I came across an interesting article in "the Atlantic" by Hua Hsu called "The End of White America?" It analyzes the cultural shift that has taken place in the US over the last 50 years or so and asks what these changes mean for our concepts of white identity. But after reading it, I found myself asking the opposite question which I would like to pose to each of you: What does post-racial America mean for Black Identity?
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200901/end-of-whiteness
I just read a short blurb on theroot.com where a professor at Duke is questioning the need for college recruitment weekends targeted at minorities. He even goes as far to question whether students even use cultural diversity as a determining factor to attend certain universities.
ReplyDeleteI think irrespective of individual advances, we cannot lose site of the overall goal of inclusion, representation and basic respect. To even question whether students use diversity as a factor for enrollment even ignores the work that some private universities engage in to diversify their campuses...and ignores the complexity of the decision made by minority students about college and their future in general! Even if it wasn't a determining factor for me, I can appreciate that it is a factor for many in my community!
In this "post-racial" America, as it is being called, I think we have to be careful that we do not erode other programs with results and systems that work simply because we have a black president.
(GOBAMA!)
The question of Black identity has always been tied into who defines what it means to be "Black". The HBO documentary, "The Black List" does a wonderful job showing the diverse opinions that we as a people share about our own identity. To be Black means everything and nothing at the same time. We often find our identity is misinterpreted by those who feel their actions are "Black" who at the same time look down on characteristics that do not fit into the small, stereotypical box of "Blackness"
ReplyDeleteWith a man who identifies himself as Black holding the most powerful position in the world, we will be left with less excuses as to why we are not achieving at a higher level. Black identity will be challenged from the outside and within and it is up to the community as to whether this representation is positive or negative.