Black America and American Dreams: Changing Narrative or Changing Perspective
This a guest blog by Kobina Aidoo, a public policy analyst and producer/director of the documentary, The Neo African Americans: how rapid, voluntary immigration from Africa and the Caribbean is transforming the African American narrative.
A. America is full of obstacles for black men
B. America is full of opportunity for everyone
Which of the above statements is true? Okay, truer?
Even as the world celebrates the triumph of America in the election of Barack Obama as president, a tension grapples black America. It’s the tension of shifting a paradigm from A to B.
Identity Crisis
One truth is that for far too long far too many American blacks have lived as if A were truer. And understandably so. So the ups and downs of this election journey have put black America through a major identity crisis. To believe all these years that white America will never vote for a black man for president and to see it unfolding was something that just messed with many black people’s minds. Commentaries went from “the success of Obama doesn’t mean racism is over” to “we knew it!”, whenever it seemed Obama was slipping in the polls, to “the Bradley effect.” Through all this the narrative that “America may not be as racist as we think” was little acknowledged. Where it was discussed, it was usually in the context of Obama’s ability to transcend race. Less so the ability of non-black Americans to transcend race.
That said, it will be fair to say the movement from A to B for black America is a little easier today, November 5, 2008. So what happened? Obama? No, because nothing structural immediately changed on the night of November 4. Yes, because the obstacle to going from A to B has to a large extent been in the mind. It’s not like a racist nation woke up one day and became non racist. Obama’s great vision was that he saw the B part of America, which has always been there, and tapped into it. In the process, he’s opened the minds of a people and reoriented a nation.
American Idol, American President
I saw it too, the B part, way before November 2008. I came to America in 1998 as an international student from Ghana, Africa. That’s to say I’m black. Very black. I’m foreign and I have an accent. A thick accent. But (if I should even say “but”) in my four years of overwhelmingly majority white college, I was voted by my peers to several leadership positions. All times others had nominated me. I don’t know what my peers saw in me, but whatever merit they thought I had, they voted for it. Because as much as racism is a formative part of America’s history, so is meritocracy. My experience has shown me that, on balance, meritocracy trumps racism.
Early on I saw that Obama saw that. So at a Christmas 2006 party discussion with my classmates I was lonely in arguing that, yes, he should run and, yes, he could. Over the next year, I endured more ridicule and charges of naiveté from most of my, especially black, friends whenever I suggested it. Then came Iowa…
To understand my optimism about America beyond a college club election ten years ago, look at American Idol. Three out of seven times, in an exercise of popular democracy, when all Americans have been asked to vote for the best, they have voted for, presumably, the best. And that best has been black, white and in between. Yes, American idol does not an American president make, but it says something about America. I’ve engaged the whitest of Americans from the reddest of states in conversation under the randomest of circumstances and I’ve seen that thing. That when you remove the historical encumbrances, you can see eye to eye on some values and tastes. Some, let me emphasize. But that’s okay.
Don’t get me wrong. I know racism is real. In my ten years here I’ve experienced countless incidents of blatant and not-so-blatant racism. I can only imagine what it must be like for a black man who was born and raised here.
The Eyes of the Beholder
So is A or B truer? I personally have lived my life here knowing and believing that B is truer. Probably because I’m an immigrant. Probably because my benchmark is not “white privilege” (a term I take issue with, but that’s another topic), but rather the mass poverty and lack of opportunity where I came from. Probably, to paraphrase an interviewee in my documentary, The Neo African Americans, because I grew up in a country where everyone from the janitor to the President is a black person so I’ve never recognized a glass ceiling above my head. So today my heart is warmed that many black American kids can say and feel the same.
Ctrl+Alt+Del
In the final analysis Obama can do very little, policy-wise, specifically for black Americans. In fact, black men may be stopped by police as frequently as before. But black America has hit the reset button. In fact, it’s upgrading the operating system. I saw it at the spontaneous carnival on Washington, DC’s U Street last night when one black man held another, ostensibly a stranger, looked him in the eye and said, “you look like a president to me.” In this majority white country, there will probably not be another black president for decades, if only for statistical realities, but we know many more will try. And most will fail. But in the process of failing, the president wannabes will end up as businessmen, lawyers, government officials, professors and other professionals. Compare that to where all the Michael Jordan wannabes end up.
What Change Means
Three years ago, I was in a radio debate. The topic was “if you had a dollar, would you spend it to change America’s attitude to the black man or the black man’s attitude to America.” I argued for changing the black man’s attitude, within the context of this article, from A to B.
I thought I won the debate, but as optimistic as I am about America, my gut tells me that change has happened on both sides. That’s the change we need.
Walls and Windows
For centuries, there has been a wall separating black Americans from the American dream. Over time, through blood and toil, many holes have been made in that wall. Holes large enough for people to go through. We can choose to stay on the wrong side of the wall and fight until the whole wall is torn down or we can choose to go through the many windows that have been open and reach back to break the rest of the wall.
In every society there are obstacles and opportunities. The one on which you focus determines your destiny. As a practical matter, should we raise black children thinking that America is A or B? I would argue B.
NB: I highly recommend Prof. Charles Johnson’s piece The End of the Black Narrative, in American Scholar,
Filed under: Race
I LOVE this comment. There’s nothing wrong with inspiring to be president because you end up aiming for and achieving so much. Just think of all the Black CEOs coming up from the next generation…:-)
Yes, yes, yes… a long time ago I met a Ghanian-American woman who talked about “plane Black people” and “boat Black people” (the distinction being based on how our African ancestors came to the U.S.
I’m definitely stoked about Obama’s election, but at the same time I’m not sure it is coincidental that he is a “plane Black”. And it would be yet another kind of milestone if a “boat Black” had one.
Yes, yes, yes… a long time ago I met a Ghanian-American woman who talked about “plane Black people” and “boat Black people” (the distinction being based on how our African ancestors came to the U.S.
I’m definitely stoked about Obama’s election, but at the same time I’m not sure it is coincidental that he is a “plane Black”. And it would be yet another kind of milestone if a “boat Black” had won.
As-Salaamu `Alaykum,
Nice commentary.
Yes, there is a difference between “plane Black people” and “boat Black people”.
I reminds me of a story in Muhammad Ali’s biography when he (Cassius Clay) went to a white diner during the segregation days to eat with a piece of cloth on his head imitating an Arab and was served. I personally know of a brother and his wife who during the time of the Nation of Islam under Elijah acted like they were from Africa and were allowed to stay in a hotel in Florida during the Jim Crow days.
There has always been a distinction in the general White pysche between the African & Afro-Arabs with the homegrown “negros”. I’m not totally sure of the reasons why although I have a few guesses.
The irony of this too is that Barack Hussein Obama is the first “Black” president with an African name while most “boat Black people” were stripped of their African names and walk around with European sir names.
I doubt if Jamal Wilson or Karim Bogans (a homegrown “negro”) could have been voted in as the first “black” president.
WALLAHU `Alim
@ Dawud,
I would imagine that for most white Americans, their dealings with African-Americans are on the whole none too positive. They are familiar with the rude and criminal behavior that prevails in many black communities. The other issue (among others) is that white folks still see the African-Americans as has-been slaves, who really have no identity outside of European culture. Africans tend to express gratitude for being in America, while African-Americans (those who aren’t wannabes) express a certain degree of resentment for America–sorta like the Reverend Wrong character did (and we know how quick Obama thru that guy under the bus).
@ Tariq,
I commend you for pushing the discourse amongst Muslims. This post is very much interelated to your recent posts on ending adolesence. As long as Blackamericans continue to look backward at past obstacles we will be hampered in our “collective” ability to move forward and take advantage of future opportunity.
Yes, we must take note of our history, but must not be imprisoned by it.
I can not tell you the number of times I’ve been asked “where is your family orinally from” or “where did you study” by co-workers.
Once while in the process of giving me a superb performance evaluation, a past supervisior blantantly asked me which Catholic school did I attend, eventhough she knew I was Muslim with a beard and wearing a kufi daily.
I wasn’t offended that she assumed I was educated at a Christian school. No I was more offended that she felt in order to explain my competance I had be “other than” educated in the Detroit Public Schools.
I don’t think this is isolated either when one look at the past reverts there are many stories of how Blackamerican Muslim jazz musicians were allowed access afforded only to whites while traveling, because they were not “perceived” as being negroes.
As my brother said there is a distinction in White pysche between “indegenous Blacks” and “immgrant Blacks” and I will take it further to say that difference extends to those educated in their bastions of leader makers (harvard, yale etc) and those who’ve been educated elsewhere.
That is because they know that these institutions imbue the idea of achievement, something that has been systemically underminded in Blackamerica
Havin a culture that is geared towards achievement with a sense of an retained identity helps to determine whether one views America through the prism as either A or B.
So while B is actually truer, due to the reluctance of Blackamericans to set higher standards of conduct and achievement for THEMSELVES, A is “perceived” truer since Blackamericans are often unprepared to take advantage of opportunity when it’s presented.
As a mentor once said success is where preparation and opportunity meet.
This has been one of my major points over the past few weeks. No, nothing has materially changed, but people now see what can be done with hard work and believing in yourself. That is a very positive message. I am seeing several news stories and hearing anecdotes about how young black children are inspired to reach high. Indeed the re-set has been pushed.
One of the major differences between “boat black people” and “plane black people” is that the “plane black people” are chosen specifically because they are the best and brightest in their fields.
more on the “plane black people” issue… something I’ve briefly blogged on.. in Dizzy Gillespie’s autobiography there is a section about Blacks converting to Islam and being quick to change their names and part of the motivation was to receive better treatment…
Also, some of the African-American players in the early days of baseball also pretended to be Afro-Latino in order to get around the barriers of segregation.
You would imagine wrong. When’s the last time anyone who lives in the hood saw a White person in their neighborhood? How about twice in a lifetime if you don’t count police, utility workers, junkies and johns?
The presumption that White people even associate with Black people enough to make a fair assessment of the Black community is preposterous. They judge African Americans based on the evening news and tv, and African Americans all have to bear the brunt of such negative portrayals as well as become “special”, once it is discovered that they are responsible, educated, don’t do drugs, are married before 30, or have traveled more than 100 miles away from their hometown. They don’t know jack about the Black community, and very few of them speak about the Black community with any semblance of authority.
On another note, and I’m enjoying the lift in self-esteem it is providing among African Americans. Every Black man working in my neighborhood grocery store spoke to me this morning, and that has never happened. And I was looking rough!
@DS
I used to see the white folks in the hood when i lived there–they came thru to buy drugs. Seriously, white folks do have dealings with black folks–especially if they go to at least semi-integrated schools. And we know who usually ends up in the special ed classes and getting suspended for bad behavior.
You are right, the other side of white folks familiarity with black folks is thru the media. I gotta say that i am in the camp with Chris Rock on that one: When i go to the ATM machine at night, i am not looking over my shoulder for Ted Koppel–i’m looking for n!ggas. Nearly 50% of the murders are commited by a tiny ethnic/gender group (namely, black males). Of course the vast majority of black males are not murderers, but murderers are disproportionately black males. Consequently, the criminal black stereotypes are not based on fantasy but statistical reality.
It is what it is. Black American men are not going to get real respect in this society, for it was not built by them or for them (and i am not talking about being forced to do things with a chain around your neck). The assimilationist minded will continue to be seen as Europeanized negroes and the thugs will be seen as dysfunctional menaces to civilization. Black men will gain respect and honor to the degree (if and when) they embrace Islam, fear and obey Allah, and follow the Messenger. If they can’t get that straight, then everything else they do will come to naught.
“Yes, yes, yes… a long time ago I met a Ghanian-American woman who talked about “plane Black people” and “boat Black people” (the distinction being based on how our African ancestors came to the U.S.
I’m definitely stoked about Obama’s election, but at the same time I’m not sure it is coincidental that he is a “plane Black”. And it would be yet another kind of milestone if a “boat Black” had one.”
That is incorrect however. He isn’t a “plane” Black person even if I were to subscribe to such terminology. His father was not him. He in fact grew up culturally as an African-American in the “descendant of slaves” context. In other words his socialization was that of most African-Americans reading this blog. He didn’t even meet his African relatives until he went to Kenya in his late 20’s. In fact his father skipped out so he didn’t even have that influence. This line of reasoning is just as faulty as the claim that Obama is just as White as he is Black. Okay…how many people looked at Obama, with a name like that by the way, and said look at the White guy? Race, which is an artificial construct, is a social definition. It has little to do with biology. Race is largely perception and self-identity. Obama is Black on both counts. For one this society since the time he was a little boy (his own grandmother attests to this) he was interacted with as a Black American…not as a son of a Kenyan…his Father might as well have been named Leroy and come from Bed Stuy. Secondly Barack Obama himself self-identifies as an African-American. So the plane/boat argument is misplaced here. I also don’t think that it is productive but that’s a separate discussion I suppose.
@ Dash,
Obama was raised by WHITE GRANDPARENTS. How many African-Americans have white mothers and are raised by white grandparents in that most “black” of places, Hawaii (and Indonesia)?
That doesn’t matter. It’s about socialization an acculturation. Have you ever gotten the impression that Obama was socialized the way maybe Bryant Gumbel was? By all accounts he was socialized like most African-American males and has grown up with a Black identity. By your logic the “cool white boy” that we all knew in high school should never exist. But we all know of White Americans that we were friends with growing up who embraced a respectful kind (not cartoonish a la Vanilla Ice) of appreciation for Black culture to the point where they were a part of the culture to the extent that you can be as a non-Black.
And in terms of Hawaii? Have you ever been there? I have. It ain’t Wasilla, Alaska. Due to the presence of the U.S. Navy there are surprisingly a larger number of Black people in Hawaii than one might think. Also Hawaii is very multicultural. It is quite unlike any other State I’ve been to (And I’ve been to 34 States…and I don’t mean air terminals only). Hawaii is unique in that regard. But ultimately that doesn’t matter. I was just making a point. From a sociological perspective your argument isn’t supported by sound methodology (I double majored in Sociology and English). Saying he was raised by white grandparents means he grew up culturally white? Of course not. It’s about self-identity and social reaction.
Sorry for going off topic here but I just came across your blog (via Razib) and I’ve been reading very happily for the past half hour or so. Happily doesn’t necessarily mean that I agree with everything that you write (much less with everything that every commentor writes) but all in all I really like who you are, what you have to say and how you say it.
Cheers,
mnuez
P.S. I guess I should note something of relevance here once I’m commenting, so here goes:
1) I appreciate that the focus of much of what’s said here is in relation to the fine example that Obama sets in the African American community and I applaud that and stand on hopeful tiptoes peering into your arena from the sidelines. In the actual arena though I stand as an American citizen who hopes that Obama does more than preen as a morally upstanding African American intelligent citizen and actually brings about a lessening of the sickening inequality in this country that has 1/10 of 1% of the populace living like Gods and broadcast into our living rooms on every channel while close to half of the populace lives paycheck to paycheck in wage slavery. I realize that many (most?) Americans voted for him on account of racial and related matters but I’m not one of those Americans. He’s better than the alternative but his decision to go through with the $700 BILLION to Wall Street at the expense of providing health and dental care to indigent American citizens removes him just a couple of degrees from friendhood.
2) Reflexive thinking of all types and by all people is a bad thing. Adopting an opinion based on identity politics such that one consequently suffers from confirmation bias in ONLY seeing details that bolster that opinion leads otherwise rational people away from more accurate perceptions of the truth. It’s my opinion that an example of this can be seen throughout the American Left, and to a far, far greater extent in this community with regards to the issue of the Jewish state of Israel. It’s obvious that were I to attempt to convince any readers here of my views regarding Israel I should expect to have to engage in long conversations before I could reasonably expect anyone to be able to truly consider what I have to say, being as anything less that a full conversation would be nothing more than the sound of sparring soundbites. Of course this isn’t the place for that conversation so I’m simply letting you know that there are reasonably intelligent and honest people with a view of Israel and its conflict with the Muslim world that you might not otherwise seriously consider.
@ BrotherDash
Read his (Obama) book. “He in fact grew up culturally as an African-American in the “descendant of slaves” context.” NO HE DID NOT.
56% of black men in university are children of immigranted black parents or are immigrants themselves. And Africans only make up 3% of the black population.
Actually there was an article about this in an African magazine last month, that children of Africans achieve and are more successful in education (and other fields) than of children from African-Americans.
“By all accounts he was socialized like most African-American males and has grown up with a Black identity.
Obama has grown up with a Black identity but he was not socialized like most African-American males (whatever that means? economically or socially).
By the way the Natives (another neglected minority) make up a large percentage of the population in Hawaii not whites.
The plan/boat argument may also be made for Malcolm X (whose parents where immigrants and saw perspective B more than A) and Sidney Poitier (who is also an immigrant black , who definitly saw perspective B more than A, which he clearly mentions in his book “The Measure of a Man”.)
The article gave many, many more examples of famous African Americans who were immigrants or children of immigrants. Not just Africans but many other immigrant groups who worked harder for this 2nd chance at success. These immigrant groups from Polish to Black Africans see American as
B. America is full of opportunity for everyone
more than A.
My immigrant black parents expected alot from my sibling and I because they saw America as B, and they wouldn’t take any excuses. Or else they would threaten to ship us back to a developing country with mass poverty.
Salaam Alaykum Brother Dash
Leave it to a poet to break it down.
“Race, which is an artificial construct, is a social definition. It has little to do with biology. Race is largely perception and self-identity.”
However I’m gonna have disagree with you this:
“Saying he was raised by white grandparents means he grew up culturally white? Of course not. ”
I think him being raised by white grandparents he was influenced and in some respects taken on the cultural perspectives of his white family. His comment about his buying a dog for his daughters a few days ago “most shelter dogs are MUTTS like me.” is something I have never heard black folk using “mutt” to describe mixed race children or adults. I have only heard it used by white people or by biracial people raised in an white environment.
Myself, being biracial and knowing many mutli-racial people, have in my 36 years never heard any black person use that term. To say Obama is white is stretch but to say he is just as cultural black as something with no white family also a stretch as well.
Also whats’ up the chaipod? You only posted three. I thought is supposed to be monthly. 3 in 6 months isn’t monthy.
What will be our legacy as a people?
Disclaimer: My views represent only a limited geographical, social, economic and racial experience. I am from California and I have seen every possible mix of people. In California unlike the South or Northeast, black people often live in isolation among non-black people.
For example, there are some black people in California who self-identify as blaxicans. These people speak spanish and adopt mexican culture.
There blacks who live among asians and do the same thing.
Of course there are blacks who have resided in Orange County and lived mostly among whites and non-blacks who have no black identity. For example, somenone like Tiger Woods would be cateogorized as such. Some of these people are bi-racial or mixed or self-identify as black and/or white.
As for Obama, his voice, lifestyle, demeanor, gait (walk), and identity all seem to be rooted in the generalized black american culture. Mr. Obama having spent 20 years or 50% of his life in Rev. Wright’s church already seems to have already self-identified himself.
The black liberation theology of Rev. Wright may have been a political liability in the election, but I can assure you that one does not attend a church for 20 years and it is not part of one’s psyche.
Now many blacks raised or surronded by whites either embrace or reject that upbringing. For example, there are numerous black children from all over the world who have been raised by white people. The studies are mixed regarding the success in this environment.
I think the evidence shows that Obama has chosen to self-identify as black.
It remains to be seen if he will contiue this self-identification since his goal has been achieved.
I think the question regarding whether America represents opportunity for immigrant blacks as opposed native born blacks is a loaded question.
Unless, Jamaica, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and other African dominated countries compete on the global stage no amount of success in America by immigrant blacks or native blacks will be truly appreciated. It is not about what you can do within the confines of America, among your former colonial masters or enslavers, but what you can black nations do.
It is the ability of Europeans, Asians, and others to prosper and achieve greatness as a collective with each other that truly defines their collective legacy.
The history books will not concentrate on individuals successes but the collective successes of nations and peoples. Thus, no amount of individual achievement in America by immigrant blacks or native blacks will live on beyond that individual.
Jamaicans or Nigerians will not be looked upon equally with Japanese and Koreans until they are able to do what the Japanese or Koreans have done in their respective nations. The history books will record and immemorialize the achievement of nations not individuals.
Salaam
Zenobia you can have the last word then on this argument then. In all honesty it is not really a subject that motivates me. I just disagreed with a particular point.
Hamza21 “Also whats’ up the chaipod? You only posted three. I thought is supposed to be monthly. 3 in 6 months isn’t monthly.”
Wow I didn’t realize people have been waiting for the ChaiPod. Absence of emails doesn’t mean absence of interest I suppose. I have two more already recorded that I have to edit and then upload. After that I have to decide whether I am going to maintain the ChaiPod, retire it and do a video series instead, or do both a podcast and a video series.
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