There was a time in the not too distant past when black people were made to do things differently and separately from white people. We had to sit on the back of the bus, enter restaurants through the back door, attend separate (and often subpar) schools, and sit in the balcony of theaters. Black actors caught hell trying to get legitimate work, and often black roles went to white people who put on black face. (I still remember seeing Othello played by Placido Domingo in the 12th grade---before the Laurence Fishburne version was released!) It was a forced separation, and even though things like that happened before my time, it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Unfortunately, that back door mentality didn't end with desegregation. Generations once removed from the Civil Rights struggle seem to have forgotten the lessons. And we as a people started doing it to ourselves. Instead of being forced to go through the back door, we started voluntarily going through the black door.
The black door. Black kids voluntarily sit on the back of the bus because it's cool. Black kids sit in the back of the classroom, act up, don't study, and don't achieve, not because they don't have access to good materials but because the opposite of those actions is considered to be assimilation, selling out, and acting white. The black door.
This blackened seasoning has also been sprinkled on the entertainment industry. Why, in the late 20th century and early 21st century, do we still feel that it's necessary to remake entertainment entities in the black image? And why do the perpetrators of this activity try to hide behind the idea that it's just "telling our story" especially when it usually means highlighting the negative stereotypes about black people?! One of my favorite examples of this activity is awards shows. I get the fact that black achievement is often overlooked at traditional awards ceremonies, but somewhere in the midst of trying to highlight the achievement we also manage to celebrate the very worst sides of black entertainment. The Source Awards, for example, are always punctuated by acts of violence before, during, or after the show in addition to expletive laced acceptance speeches and performances. In the same manner, the BET Awards also feature artists (and sometimes hosts) coming to the stage drunk, high, and showing off a cup of what they are drinking. Even if water is in the cup, these people portray a certain image that is considered appropriate for black people but really belies the black experience. The black door.
Furthermore, shows like Flava of Love, I Love New York, Hell Date which are patterned after insipid shows like The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, and Blind Date also showcase and thrive on the very worst of black behavior. Characters are often portrayed as uneducated, sex-hungry, alcoholics without a trace of decorum. The fact that it's great for ratings speaks directly to the power of the the black door mentality. It not only reinforces the negative stereotypes that were once wrongfully put into the ether by the white establishment, but also it sends the message that the stereotype is true.
At the end of Spike Lee's School Daze, Laurence Fishburne implored people to wake up! I am going to reiterate his sentiment and go a step further. Black people: Stop playing the victim! Just because there was a time when the only way to get noticed in an industry was to play a negative role (maid, downtrodden, ignorant, uneducated, thug, drug dealer, etc.) doesn't mean that embracing that notion as "the way black people act" is okay. Denigrating achievement, accusing black people who have achieved of selling out, and perpetuating the idea that you're not black if you speak English (not Ebonics), use LOL (not GNR), or don't like chicken and watermelon is counterproductive. We are intelligent, creative, and capable and so much better than proudly entering through the black door. Our parents and grandparents suffered numerous indignities and fought for their rights so that their children and grandchildren (us) could have opportunities to show their worth. They fought so that we could go through the FRONT door. Let's use it.
The black door. Black kids voluntarily sit on the back of the bus because it's cool. Black kids sit in the back of the classroom, act up, don't study, and don't achieve, not because they don't have access to good materials but because the opposite of those actions is considered to be assimilation, selling out, and acting white. The black door.
This blackened seasoning has also been sprinkled on the entertainment industry. Why, in the late 20th century and early 21st century, do we still feel that it's necessary to remake entertainment entities in the black image? And why do the perpetrators of this activity try to hide behind the idea that it's just "telling our story" especially when it usually means highlighting the negative stereotypes about black people?! One of my favorite examples of this activity is awards shows. I get the fact that black achievement is often overlooked at traditional awards ceremonies, but somewhere in the midst of trying to highlight the achievement we also manage to celebrate the very worst sides of black entertainment. The Source Awards, for example, are always punctuated by acts of violence before, during, or after the show in addition to expletive laced acceptance speeches and performances. In the same manner, the BET Awards also feature artists (and sometimes hosts) coming to the stage drunk, high, and showing off a cup of what they are drinking. Even if water is in the cup, these people portray a certain image that is considered appropriate for black people but really belies the black experience. The black door.
Furthermore, shows like Flava of Love, I Love New York, Hell Date which are patterned after insipid shows like The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, and Blind Date also showcase and thrive on the very worst of black behavior. Characters are often portrayed as uneducated, sex-hungry, alcoholics without a trace of decorum. The fact that it's great for ratings speaks directly to the power of the the black door mentality. It not only reinforces the negative stereotypes that were once wrongfully put into the ether by the white establishment, but also it sends the message that the stereotype is true.
At the end of Spike Lee's School Daze, Laurence Fishburne implored people to wake up! I am going to reiterate his sentiment and go a step further. Black people: Stop playing the victim! Just because there was a time when the only way to get noticed in an industry was to play a negative role (maid, downtrodden, ignorant, uneducated, thug, drug dealer, etc.) doesn't mean that embracing that notion as "the way black people act" is okay. Denigrating achievement, accusing black people who have achieved of selling out, and perpetuating the idea that you're not black if you speak English (not Ebonics), use LOL (not GNR), or don't like chicken and watermelon is counterproductive. We are intelligent, creative, and capable and so much better than proudly entering through the black door. Our parents and grandparents suffered numerous indignities and fought for their rights so that their children and grandchildren (us) could have opportunities to show their worth. They fought so that we could go through the FRONT door. Let's use it.
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Awesome post. I was just thinking where are the days when it seemed that every black person walked with pride, shunned ignorance and hungered for education and an opportunity to do better? We didn't want separate but equal. We wanted and won the fight for equality. I think it's our duty as the first generation post segregation to teach our kids, cousins, neices & nephews the value of our struggle as a people and how we need to treasure and not squander the awesome opportunities we now have. Girl this is a topic I could go on and on about!