Race Matters

A couple of years ago I read W.E.B. Du Bois' essay "Of Our Spiritual Strivings" in his classic The Souls of Black Folk and found in his theory of "double consciousness " an explanation for a feeling I've known since my teen years.

Du Bois wrote of double consciousness as a “sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity”, and of a two-ness, of being "an American, a Negro; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder..."

"...The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife, -- this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He does not wish to Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa; he does not wish to bleach his Negro blood in a flood of white Americanism, for he believes -- foolishly, perhaps, but fervently -- that Negro blood has yet a message for the world. He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without losing the opportunity of self-development."

There is an internal conflict between being African-American and American simultaneously. Double consciousness is an awareness of one's self as well as an awareness of how others perceive that person. The danger of double consciousness resides in conforming and or changing one's identity to that of how others perceive the person. Looking back, I can see how I conducted myself in such a way as to be seen in a positive light by whites with whom I came into contact, and how I did likewise to "keep it real" and not be a "sell-out" to my own ethnic group. However, not only was it impossible to be all things to all people, the attempt to do kept me from knowing who Michael P really is. When the lights went down and I was alone, WHO EXACTLY WAS I? I think the desire to be true to the race and reject all things white is a serious problem in the Black community, particularly in poorer enclaves, as is the opposite extreme - shedding oneself of one's "Blackness" and forgetting that we are, after all, family. This is the reason Clarence Thomas is hated so much in the Black community, and what Condi & Colin are accused of (unfortunately so, considering their historic achievements). As an aside, Barack Obama's rising star has brought to light the question of what it means to be black. Does one have to have ancestors who were slaves to qualify? Does one have to be raised in "the hood" to be authentic? Do we all have to vote Democrat? Be able to dunk a basketball? Love hip-hop? Hate Country & Western?

As Black History Month approaches I hear the familiar refrain, "Why do we need a Black History Month? There's no such thing as a White History Month!" I think this question is asked because white people , if they look at themselves through the eyes of others at all, look at themselves through the eyes of other white people. The thought of being judged through another group's eyes, and perhaps being considered inferior, is foreign to them. I don't know how history is being taught now, but when I was learning US history, Crispus Attucks, Benjamin Banneker, Nat Turner, and Frederick Douglass pretty much summed up Black contributions to this great country of ours - the land of the free; the home of the brave. Of course, then, as now, most Black history is relegated to the mention of MLK, Malcom X, and occasionally Marcus Garvey. Black history is still thought of by many as a collection of "first-Black-to-do-this-or-that", as opposed to having our contributions woven into the fabric of the country. Other than being slaves, it's almost as though Black people existed outside of the country until the Civil Rights movement of the 50s & 60s. I think that it would be unnecessary to have Black History month if our contributions to society were woven into the historical fabric (I need to stop using 'woven') of this country, but until The Black Wall Street, Percy Julian, Charles R.Drew, Denmark Vesey, the Tuskegee Airmen, the Tuskegee Syphilis study, George Washington Carver, and Toussaint L'Ouverture are as well known as 50 Cent, Michael Jackson, and Michael Jordan I think the month is beneficial to ALL Americans.

* Rather than going back to find page numbers in the original essay collection, the Wikipedia entry on Double Consciousness served as the source of the included quotes.