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yukio
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 28, 2003 - 11:42 am: | 
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Now that black history month is virtually over, What do ya'll think about the commodification of the Black history: the movies on slavery, mc donalds commercials, mtv and bet commercials, etc...
Is "black history" really black history, since few programs address africans and the african diaspora?
Also, does the term "history" distance black folk, ie..african americans, africans, caribbeans, etc.., from our descendants or does it bring us closer, not only with our immediate descendants(those in this country), but also with black folk in general? And finally, does the term or concept "history" distance us from the "presence" of the past, although altered, morphed? |
Cynique
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 01, 2003 - 01:36 am: |
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Hi Yukio,
You pose some hard questions here. I would say that in America, with the exception of an awarness of racism, a black collective consciousness does not exist because of the diversity that exists within the race. When you consider that during slavery there were also free black men, and that the house nigger, yard nigger, and field nigger categories that existed within the slave culture still exist in subtle forms today, it's hard to typify the "black experience." It is different things to different people. So, black history in this country is really more about family history. The broader history of its hybrid black race is just another facet of American history.
In reponse to your other queries, although our image is improving in some areas of the media, more often than not, blacks continue to be cast as buffones in commercials, and as bootie shakin' revelers in music videos.
Well, these are just some thoughts off the top of my head. How would you, yourself, answer the questions you asked??? |
Chris Hayden
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 01, 2003 - 10:10 am: |
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Whatever you call it, you have to know the past--like the Sankofa bird, see in the past and the present--you can't know where you are unless you know how you got there and you can't know where you're going unless you know both those two. This is particularly true for African Americans, as our experience has been unique--and before anybody starts talking about other immigrant groups first of all we weren't immigrants--we were brought here. Second of all, none of them had to go to court to even use the same toilet as their fellow citizens or have the army or national guard turned out so they could go to school. If it sounds ugly its because it is.
With that, I suppose commodification is inevitable in America, which reduces everything to dollars and cents--look at what happened to Kwanzaa, which was supposed to be anti commerical. Now you got two holidays at the end of the year to buy stuff for.
We should be teaching our own history, or story, or herstory, or ourstory if you will, to our children, etc. Not wait for anybody else to do it. The Jews do not have anyone else teaching them their history--they do it themselves in yeshivas and synagogues and centers and in their own noncommercial press.
We should be teaching in our homes, our churches, our social halls, so our children will know crap when they see it. |
Yukio
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 01, 2003 - 03:09 pm: |
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Cynique,
I think that black history is problematic, because it si limited to the experience of US black people. I think we need to teach it ourselves, like Chris Hayden said. Yet, would our rendering include africans and caribbean folk? Mine would.
I think that "black history" does indirectly distance others of african descent and i do think the particular way the black history in its commodified rendering distance the presence of racism and dehumanization and the past of racism and dehumanization, as if these things are gone.
More importantly, Cynique, i think that we limit our culture to race and racism. In other words, we often talk about black people only in the context of our sharing of phenotype and the experience or awareness of racism.
We do not, however, and ironically since this site is indeed a cultural space, discuss our shared culture and traditions. We are african americans because of our culture not our biology. Kenyans are kenyans, nigerians are nigerian, both nationalities are clear about their national culture and their ethnic or "tribal" cultures. We are african americans. I'm clear about my national culture and my tribal. I'm from harlem and the bronx. My clan is the Northeast...my tribe is harlem/bronx....there is a culture their that is african american but not necessarily the same as my southeastern brothers and sisters and my the west coast cats....Yet, we are all african american... consider the difference sounds in blues, jazz, and hip hop....all black music, but there are distinctive regional differences.
We share this larger history and culture. We made this culture;it was a response to our particular experiences in the US. Only through this experience could there have been an african american culture...different from our black cousins, the african diapora and our foremothers and fathers...Africa |
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