up in a very white area, there were fewer than 10 black students in my high school graduating class of nearly 300. I went to college in a more urban area with a much different mix of ethnicities, and experienced a little culture shock at first. I remember a poetry class I took in my first quarter and a well-spoken young black man who wrote lovely poetry based in his faith. I remember thinking, “If only all black men could speak and behave… Read more »
Excellent piece about how there’s plenty of racism to go around, in all directions. And an excellent account of how little people know about very recent history. One little point about George Wallace and the University of Alabama – he wasn’t actually brave enough to physically block black students from registering, as I understand it. He stood in front of the doorway of the building with the registration office with a microphone loudly proclaiming he was not going to allow it, vocally protesting, protesting, protesting, until the students approached the door, at which point he quietly stepped out of the… Read more »
Yes, the National Guard was there and he backed down. There’s an anecdote about his first gubernatorial campaign that sheds some light on his actual stance. He ran as a moderate and was beaten by an adamant racist. In a private conversation, Wallace said, “I was out-niggered, and I will never be out-niggered again.” It is a good example but more than that, it resonates with me, because I went to Alabama. My dorm was the next building over from the Administration building. I walked up the steps and through those doors (the building wasn’t being used at the time).… Read more »
Greatly enjoyed this piece. Like other commenters here, I would disagree that what you’re experiencing from others is genuine racism. I think tribalism is the more accurate term. People rebel against you because you don’t appear to be advocating for the (African-American) tribe; instead, it looks too much to them like you’re advocating for “the other” (White America). I think most successful black men will run into this in some form or another. For whatever reason, much of Black America rejects any proven model of success that doesn’t include sports or entertainment. This is doubly so for black men, who’s… Read more »
I would just like to say thank you for posting this. I have been called an Oreo for a long time. I usually speak up because those who say such things have no grounds to base their opinion. It is a sad to think our Blackness should be reduced to some stereotypical notions of what and who we are. The point is your not alone and some people are just LAME.
Thanks for posting this. I have been noticing this for years now, particularly as it is used against President Obama. I have heard people doubt his “blackness” and accuse him of not really being the “real” first black president, because he’s not “black enough”… ! I hadn’t been able to put my finger on exactly why this was a problem, so thank you for laying it out and giving me some ammo to use when confronting this sort of racial othering. Saying that there is a “right way” and a “wrong way” to be a part of any race or… Read more »
Robert Kiyosaki, the author or Rich Dad Poor Dad talks about a parable from Hawai’i (where both he and I are from) which essentially says: If you take a bunch of crabs and throw them into a shallow bucket or hole in the sand they’ll scuttle and run around like crazy. A few will give up and bury themselves or sulk on the bottom of the bucket, most will keep running around the bucket, and a one or two will start to work on climbing their way out. Eventually they’ll get to the point where the tips of their little… Read more »
Christian, Great piece. I enjoyed it. As a Black guy who attended Vanderbilt and earned two graduate degrees later in life, I understand where you are coming. I am a bit older than you at age 50 (soon to be 51!). I tend to attribute this not as racism but more like ignorance. Why even President Obama has experienced it from both whites and blacks…. I recall last year when a Black ESPN sports commentator asked if Washington Redskins QB (RG III) was a “real” brother or a “cornball” brother….Had a white sports commentator made those remarks he would have… Read more »
Who do you find you get this more from, blacks or other ethnicities? I got the impression that your co-worker who called you white was black herself. Usually I find it’s the same group that most tries to point out how you don’t belong to it by comparing you to a different group that is often perceived as the opposite. (boys calling other boys “girls”, blacks calling other blacks “white” or “oreos”, etc).
Yes, my co-worker is black. I hear it most from black people, but I also hear it from white people. The tone is different. From black people, I feel that it carries an anger with it, that I feel I’m “better” than they are. From white people, it carries a condescending tone, that I’ve escaped from the mires of blackness into the enlightened white world.
This article was mostly about encounters with black people because of the level of animosity that often accompanies the accusations.
This doubles down with gender discrimination. “Schools for girls”.