Dassit! I'm dun up!
No, that's not it. I'm not finished just yet.
I mentioned a few posts back that I'm reaching a milestone in my life: graduation! Yes, it's that time again. Time for the flipping of the tassels and moving forward onto a completely new and profound adventure. But of course, nobody wants to hear that story! Instead, I'd like to have a conversation about what I learned in my AAWR course.
First off, I've learned and have truly accepted (especially over the past two years) that it's okay to be a Black woman. It's okay to be loud (sometimes) and it's okay to just get shit off your chest. I've learned that going to jail, as many Black women have done, fighting for a worthwhile cause is really not all that bad. It's not bad in this sense because we are imprisoned and oppressed for way worse causes like just having skin that isn't pale. Collectively, we don't have it easy. It's never been easy and I'm sure the road don't get no betta'. However, there exists within Black women a certain special something...a grassroots, deep down, way down, all the way down in the earth kind of strength that is a force to be reckoned with. History, has a way of revealing the faults of nations through those who live it. African Americans have, as many other colored races, been raced and classed and lumped together under an ideal and notion of inferiority. Black people, with attention paid to Black women, have revealed themselves as withstanding and everlastingly determined to overcome that which seeks to hold them back. It takes a certain kind of finesse and acuity to take one's struggle and make it tangible to the rest of the world - a world that may or may not care to bare witness to it all.
I won't make this long, but I will say that Black women...we just got it. there's really no other way to put it. Rhetoric can be found everywhere. It doesn't have to be obtained or preached by a celebrity,and you don't need a million Twitter followers to do it, either. Rhetoric begins at the bottom. It begins locally, and this locality is what enables many rhetors to be so pervasive in our society. It's rhetoric in the mind and body and message of a Black woman that points to realities that other racialized beings could never really hope to be a part of or duplicate. It's rhetoric, more often than not, that gives many of us a purpose. Black women back in the day and Black women now have done the world a great service in spreading their message and opening eyes and ears all over. The battle fought and won is one that should be remebered, honored, and cherished because of what it means to African Americans as a race.
I'm able to get my degree today because a Black woman once stood up and fought and argued and backtalked her way into our access to an education. I'm able to vote and go out in public without the consent of a man because a Black woman put her foot down somewhere along the line. If it wasn't for Black women's rhetoric, I honestly don't know where or who I'd be. And so (before I get emotional), I tip my proverbial hat to Black women everywhere.
To those not here today, you are sorely missed and appreciated.
To those of us still fighting the good fight, we got a long way to go.
(I'd especially and formally like to thank Dr. Carmen Kynard for this experience. I don't know where St. John's found you but they damn sure got lucky! You're an inspiration as a post-secondary educator.)
Monday, May 13, 2013
Blues Women - Don't Nobody Need No Man, Honey (revised)
"The absence of the mother figure in the blues does not imply a rejection of motherhood as such, but rather suggests that blues women found the mainstream cult of motherhood irrelevant to the realities of their lives" (13).
Consideration and inclusion of this quote stems from the general idea that all women were thought of as having no other valuable position than that of mothers, wives, or domestic beings. In their practice, blues women rejected this notion by speaking about and commenting on their newfound liberty and agency by depicting the ways in which institutions like patriarchy, marriage, and motherhood would no longer be accepted as the norm for their lives. I think about this quote in relation to my experience growing up in a single parent household. My mother is nothing short of "fat-abulous" and will let you know in a hot second that she is fiercely independent. She always stresses to my younger sister and I (me, especially, since I'm the oldest) that we should never depend on a man for anything and have to work for whatever it is we want. There are no hand outs, no gimmes, and definitely no knight in shining armor ready and willing to do our bidding whenever we so please. However, she also makes it clear that she had me at a point in her life when her career was firmly established and she had gotten out her partying, hanging out, and the like earlier on before deciding to become a mother. It was a conscious choice and one that is not practiced as much as it should be in today's day and age.
Blues women made it their purpose to express that they could do as they please with whomever, whenever, and that it was their choice. Motherhood did not always fall into these plans; they'd be damned if they would have some man tell them that that's all they were good for or should be doing. Likewise, taking on that responsibility had no place in the newly reinvented lives they established for themselves.
"Blues women provided emphatic examples of black female independence" (20). This quote pretty much embodies everything that was dicussed in my AAWR class. Female empowerment especially comes to mind, but in this context, blues women are the next generation's Ida B. Wells' and Sojourner Truths. These women are telling it like it is. The major difference is that this time around, they are not apologizing for who they are and how they feel. To be a woman, particularly a Black woman, meant one had to act like a puppet to keep men happy or to keep yourself alive in the best way you knew how. As time passed, it meant you had to play a role designated for you by men. These women are basically telling the world, and men especially, that "Ain't nobody got time to be cookin' and cleanin' and keepin' house while you go out and have a grand ole time." Mind you, most men couldn't even imagine being in a woman's shoes. The fact that these women spoke out about what was happening to them, telling the truth about the world from their perspective, provded a foundation for many Black female artists like Beyonce to tell an arrogant man to go "to the left" or for Jasmine Sullivan to tell a cheating fool that she'd bust the windows out his car. They opened doors for these artists, and for all of us, to take back our identity and redefine femininity our way.
"Precisely because the blues confronts raw and emotional sexual matters associated with a very specific historical reality, they make complex statements that transcend the particulars of their origins" (24).
The blues had a uuniversality within it that made it easily identifiable to all Black people everywhere. This universality also spanned time in its ability for anyone experiencing hardships to relate to the musician. The blues evolved from slave music and the institution of slavery. It evolved from oppression, subjugation, and degradation at the hands of white people. However, it revealed deeper and unheard of complexities within the Black community itself by questioning societal dictates.
I found this quote to be interesting because there are few other musical genres that can depict these sorts of emotions or have music recorded under their titles today and be felt years and years later. For example, I didn't grow up during the height of Patti Labelle's and Janet Jackson's careers (when they were superhuge and in their prime versus the possession of the legendary status they now have), but best believe I can "doo-wop" in time with Patti or give my boo the side-eye and ask him "What have you done for me lately?" Though these types of songs were constructed years ago, the themes present within this type of music can still ring bells. I contrast this with early rock music that focuses on getting or being high or wanting peace in a war ravaged world. When the high is over and the war is done, then what's left of these streams of consciousness? I think this music in particular would probably be waiting around for a new drug to come out or a war to break out somewhere.
"It is true that some of the songs recorded by Rainey and Smith seem to exemplify acceptance of male violence and sometimes even masochistic delight in being targets of lover's beatings" (25). In reading this text, it does seem as if these women glorify being abused by their lovers. However, several instances come to mind when reading this: a scene from Claude McKay's Home to Harlem, Ashanti's song "Baby," and that fiasco of a relationship with Chris Brown and Rihanna. First, the scene from McKay's novel involves the protagonist Jake shacking up with a jazz club singer, and he acts against his nature of abusing females and hits her. Apparently she was dissatisfied with the calm and staid relationship they shared. Ashamed of himself, he doesn't come home for a while, but when he does she's giddy with joy and welcomes him back with loving arms because he hit her, and was being a "real" man. I immediately thought of this because the entire situation is simply ridiculous: why would any woman be happy that her man is beating on her? I thought it completely misogynistic of McKay to incorporate this into his novel. "Baby" came to mind because every time I hear it I ask myself how a female could give a man that much power over her. In the song she is basically saying how the man has her so captivated that she "couldn't breathe if he ever said (he would leave)" and she'd give up everything she owns for him because that's how in love she is. Sure.
Finally, the "Chrianna" situation involving Chris' beating of Rihanna came to mind because there is still so much controversy surrounding the fact that they are still seen together off and on despite what he did to her. Fans are divided because many are against domestic violence and by her being with him, it is a support statement on the victim's behalf of staying with her attacker depite him clearly being no good for her. In each instance, what happens at face value is taken as the truth, as fact. However, and similar to Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey, it is clear that there is an underlying message behind every word spoken or action taken. Just because it seems as if Ma Rainey claims her man abuses her and she likes it has questionable value when considering her delivery of these exact words. The significance lies, then, not only in what is said, but the delivery of the words themselves, which is a critical component of the blues.
Consideration and inclusion of this quote stems from the general idea that all women were thought of as having no other valuable position than that of mothers, wives, or domestic beings. In their practice, blues women rejected this notion by speaking about and commenting on their newfound liberty and agency by depicting the ways in which institutions like patriarchy, marriage, and motherhood would no longer be accepted as the norm for their lives. I think about this quote in relation to my experience growing up in a single parent household. My mother is nothing short of "fat-abulous" and will let you know in a hot second that she is fiercely independent. She always stresses to my younger sister and I (me, especially, since I'm the oldest) that we should never depend on a man for anything and have to work for whatever it is we want. There are no hand outs, no gimmes, and definitely no knight in shining armor ready and willing to do our bidding whenever we so please. However, she also makes it clear that she had me at a point in her life when her career was firmly established and she had gotten out her partying, hanging out, and the like earlier on before deciding to become a mother. It was a conscious choice and one that is not practiced as much as it should be in today's day and age.
Blues women made it their purpose to express that they could do as they please with whomever, whenever, and that it was their choice. Motherhood did not always fall into these plans; they'd be damned if they would have some man tell them that that's all they were good for or should be doing. Likewise, taking on that responsibility had no place in the newly reinvented lives they established for themselves.
"Blues women provided emphatic examples of black female independence" (20). This quote pretty much embodies everything that was dicussed in my AAWR class. Female empowerment especially comes to mind, but in this context, blues women are the next generation's Ida B. Wells' and Sojourner Truths. These women are telling it like it is. The major difference is that this time around, they are not apologizing for who they are and how they feel. To be a woman, particularly a Black woman, meant one had to act like a puppet to keep men happy or to keep yourself alive in the best way you knew how. As time passed, it meant you had to play a role designated for you by men. These women are basically telling the world, and men especially, that "Ain't nobody got time to be cookin' and cleanin' and keepin' house while you go out and have a grand ole time." Mind you, most men couldn't even imagine being in a woman's shoes. The fact that these women spoke out about what was happening to them, telling the truth about the world from their perspective, provded a foundation for many Black female artists like Beyonce to tell an arrogant man to go "to the left" or for Jasmine Sullivan to tell a cheating fool that she'd bust the windows out his car. They opened doors for these artists, and for all of us, to take back our identity and redefine femininity our way.
"Precisely because the blues confronts raw and emotional sexual matters associated with a very specific historical reality, they make complex statements that transcend the particulars of their origins" (24).
The blues had a uuniversality within it that made it easily identifiable to all Black people everywhere. This universality also spanned time in its ability for anyone experiencing hardships to relate to the musician. The blues evolved from slave music and the institution of slavery. It evolved from oppression, subjugation, and degradation at the hands of white people. However, it revealed deeper and unheard of complexities within the Black community itself by questioning societal dictates.
I found this quote to be interesting because there are few other musical genres that can depict these sorts of emotions or have music recorded under their titles today and be felt years and years later. For example, I didn't grow up during the height of Patti Labelle's and Janet Jackson's careers (when they were superhuge and in their prime versus the possession of the legendary status they now have), but best believe I can "doo-wop" in time with Patti or give my boo the side-eye and ask him "What have you done for me lately?" Though these types of songs were constructed years ago, the themes present within this type of music can still ring bells. I contrast this with early rock music that focuses on getting or being high or wanting peace in a war ravaged world. When the high is over and the war is done, then what's left of these streams of consciousness? I think this music in particular would probably be waiting around for a new drug to come out or a war to break out somewhere.
"It is true that some of the songs recorded by Rainey and Smith seem to exemplify acceptance of male violence and sometimes even masochistic delight in being targets of lover's beatings" (25). In reading this text, it does seem as if these women glorify being abused by their lovers. However, several instances come to mind when reading this: a scene from Claude McKay's Home to Harlem, Ashanti's song "Baby," and that fiasco of a relationship with Chris Brown and Rihanna. First, the scene from McKay's novel involves the protagonist Jake shacking up with a jazz club singer, and he acts against his nature of abusing females and hits her. Apparently she was dissatisfied with the calm and staid relationship they shared. Ashamed of himself, he doesn't come home for a while, but when he does she's giddy with joy and welcomes him back with loving arms because he hit her, and was being a "real" man. I immediately thought of this because the entire situation is simply ridiculous: why would any woman be happy that her man is beating on her? I thought it completely misogynistic of McKay to incorporate this into his novel. "Baby" came to mind because every time I hear it I ask myself how a female could give a man that much power over her. In the song she is basically saying how the man has her so captivated that she "couldn't breathe if he ever said (he would leave)" and she'd give up everything she owns for him because that's how in love she is. Sure.
Finally, the "Chrianna" situation involving Chris' beating of Rihanna came to mind because there is still so much controversy surrounding the fact that they are still seen together off and on despite what he did to her. Fans are divided because many are against domestic violence and by her being with him, it is a support statement on the victim's behalf of staying with her attacker depite him clearly being no good for her. In each instance, what happens at face value is taken as the truth, as fact. However, and similar to Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey, it is clear that there is an underlying message behind every word spoken or action taken. Just because it seems as if Ma Rainey claims her man abuses her and she likes it has questionable value when considering her delivery of these exact words. The significance lies, then, not only in what is said, but the delivery of the words themselves, which is a critical component of the blues.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
"Your Freedom is Shackled in Chains to Mine" (Revised)
The line that most impacted me comes from the second YouTube video “Fanie Lou Hamer Tells Her Story.” She states “And then I spent one night with Mrs. Tucker. And after about two days in September, they shot in the house about 15 times, thinkin’ I was there.” I found this statement to be so powerful because even though I do not know this woman that she speaks about, the act she speaks of shows the depth of ignorance and maliciousness so readily evidenced in white people during this era. That they did not care and only assumed Fannie to be there is just another case of the disregard for Black life in America. How could someone just shoot into a house, unsure of whether or not the target is actually inside? They clearly did not care about killing her or even doing the same or injuring any other person who may have been there at the time.
When looking at events like these and hearing accounts of how far white people were willing to go to stifle Black progress in this country, it astounds and angers me. This country, as Hamer says in her speech, “was built on the blood and sweat of black people” (125). There was a deep fermentation of hatred within white supremacists and their institutions that, to me, undermine Christianity and our so-called multicultural society. Those in power cannot ignore the heavy historical presence of African Americans in the foundation of this country, one that is supposed to be “free” with promises of “the pursuit of happiness.” During these turbulent times, there was no such thing as the pursuit of happiness. What they meant to say in our lovely Constitution was “You can pursue happiness so long as you are white and not one of the savage colored people we’ve exploited, abused, and subsequently disenfranchised.”
Listening to Hamer is one of those things where, in so many words, it is hard to witness because it is too difficult to contemplate and sheds light on characteristics within ourselves that we’d rather ignore. In my modern mindset, I am ashamed, but simultaneously proud. The shame comes from a place where I ignore my ancestors and the powerful and adamant Black women before me who fought and died and sacrificed their entire lives so that I could be free today. Many Black females today, myself included, do not take more time to honor these women and keep their messages and struggles alive in our hearts. I take pride, however, in knowing that the reemergence of these topics instills a need in me to recount what these women went through and just what it means to be Black and a female to my younger sister, female cousins and peers in the same way my mother and grandmothers taught me. More and more every day we live fatherless lives, so it becomes imperative to embody these strides of determination against the odds and not give in to societal pressures. A community effort, like the one recognized by Hamer in the pages of her speech, is one that encompasses individual accomplishment as a way to further and better our community. Without her and women like her we would not even have the opportunity to study her in an academic setting.
When looking at events like these and hearing accounts of how far white people were willing to go to stifle Black progress in this country, it astounds and angers me. This country, as Hamer says in her speech, “was built on the blood and sweat of black people” (125). There was a deep fermentation of hatred within white supremacists and their institutions that, to me, undermine Christianity and our so-called multicultural society. Those in power cannot ignore the heavy historical presence of African Americans in the foundation of this country, one that is supposed to be “free” with promises of “the pursuit of happiness.” During these turbulent times, there was no such thing as the pursuit of happiness. What they meant to say in our lovely Constitution was “You can pursue happiness so long as you are white and not one of the savage colored people we’ve exploited, abused, and subsequently disenfranchised.”
Listening to Hamer is one of those things where, in so many words, it is hard to witness because it is too difficult to contemplate and sheds light on characteristics within ourselves that we’d rather ignore. In my modern mindset, I am ashamed, but simultaneously proud. The shame comes from a place where I ignore my ancestors and the powerful and adamant Black women before me who fought and died and sacrificed their entire lives so that I could be free today. Many Black females today, myself included, do not take more time to honor these women and keep their messages and struggles alive in our hearts. I take pride, however, in knowing that the reemergence of these topics instills a need in me to recount what these women went through and just what it means to be Black and a female to my younger sister, female cousins and peers in the same way my mother and grandmothers taught me. More and more every day we live fatherless lives, so it becomes imperative to embody these strides of determination against the odds and not give in to societal pressures. A community effort, like the one recognized by Hamer in the pages of her speech, is one that encompasses individual accomplishment as a way to further and better our community. Without her and women like her we would not even have the opportunity to study her in an academic setting.
Good Ole Penitentiary Blues (Revised)
Erykah Badu's song "Penitentiary Blues" goes hand in hand with a presentation I did on Assata Shakur and her stance on the political implications and racist undertones of Black males and women accounting for a majority of the American prison population. In this song, Badu uses her aesthetic dimension to pursue this cause. She targets the everyday struggle of Black men and fights back with her words in saying, "Evil, don't test me/ Evil, you won't win." These words are powerful in their meaning and their implication that black men will eventually rise up and overcome the institutionalized slavery of the body and mind. The chorus of this song laments the fact that the world is seemingly out to get Badu, or any Black person in general. She asks "Oh, why world/ Do you want me to be so mad?" This question can be envisioned coming from countless African Americans as they struggle to grasp the purpose of their oppression as well as fighting to realize that they they don't deserve the unfair and unjust treatment they receive at the hands of those in power.
I appreciate the next stanza of this song. Badu exclaims "Since you ain't playing by the rules/ I'm 'bout to kick you off your stool." Here, she is expressing the thoughts of many by basically saying that they've tried to do the right thing, the best thing, but their best just ain't good enough. Instead, putting feet down is the only way to get what you want 'cause enough is enough. Further along she makes it a point to breach the topic of unity and togetherness, which becomes a greater problem as the years progress. A line that particularly struck me was "With the same look ya mama had." Picturing this song as a story, it is easy to imagine the continued failures of the African American community to rise up and obtain their own upward mobility as promised by the doctrines that founded this country.Though easy to imagine, this is not a concept easily accepted. "The same look ya mama had" shows that class and race struggles are generational, while every generation hopes for the next one to be better, the defeatist overtones suggest that today isn't the successful one.
In response to Angela Davis' piece on language, Badu, like Billie Holiday, rewrites the English language for her own purposes. "Black people did not embrace the spoken English language without fiercely challenging the cultural oppression it implied and without incorporating this challenge into their daily speech" (166). Here Badu not only challenges the language, reworking it to suit her needs, but also ironically uses it as a way to point out that prison life and jail are the only stable constants in a black male's life.
I appreciate the next stanza of this song. Badu exclaims "Since you ain't playing by the rules/ I'm 'bout to kick you off your stool." Here, she is expressing the thoughts of many by basically saying that they've tried to do the right thing, the best thing, but their best just ain't good enough. Instead, putting feet down is the only way to get what you want 'cause enough is enough. Further along she makes it a point to breach the topic of unity and togetherness, which becomes a greater problem as the years progress. A line that particularly struck me was "With the same look ya mama had." Picturing this song as a story, it is easy to imagine the continued failures of the African American community to rise up and obtain their own upward mobility as promised by the doctrines that founded this country.Though easy to imagine, this is not a concept easily accepted. "The same look ya mama had" shows that class and race struggles are generational, while every generation hopes for the next one to be better, the defeatist overtones suggest that today isn't the successful one.
In response to Angela Davis' piece on language, Badu, like Billie Holiday, rewrites the English language for her own purposes. "Black people did not embrace the spoken English language without fiercely challenging the cultural oppression it implied and without incorporating this challenge into their daily speech" (166). Here Badu not only challenges the language, reworking it to suit her needs, but also ironically uses it as a way to point out that prison life and jail are the only stable constants in a black male's life.
Oh, Y'all Thought I Was Done with Ethos and Nommo? Not Really.
“Black women have always appreciated Nommo – the force of the word, the power of giving things their names and thereby bestowing upon them her life force.” (Dance, 2)
In connection to this quote, I feel that it embodies everything that we have been talking about so far in this course. Words and language have always been a way for people to communicate with each other. The actual words that someone speaks or uses conveys their message and what they have to tell someone else. Interestingly enough, African Americans, dating way back to slavery, had to come to grips with the fact that whatever native African language they were used to had to conform to the white man’s standard. In typical fashion, however, black people were able to take the English language and transform it into something palatable and accessible. To this day, black women have especially been able to use their words, and therefore this Nommo that Dance speaks of, as a way to not only express a variety of topics and emotions, but to do so in a way that compels people to pay attention.
This impacts me because I know the power of my words. Often we abuse or become ignorant of this power in the sense that what we say has the power to build or to break. In this context I refer to instances where I say things rashly out of emotion and they backfire, or being able to empower and transform the minds and thought processes of an entire nation just by saying and expressing what is on my heart. Also, I want to become a published writer. But after having someone read my work, especially someone who is not black, there is a more general assumption made that what I choose to write and how I represent my characters is reflective of not only myself, but the African American community as well (since people love to make big claims).
“Such a female was bad…Such a female is ba-ad.” (Dance, 3)
Here I want to pay attention to the differences in “bad.” Today, you hear this word being attributed to a female who has it together physically, financially, and mentally. This is a female who looks good, is independent, and “wants but don’t need no man” to do what she has to do. However, the significance in this quote has more to do with the fact that this one word has several different meanings when placed in the same context. The initial “bad” refers to its traditional meaning of being the undesirable opposite of something that is good. In this context, Dance refers to a sassy woman and how she is considered “bad” at an earlier period in time. Over time, this bad characteristic evolves and becomes one that allows for Ms. Sassy to overcome her trials and reject as well as fight against the idea that she cannot speak her mind on things that affect her.
In connection to this quote, I feel that it embodies everything that we have been talking about so far in this course. Words and language have always been a way for people to communicate with each other. The actual words that someone speaks or uses conveys their message and what they have to tell someone else. Interestingly enough, African Americans, dating way back to slavery, had to come to grips with the fact that whatever native African language they were used to had to conform to the white man’s standard. In typical fashion, however, black people were able to take the English language and transform it into something palatable and accessible. To this day, black women have especially been able to use their words, and therefore this Nommo that Dance speaks of, as a way to not only express a variety of topics and emotions, but to do so in a way that compels people to pay attention.
This impacts me because I know the power of my words. Often we abuse or become ignorant of this power in the sense that what we say has the power to build or to break. In this context I refer to instances where I say things rashly out of emotion and they backfire, or being able to empower and transform the minds and thought processes of an entire nation just by saying and expressing what is on my heart. Also, I want to become a published writer. But after having someone read my work, especially someone who is not black, there is a more general assumption made that what I choose to write and how I represent my characters is reflective of not only myself, but the African American community as well (since people love to make big claims).
“Such a female was bad…Such a female is ba-ad.” (Dance, 3)
Here I want to pay attention to the differences in “bad.” Today, you hear this word being attributed to a female who has it together physically, financially, and mentally. This is a female who looks good, is independent, and “wants but don’t need no man” to do what she has to do. However, the significance in this quote has more to do with the fact that this one word has several different meanings when placed in the same context. The initial “bad” refers to its traditional meaning of being the undesirable opposite of something that is good. In this context, Dance refers to a sassy woman and how she is considered “bad” at an earlier period in time. Over time, this bad characteristic evolves and becomes one that allows for Ms. Sassy to overcome her trials and reject as well as fight against the idea that she cannot speak her mind on things that affect her.
An Ode To a Black Woman’s Courage (Revised)
You say in your speech “African rights and liberty is a subject that ought to fire the breast of every free man of color in these United States, and excite in his bosom a lively, deep, decided and heart-felt interest.” Well, I’m interested, and I’m definitely fired up. I want to start by saying that we haven’t come very far. It took women like you and Ms. Wells and Sojourner to tell both blacks and whites that slavery had to end. It took men like Martin and Malcolm to let the world know that the white man was keeping us down and we had to learn to fight back peacefully. But sadly, none of that matters. Not really. Not when we have a culture that glorifies being the wife of a rapper or professional athlete. Or even the wife of someone who isn’t famous and isn’t afraid to spend money on said wife. There’s no progress when men are openly allowed to disrespect females who disrespect themselves and their fellow sisters.
I believe initiative is hindered by fear and doubt. We doubt ourselves,that we can accomplish what we wish to, that success is inevitable. Nothing comes without hard work. However, knowing that there are “haters” out there, in this case, white people, who wish to see us fail because that’s what they believe we always do, stops this hard work in its tracks. I’m certain you had haters. I’m certain that your haters are the reason why after such a short lecturing career you gave your farewell address and spoke no more. And I’m sure that haters are the reason why slavery lasted for as long a time as it did.
I completely agree with the idea that revolution comes from education and that the notion of education should be fostered in the home. I look at my generation and the generation directly after mine and all I can do is shake my head. Progressively and quite bluntly, kids are getting dumber and dumber as the years go on. Technology has molded us into a completely new species of beings that don’t have to try or work as hard as we need to be. And this is not exclusive to African Americans, but everyone in general. Education has become an option instead of a priority and with parents being younger and younger, there is not as much emphasis on getting a proper education since parenthood has excluded or hindered these people in some ways. In order for us to get anywhere and instill a better opinion of our race in other races, we have to be the first ones to get things going. That immigrants see more success in this country than native born Americans has a lot to do with what is taught at home. We, especially African Americans, have this idea that we are entitled to the world “just because.” There is no ‘just because.” We got comfortable with affirmative action. We got comfortable with welfare. We got comfortable with the drugs and the pain and the disenfranchisement. Nobody is comfortable with progress, though. Or are we?
Many African Americans aren’t taught these values throughout their childhood. Ideals like equality and prosperity are only expressed in the face of adversity. It shouldn’t have to be brought up for us to realize that we are worth so much more and need to be doing way better than we are. The fact that it takes an innocent black male getting gunned down or the exposure of occupational discrimination in a sole corporation is just sad. I am happy to point out, however, that over the years, great strides have been made in the advancement of colored people. We are no longer slaves. We no longer experience a tangible oppression of our race by whites. We are no longer denied access to education and rights. And women, especially, have a greater role in society. There is much to be said about the amount of support and love we show for one another, though. There is also much to be said about the differences that exist between black and white women, but we no longer have to beg for recognition and acceptance in the eyes of a race that reaps the benefits of all with no actual labor put in.
I want to thank you, Ms. Stewart. For your sacrifice, your strength, and your bravery. I want to thank you, and women like you, for having the courage to overcome adversity and just do you. These characteristics are some that I envelop and carry down from you and women like you. These characteristics will ensure that your purpose and your legacy is not forgotten nor undervalued. There is no greater being than one who envisions a truly better future for all. So, I say thank you. Your strides will not be in vain.
I believe initiative is hindered by fear and doubt. We doubt ourselves,that we can accomplish what we wish to, that success is inevitable. Nothing comes without hard work. However, knowing that there are “haters” out there, in this case, white people, who wish to see us fail because that’s what they believe we always do, stops this hard work in its tracks. I’m certain you had haters. I’m certain that your haters are the reason why after such a short lecturing career you gave your farewell address and spoke no more. And I’m sure that haters are the reason why slavery lasted for as long a time as it did.
I completely agree with the idea that revolution comes from education and that the notion of education should be fostered in the home. I look at my generation and the generation directly after mine and all I can do is shake my head. Progressively and quite bluntly, kids are getting dumber and dumber as the years go on. Technology has molded us into a completely new species of beings that don’t have to try or work as hard as we need to be. And this is not exclusive to African Americans, but everyone in general. Education has become an option instead of a priority and with parents being younger and younger, there is not as much emphasis on getting a proper education since parenthood has excluded or hindered these people in some ways. In order for us to get anywhere and instill a better opinion of our race in other races, we have to be the first ones to get things going. That immigrants see more success in this country than native born Americans has a lot to do with what is taught at home. We, especially African Americans, have this idea that we are entitled to the world “just because.” There is no ‘just because.” We got comfortable with affirmative action. We got comfortable with welfare. We got comfortable with the drugs and the pain and the disenfranchisement. Nobody is comfortable with progress, though. Or are we?
Many African Americans aren’t taught these values throughout their childhood. Ideals like equality and prosperity are only expressed in the face of adversity. It shouldn’t have to be brought up for us to realize that we are worth so much more and need to be doing way better than we are. The fact that it takes an innocent black male getting gunned down or the exposure of occupational discrimination in a sole corporation is just sad. I am happy to point out, however, that over the years, great strides have been made in the advancement of colored people. We are no longer slaves. We no longer experience a tangible oppression of our race by whites. We are no longer denied access to education and rights. And women, especially, have a greater role in society. There is much to be said about the amount of support and love we show for one another, though. There is also much to be said about the differences that exist between black and white women, but we no longer have to beg for recognition and acceptance in the eyes of a race that reaps the benefits of all with no actual labor put in.
I want to thank you, Ms. Stewart. For your sacrifice, your strength, and your bravery. I want to thank you, and women like you, for having the courage to overcome adversity and just do you. These characteristics are some that I envelop and carry down from you and women like you. These characteristics will ensure that your purpose and your legacy is not forgotten nor undervalued. There is no greater being than one who envisions a truly better future for all. So, I say thank you. Your strides will not be in vain.
Wrap-Up: A Black Woman's Nostalgia Part 1.
This post is just a briefing on writing that I've cleaned up and will be posting on here shortly.
These writings reflect me from a personally academic standpoint. This is just to say that, when you're in school, and regardless of the level, you always have to take a step back in some type of way. There's always pressure put upon you to conform to some standard and by it you are judged. This course I've been taking on African American Women's Rhetoric has been just... mindblowing. For one, I don't think I've ever had this much freedom academically. I've been able to say and do what I want with my writing and I can honestly say that I think it's more positive than any other methodology could ever be. When you allow someone with as big a mouth as me to just go off in typical black woman fashion, not only are you getting an unfiltered truth and break down of the real world according to me, but you're also allowing me the chance to think rhetorically (which is something I often don't do). Not many educators do this, so shout out to Dr. Kynard, cause she's mad real! All that, too fly...you get it.
I titled this piece with nostalgia in mind because nostalgia is really what I'm feeling as I write this. I have an overwhelming sense of growth where my writing is concerned, even if my thought patterns haven't changed. I've realized that the rhetoric of a Black woman is nostalgia when she is actively able to step back after enacting change and saying "I did that!" *Tamar's voice*. I don't think there's anything greater than knowing that your being proactive is bringing the change you want or envision happening in some way. If your voice and your message and the how of your whole everything is the way that you accomplish this, then that's a beautiful thing! It's been encouraged in me this semester and throughout my entire college career, so I'm definitely eager to go out and share what I've learned.
These writings reflect me from a personally academic standpoint. This is just to say that, when you're in school, and regardless of the level, you always have to take a step back in some type of way. There's always pressure put upon you to conform to some standard and by it you are judged. This course I've been taking on African American Women's Rhetoric has been just... mindblowing. For one, I don't think I've ever had this much freedom academically. I've been able to say and do what I want with my writing and I can honestly say that I think it's more positive than any other methodology could ever be. When you allow someone with as big a mouth as me to just go off in typical black woman fashion, not only are you getting an unfiltered truth and break down of the real world according to me, but you're also allowing me the chance to think rhetorically (which is something I often don't do). Not many educators do this, so shout out to Dr. Kynard, cause she's mad real! All that, too fly...you get it.
I titled this piece with nostalgia in mind because nostalgia is really what I'm feeling as I write this. I have an overwhelming sense of growth where my writing is concerned, even if my thought patterns haven't changed. I've realized that the rhetoric of a Black woman is nostalgia when she is actively able to step back after enacting change and saying "I did that!" *Tamar's voice*. I don't think there's anything greater than knowing that your being proactive is bringing the change you want or envision happening in some way. If your voice and your message and the how of your whole everything is the way that you accomplish this, then that's a beautiful thing! It's been encouraged in me this semester and throughout my entire college career, so I'm definitely eager to go out and share what I've learned.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Hip-Hop Connections
When I think about poetry, I think about an art form designed to convey various realities through colorful language. I think about the nuances and intricacies of language and how, although it may not always be foolproof, it allows for a communication between different entities that probably wouldn’t otherwise exist. When I think about black female poets specifically, however, I immediately associate them with style, but also easily recognizable issues that are genuine and relatable. Black poets of the past really only had one way to communicate and express what they were feeling to other black folks; this generally involved cutting up and reworking standard English to suit their individual tastes and audiences. Likewise, the only way Black people heard you came in the form of them being able to identify with whatever you wrote down or came out of your mouth. When considering past and more recent poets, especially women like Nikki Giovanni and Gwendolyn Brooks, it is easy to see how their poetry has morphed into the spoken word that many of us go crazy for. All of these women span generations that are speaking out more heavily than the previous one. When Nikki Giovanni started writing her poems, stage presence and delivery were not crucial to her career - she could've survived and prospoered without them. The key thing during her poetic era was her ability to convey with her words alone that there is a message to be found within the clever phrases. Ntozake Shange made waves with her choreopoem "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf." Though this particular poem seems to be one destined for the stage and screen, it is one that is written for the Black community in a vernacular that Black people easily recognize.
The connections I draw between former Black poetry (pre-Black Arts Era) and spoken word are the successes of technology and the unveiling of real talk. In this converstaion, real talk is the convention of Black life. It is that which has been used by Black people since way back to express real life scenarios in the realest way possible. Real talk is the chance to say what you feel and really mean it. Real talk does not hide behind empty, evasive language and pose as substantial - it inserts itself as that which cannot be refuted. Poetry and spoken word feed off of one another in this respect. With it, and through poetry and spoken word, real talk comes alive and exposes audiences to what Black women are really feeling. We have taken these two very unique practices and applied them where "normal" acts have failed. These two practices took over where the blues left off in allowing real experiences to come to light. Experiences like heartbreak, loss, love, joy, and other everyday struggles no longer had to take a backseat to never being told as well as being second to that of men. Our stories were being told and being represented uniquely by those experiencing them.
Transitioning to femcees, DJs, and B-girls is an easy feat, then. They basically aid spoken word artists and represent the foundation of Hip-Hop. All of these artists work in tandem to show different sides of life in the best way possible. Through music and all of these expressive art forms, Hip-Hop takes shape in allowing its primary (Black) audience a chance to tell their individual stories. This is not to say that other races are not welcome in this sphere, but that Hip-Hop initially served as an outlet for Black people to combat a lot of harsh realities. Collectively, these platforms allow us, and Black females especially, to refute societal pressures and norms.
The connections I draw between former Black poetry (pre-Black Arts Era) and spoken word are the successes of technology and the unveiling of real talk. In this converstaion, real talk is the convention of Black life. It is that which has been used by Black people since way back to express real life scenarios in the realest way possible. Real talk is the chance to say what you feel and really mean it. Real talk does not hide behind empty, evasive language and pose as substantial - it inserts itself as that which cannot be refuted. Poetry and spoken word feed off of one another in this respect. With it, and through poetry and spoken word, real talk comes alive and exposes audiences to what Black women are really feeling. We have taken these two very unique practices and applied them where "normal" acts have failed. These two practices took over where the blues left off in allowing real experiences to come to light. Experiences like heartbreak, loss, love, joy, and other everyday struggles no longer had to take a backseat to never being told as well as being second to that of men. Our stories were being told and being represented uniquely by those experiencing them.
Transitioning to femcees, DJs, and B-girls is an easy feat, then. They basically aid spoken word artists and represent the foundation of Hip-Hop. All of these artists work in tandem to show different sides of life in the best way possible. Through music and all of these expressive art forms, Hip-Hop takes shape in allowing its primary (Black) audience a chance to tell their individual stories. This is not to say that other races are not welcome in this sphere, but that Hip-Hop initially served as an outlet for Black people to combat a lot of harsh realities. Collectively, these platforms allow us, and Black females especially, to refute societal pressures and norms.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Phenomenal Woman, That's Me.
The following is Maya Angelou's reknown poem "Phenomenal Woman":
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
I'm writing this post today because a classmate of mine presented the rhetoric of Maya Angelou. Her presentation of this poem was actually my first time hearing this poem in its entirety. I felt moved by the words and the message within. Her literary career aside, Angelou is known for many things, including her most recent cameo appearances in many television shows and movies. This poem, taken from ,lists the poem's date as April 4, 1928. The time period it was written in is not my focus here, but this time period, 2013, and its relevance to our culture today is.
Black women and the things we used to do to ourselves, the most obvious being the perming of our hair, were always relegated to trying to be "white." Now there is a heavy focus, and I've heard this so many times, of trying to look Spanish or Indian or whoever. The point is, there always seems to be an obvious act of trying to look less Black. As a result, there are now more "bad bitches" than ever before. You know the "bad bitch" trope. It's being promoted in our music, shown in our videos, and is on the minds of many young, impressionable women. Popularly, this a term given to women BY MEN that denotes seemingly "good" or desirable qualities in women, like having long hair, nice bodies, a good education, a good job, all topped with atypical female actions, like being "a ride or die" for your man and "holding it down." I don't know where on earth this arose from, but I really think we need to take a collective step back and focus on positively validating ourselves instead of leting a lot of these ignorant men do it for us. I'd also like to know where the hell we got the idea, in 2013, as fully educated Black women, that it is okay to internalize racism and hatred from years past and treat ourselves with the disrespect that is EVERYWHERE.
"Phenomenal Woman" praises the Black woman. It offers us a sense of self where we don't know who our self is or where to find her. Too often, and especially in the African American community, Black people, and Black women, especially, are hyper-sexualized to the point where it seems ingrained. We are made to think that our greatest value is what we have is between our legs and not in our minds. We are made to think that there is nothing beautiful about ourselves. We are made to think that Black women are horrible, spiteful, mean-spirited creatures. We are told by our men, and trust me, I've heard them say it, that Black women are inferior in every way, shape, and form. We spend so much time cutting each other down and talking shit about the next person that we can't see what another Black woman, a sista, has to offer the world. And, while we do this, we are also hurting ourselves and fail to see the why or how. We are hurting ourselves in the way we violate our bodies with piercings, with tattoos, with the barely there clothes, with the ridiculous changes we make to our bodies or believe in things that society tells us we must possess (bigger asses > ass shots [sometimes illegal]; bigger breasts > breasts implants [that we most likely cannot afford and don't need; make-up [which a lot of us don't need and don't know how to put on; I mean really, some of us could use WAY less]). We convince ourselves that we are not good enough and must therefore change urselves and be "other." A lot of us wear weave. Why? Our natural hair is beautiful. I'm no saint; my 20 inches is extremely expensive, and not only economically. A lot of us spend thousands of dollars on the aforementioned cosmetic enhancements - for what? We are all supposedly made in God's image. Does this mean he is imperfect? We take inappropriate photos of ourselves and put them on social media sites, then cry foul when we are exploited without our permission. Poor Instagram; it done seen more asses and tits than a little bit. We call each other "bitch" and "hoe" affectionately, thinking that changing the use of these words somehow erases or rectifies the history behind them. We disrespect ourselves so fully and completely and wonder why men and people of other races question our worth. You want to know why? Because we clearly don't accept ourselves. Because we clearly feel so low that others can see right through us and peg us as such.
When we, Black women, demand respect from others, it takes gettin' all our lives and having MANY seats. It means accepting responsibility for ourselves and our actions. It means, and I say this with every tired breath in my body, that we have to look within and consider what makes us beautiful, what makes us special - what makes us unique to every other woman of every other race in the world. We have to take "Phenomenal Woman" and repeat "I deserve _______ because I am a phenomenal woman, phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, that's me." If repeating this or something similar means accepting your big ass head and big ass lips and big ole ass and wide hips and tig ole bitties, then do it! If it means you're not comparing yourself to the next woman and finding yourself lacking instead of being happy with the way you are, nappy head and all, then so be it. If it means not listening to some of these trifling ass men tell you that you're not good enough or need to have this or that or the other, then to hell with them. If it means telling society to fuck off 'cause you ARE Black, DO have a mind of your own, WILL NOT be quiet for N-O-B-O-D-Y, and are a PHENOMENAL WOMAN, then do you! We really need a change in thinking, because thinking is the action that becomes change. If we want respect, we have to respect ourselves. If we want respect, we have to be the catalysts. This is the absolute only way for anything positive to happen. That means [YOUNG LADIES] stop twerking nasty in the club. That means stop putting these fresh ass videos on youtube. That means stop posting ass shots on Instagram and Facebook. Among all the over things we need to stop doing, it means instilling within ourselves, and our friends and sisters and cousins and peoples that, there is something truly special and awesome and gorgeous about each one of us. We need to, no, we have to, realize that nobody owes us anything we won't give ourselves. Respect starts with you.
And with that said, I'm taking my phenomenal ass to class before I'm phenomenally late! LOL.
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
I'm writing this post today because a classmate of mine presented the rhetoric of Maya Angelou. Her presentation of this poem was actually my first time hearing this poem in its entirety. I felt moved by the words and the message within. Her literary career aside, Angelou is known for many things, including her most recent cameo appearances in many television shows and movies. This poem, taken from ,lists the poem's date as April 4, 1928. The time period it was written in is not my focus here, but this time period, 2013, and its relevance to our culture today is.
Black women and the things we used to do to ourselves, the most obvious being the perming of our hair, were always relegated to trying to be "white." Now there is a heavy focus, and I've heard this so many times, of trying to look Spanish or Indian or whoever. The point is, there always seems to be an obvious act of trying to look less Black. As a result, there are now more "bad bitches" than ever before. You know the "bad bitch" trope. It's being promoted in our music, shown in our videos, and is on the minds of many young, impressionable women. Popularly, this a term given to women BY MEN that denotes seemingly "good" or desirable qualities in women, like having long hair, nice bodies, a good education, a good job, all topped with atypical female actions, like being "a ride or die" for your man and "holding it down." I don't know where on earth this arose from, but I really think we need to take a collective step back and focus on positively validating ourselves instead of leting a lot of these ignorant men do it for us. I'd also like to know where the hell we got the idea, in 2013, as fully educated Black women, that it is okay to internalize racism and hatred from years past and treat ourselves with the disrespect that is EVERYWHERE.
"Phenomenal Woman" praises the Black woman. It offers us a sense of self where we don't know who our self is or where to find her. Too often, and especially in the African American community, Black people, and Black women, especially, are hyper-sexualized to the point where it seems ingrained. We are made to think that our greatest value is what we have is between our legs and not in our minds. We are made to think that there is nothing beautiful about ourselves. We are made to think that Black women are horrible, spiteful, mean-spirited creatures. We are told by our men, and trust me, I've heard them say it, that Black women are inferior in every way, shape, and form. We spend so much time cutting each other down and talking shit about the next person that we can't see what another Black woman, a sista, has to offer the world. And, while we do this, we are also hurting ourselves and fail to see the why or how. We are hurting ourselves in the way we violate our bodies with piercings, with tattoos, with the barely there clothes, with the ridiculous changes we make to our bodies or believe in things that society tells us we must possess (bigger asses > ass shots [sometimes illegal]; bigger breasts > breasts implants [that we most likely cannot afford and don't need; make-up [which a lot of us don't need and don't know how to put on; I mean really, some of us could use WAY less]). We convince ourselves that we are not good enough and must therefore change urselves and be "other." A lot of us wear weave. Why? Our natural hair is beautiful. I'm no saint; my 20 inches is extremely expensive, and not only economically. A lot of us spend thousands of dollars on the aforementioned cosmetic enhancements - for what? We are all supposedly made in God's image. Does this mean he is imperfect? We take inappropriate photos of ourselves and put them on social media sites, then cry foul when we are exploited without our permission. Poor Instagram; it done seen more asses and tits than a little bit. We call each other "bitch" and "hoe" affectionately, thinking that changing the use of these words somehow erases or rectifies the history behind them. We disrespect ourselves so fully and completely and wonder why men and people of other races question our worth. You want to know why? Because we clearly don't accept ourselves. Because we clearly feel so low that others can see right through us and peg us as such.
When we, Black women, demand respect from others, it takes gettin' all our lives and having MANY seats. It means accepting responsibility for ourselves and our actions. It means, and I say this with every tired breath in my body, that we have to look within and consider what makes us beautiful, what makes us special - what makes us unique to every other woman of every other race in the world. We have to take "Phenomenal Woman" and repeat "I deserve _______ because I am a phenomenal woman, phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, that's me." If repeating this or something similar means accepting your big ass head and big ass lips and big ole ass and wide hips and tig ole bitties, then do it! If it means you're not comparing yourself to the next woman and finding yourself lacking instead of being happy with the way you are, nappy head and all, then so be it. If it means not listening to some of these trifling ass men tell you that you're not good enough or need to have this or that or the other, then to hell with them. If it means telling society to fuck off 'cause you ARE Black, DO have a mind of your own, WILL NOT be quiet for N-O-B-O-D-Y, and are a PHENOMENAL WOMAN, then do you! We really need a change in thinking, because thinking is the action that becomes change. If we want respect, we have to respect ourselves. If we want respect, we have to be the catalysts. This is the absolute only way for anything positive to happen. That means [YOUNG LADIES] stop twerking nasty in the club. That means stop putting these fresh ass videos on youtube. That means stop posting ass shots on Instagram and Facebook. Among all the over things we need to stop doing, it means instilling within ourselves, and our friends and sisters and cousins and peoples that, there is something truly special and awesome and gorgeous about each one of us. We need to, no, we have to, realize that nobody owes us anything we won't give ourselves. Respect starts with you.
And with that said, I'm taking my phenomenal ass to class before I'm phenomenally late! LOL.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Barbara Jordan: Nixon, You Betta Gone!
Hey, hey, hey! Today's post is about Ms. Barbara Jordan. Lawd ain't enough I can say about this woman! I honestly don't even know where to begin! Black women have long been credited with speaking their minds and speaking as loud as they need to to get their point across. Jordan is no different. As keynote speaker of the Democratic National Convention of '76, Barbara speaks in that way she does to sway the audience in favor of Democrats. What I see when I look at this is a BLACK woman taking the fall for (as usual) a man who messed up every-damn-thing (as usual!) and telling everyone that politicians in general need to get it together. Deep, right?
Here's an idea. I'm gonna include a snippet of her speech below:
Now what the hell do we make of this? First of all, at this time, Nixon has resigned. He resigned when he should've had his ass WHUPPED for lying like he did. Barbara was the black woman carrying on about what he did, and rightfully so. At this convention, she clearly states that as our nation's leaders, we the people should expect more from them. Our politicians, she says, are held to the highest law of the land (the Constitution) by the people and in doing so must reflect the people. Nixon didn't reflect a damn thing but his own political agenda and indirectly, Jordan condemns that. She condemns the idea of everyone in office acting for self instead of the greater good and future of the nation.
Jordan's rhetoric here is simple but powerful. In the same way she addresses her colleagues in talks of Nixon's impeachment two years prior, she evokes the principles of the Constitution and her own professionalism as a way to capitvate the minds and sensibilities of the entire country. She calls upon her knowledge as a Senator first and a black woman second to demonstrate that she is not only capable of holding her position, but that she, too, is subject to the ideals originally constructed in the development of America. In this speech, Jordan is outlining the function of government and the way it serves the people. Or, in this case, how it was supposed to function before Nixon tried to get slick with his.
Jordan's speech and her political career work as rhetoric in the way she delivers her message(s). At this time, she evokes a response from her audience in the ironic seriousness of her carriage and words. She also envokes passion on behalf of her admitting that (in the aftermath of having Nixon as President)the government has done the nation a disservice, accepting the responsibility as her own. Putting herself on the chopping block, in this instance, is powerful for the very reason that she casts off characteristics that define her and anyone else that isn't white - being black, a woman, a blah, blah, blah... She insists here that she is part of a body that is made to serve and must therefore, although it hasn't been its most vigilant, do all it can to uphold rules and standards set by this country's forefathers. This is ESPECIALLY important since African Americans were not originally included in "our" forefathers' proposed new land.
Personally, Jordan is interesting enough as having the title of "First Black Woman to..." over her head and ignoring these in favor of acting as her position dictates. She focuses on the issues at hand instead of pandering to an audience (white males in power) that wishes her to not be outspoken, not make plain what they ignore or designify, as well as not be a black woman saying what they should inherently know! I appreciate the fact that, like Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan uses this country's failings as a way to make it even more obvious that a change is desperately necessary. On top of all that, she makes it plain through what she doesn't say that those who voted against Chisholm were some damn fools.
***For those who don't understand the title, "gone" translates as "go on." (Anybody from the South would understand.)
Here's an idea. I'm gonna include a snippet of her speech below:
Now what the hell do we make of this? First of all, at this time, Nixon has resigned. He resigned when he should've had his ass WHUPPED for lying like he did. Barbara was the black woman carrying on about what he did, and rightfully so. At this convention, she clearly states that as our nation's leaders, we the people should expect more from them. Our politicians, she says, are held to the highest law of the land (the Constitution) by the people and in doing so must reflect the people. Nixon didn't reflect a damn thing but his own political agenda and indirectly, Jordan condemns that. She condemns the idea of everyone in office acting for self instead of the greater good and future of the nation.
Jordan's rhetoric here is simple but powerful. In the same way she addresses her colleagues in talks of Nixon's impeachment two years prior, she evokes the principles of the Constitution and her own professionalism as a way to capitvate the minds and sensibilities of the entire country. She calls upon her knowledge as a Senator first and a black woman second to demonstrate that she is not only capable of holding her position, but that she, too, is subject to the ideals originally constructed in the development of America. In this speech, Jordan is outlining the function of government and the way it serves the people. Or, in this case, how it was supposed to function before Nixon tried to get slick with his.
Jordan's speech and her political career work as rhetoric in the way she delivers her message(s). At this time, she evokes a response from her audience in the ironic seriousness of her carriage and words. She also envokes passion on behalf of her admitting that (in the aftermath of having Nixon as President)the government has done the nation a disservice, accepting the responsibility as her own. Putting herself on the chopping block, in this instance, is powerful for the very reason that she casts off characteristics that define her and anyone else that isn't white - being black, a woman, a blah, blah, blah... She insists here that she is part of a body that is made to serve and must therefore, although it hasn't been its most vigilant, do all it can to uphold rules and standards set by this country's forefathers. This is ESPECIALLY important since African Americans were not originally included in "our" forefathers' proposed new land.
Personally, Jordan is interesting enough as having the title of "First Black Woman to..." over her head and ignoring these in favor of acting as her position dictates. She focuses on the issues at hand instead of pandering to an audience (white males in power) that wishes her to not be outspoken, not make plain what they ignore or designify, as well as not be a black woman saying what they should inherently know! I appreciate the fact that, like Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan uses this country's failings as a way to make it even more obvious that a change is desperately necessary. On top of all that, she makes it plain through what she doesn't say that those who voted against Chisholm were some damn fools.
***For those who don't understand the title, "gone" translates as "go on." (Anybody from the South would understand.)
Friday, April 5, 2013
Ethos and Nommo: There's Not a Black Woman Without It (Revised)
I originally wanted to do an essay for this class. I started it... looked at it... stared at it a little bit more... it was awful. How do you write a formal, traditional, made-for-college essay on some really incredible women? Easy. You can't. Well, I can't- I couldn't- whatever! The first person I considered for this piece was Shirley Wilson Logan. In class we looked at various Black women like Sojourner Truth and Maria W. Stewart who used public forums (previously inhabited by white males) to present their cause to largely white audiences. These women, these BLACK women, took it upon themselves to get on white stages and make whites AND blacks pay attention. Stewart spoke on behalf of slaves' struggles. Sojourner? She spoke on behalf of not only black women, but women in general and the rights, privileges, and courtesies extended women of different races. Ida B. Wells attempted to inform America of the violence inflicted on Black people by whites in the most racist parts of the country. Numerous women are likewise included in this chronological history of women with persuasive discourses.
With all of this said, I'd like to bring attention to the ever-present component of Black women that make us who we are: ETHOS! Yes, ethos. Logan describes ethos as "platform presence" (Logan 8). Ethos ain't all we got, though. In the anthology Honey, Hush! by Daryl Cumber Dance, Nikki Giovanni states in her foreword that "Black women have always appreciated Nommo- the force of the word, the power of giving things their names and thereby bestowing upon them her life force" (Giovanni 2). So, I've introduced these terms, but what do they mean? Ethos and Nommo are collectively stage presence. These two terms, and more importantly, their definitions, comprise the spirit of Black women and make them so unique to the world. With these, the message a woman has to spread, her discourse, her rhetoric, are allowed a much greater shine due to the way her words flow, her body moves, and how she acts when given her figurative stage.
Ok! Enough of the academic stuff, let's get to something fun and universal: music. Music draws everyone together. Music can build you up, and it can also take you way, way down low. It has also been the most effective way, in my opinion, for anyone EVER to get their message across. And what better way for a black woman's rhetoric to reach the world than music? I want to take a look at several female artists and the ways in which their music fosters their rhetoric in a personal perspective.
As a starting point, I will be considering the lovely Erykah Badu and the meaning behind her songs. I'm sure if you're reading this, at some point in time you've come across this woman. Like a typical Black woman, she pulls no punches and will damn sure get her point across, especially in her music. The song I want to examine is called "Window Seat." Highly controversial in its depiction of Badu stipping off her clothes and walking through the streets half, and then fully naked, Badu does and accomplishes what so many women before her sometimes failed to or accomplished. She has, through her performances and presence, proved that she is a woman who is not without fear but BRAVE. She uses her Nommo and her Ethos to speak out against systematic signs of oppression, racism, prejudice, and inequality. In the video, linked below, Badu pulls off her clothing, shedding what seems to be layers of...something. I'm not entirely positive. I do know, however, that this experience is one that America ain't ready for! Who wants to see a black woman, with no long, processed hair, flat, firm body unfit for mainstream dictates, and the word EVOLVING etched across her back, walk down the street talking about "Can I get a window seat?" NOBODY! Cause ain't nobody got time for that! For it, she is a genius, and one black woman that is, for a lack of a better word, un-fuck-wit-a-ble. (Learn it!)
Now, you look at this video and say "What? What was that?" THAT, my friends, is ethos. That is nommo. This woman has everyone in arms. Radical as her video is, it seems that she has clearly lost her "rabbit ass mind" when she starts taking her clothes off. And not only does she strip to nothing, but after doing her bit, she gets shot! How bizarre is that? Not very. Look at the history of America, a country marked by labor exploitation and racism, a country marked by having those who oppose its policies and tactics killed or otherwise hunted down (Martin shot, Malcolm shot, Assata in Cuba, Black Panther Party labeled as terrorists; don't get amnesia now), and one that has political leaders believing racism no longer exists, and see if this video isn't powerful in concept and execution.
On the surface, "Window Seat" seems to be a song that talks about her personal feelings or experience being such an outspoken and steadfast performer, true to her African roots. However, in the following video, Ms. Badu explains the reasoning behind her video and the song itself. It definitely moved me, and got me to thinking about the institution of group think and the way it affects us all, even in 2013. Acceptance = group think; a lot of us suffer from this under the facade of being solo dolo, of being an "original." An original copy is more like it. So sure and confident we are removed from this, it is evident that we haven't, when we can't even look this gorgeous Black woman in the eye with her clothes off 'cause it ain't "right."
Logan and Giovanni's Ethos and Nommo are in full effect here. Women like the ones listed above paved the way for women like Erykah Badu to literally take her clothes off and get "buck" naked in the middle of a crowded street. Commercialism, capitalism, and consumerism did not, at any time, affect ANY of these women. They all, regardless of the specific message, endeavored to share their message, their rhetoric, in various ways. Whether looking at Sojourner pointing to her work-hardened hands and arms when asking "Ar'n't I a Woman?" or Badu rocking her cultural headwraps and garb (or in this case, a wig cap), it is evident that Ethos and Nommo are the basis of how a Black woman's rhetoric is able to reach the masses and attain societal transformation.
****
Giovanni, Nikki. "'No Big Thing for 'Oman'." Honey Hush!: An Anthology of African American Women's Humor. Ed. Daryl Cumber Dance. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1998. 1-3. Print.
Logan, Shirley Wilson. We Are Coming: The Persuasive Discourse of Nineteenth-Century Black Women. (1999) Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press. Print.
With all of this said, I'd like to bring attention to the ever-present component of Black women that make us who we are: ETHOS! Yes, ethos. Logan describes ethos as "platform presence" (Logan 8). Ethos ain't all we got, though. In the anthology Honey, Hush! by Daryl Cumber Dance, Nikki Giovanni states in her foreword that "Black women have always appreciated Nommo- the force of the word, the power of giving things their names and thereby bestowing upon them her life force" (Giovanni 2). So, I've introduced these terms, but what do they mean? Ethos and Nommo are collectively stage presence. These two terms, and more importantly, their definitions, comprise the spirit of Black women and make them so unique to the world. With these, the message a woman has to spread, her discourse, her rhetoric, are allowed a much greater shine due to the way her words flow, her body moves, and how she acts when given her figurative stage.
Ok! Enough of the academic stuff, let's get to something fun and universal: music. Music draws everyone together. Music can build you up, and it can also take you way, way down low. It has also been the most effective way, in my opinion, for anyone EVER to get their message across. And what better way for a black woman's rhetoric to reach the world than music? I want to take a look at several female artists and the ways in which their music fosters their rhetoric in a personal perspective.
As a starting point, I will be considering the lovely Erykah Badu and the meaning behind her songs. I'm sure if you're reading this, at some point in time you've come across this woman. Like a typical Black woman, she pulls no punches and will damn sure get her point across, especially in her music. The song I want to examine is called "Window Seat." Highly controversial in its depiction of Badu stipping off her clothes and walking through the streets half, and then fully naked, Badu does and accomplishes what so many women before her sometimes failed to or accomplished. She has, through her performances and presence, proved that she is a woman who is not without fear but BRAVE. She uses her Nommo and her Ethos to speak out against systematic signs of oppression, racism, prejudice, and inequality. In the video, linked below, Badu pulls off her clothing, shedding what seems to be layers of...something. I'm not entirely positive. I do know, however, that this experience is one that America ain't ready for! Who wants to see a black woman, with no long, processed hair, flat, firm body unfit for mainstream dictates, and the word EVOLVING etched across her back, walk down the street talking about "Can I get a window seat?" NOBODY! Cause ain't nobody got time for that! For it, she is a genius, and one black woman that is, for a lack of a better word, un-fuck-wit-a-ble. (Learn it!)
Now, you look at this video and say "What? What was that?" THAT, my friends, is ethos. That is nommo. This woman has everyone in arms. Radical as her video is, it seems that she has clearly lost her "rabbit ass mind" when she starts taking her clothes off. And not only does she strip to nothing, but after doing her bit, she gets shot! How bizarre is that? Not very. Look at the history of America, a country marked by labor exploitation and racism, a country marked by having those who oppose its policies and tactics killed or otherwise hunted down (Martin shot, Malcolm shot, Assata in Cuba, Black Panther Party labeled as terrorists; don't get amnesia now), and one that has political leaders believing racism no longer exists, and see if this video isn't powerful in concept and execution.
On the surface, "Window Seat" seems to be a song that talks about her personal feelings or experience being such an outspoken and steadfast performer, true to her African roots. However, in the following video, Ms. Badu explains the reasoning behind her video and the song itself. It definitely moved me, and got me to thinking about the institution of group think and the way it affects us all, even in 2013. Acceptance = group think; a lot of us suffer from this under the facade of being solo dolo, of being an "original." An original copy is more like it. So sure and confident we are removed from this, it is evident that we haven't, when we can't even look this gorgeous Black woman in the eye with her clothes off 'cause it ain't "right."
Logan and Giovanni's Ethos and Nommo are in full effect here. Women like the ones listed above paved the way for women like Erykah Badu to literally take her clothes off and get "buck" naked in the middle of a crowded street. Commercialism, capitalism, and consumerism did not, at any time, affect ANY of these women. They all, regardless of the specific message, endeavored to share their message, their rhetoric, in various ways. Whether looking at Sojourner pointing to her work-hardened hands and arms when asking "Ar'n't I a Woman?" or Badu rocking her cultural headwraps and garb (or in this case, a wig cap), it is evident that Ethos and Nommo are the basis of how a Black woman's rhetoric is able to reach the masses and attain societal transformation.
****
Giovanni, Nikki. "'No Big Thing for 'Oman'." Honey Hush!: An Anthology of African American Women's Humor. Ed. Daryl Cumber Dance. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1998. 1-3. Print.
Logan, Shirley Wilson. We Are Coming: The Persuasive Discourse of Nineteenth-Century Black Women. (1999) Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press. Print.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Reintroduction
Wow! It's been sooo long since I've last posted! So much in my life has changed and grew and... and... I'm just exploding with words and smart stuff! (LOL!) When I initially started this blog, it was for school and I didn't want to do a THING! It really was like pulling teeth to get me to post anything, and as you can tell, I clearly didn't care about editing or grammar or anything 'cause some of these posts are just a hot mess. However, knowing what I know, I'm going to leave these posts exactly the way they are because they mean so much to me as a writer, as a student, as a black woman... (You get the idea.)
There will be no adornments in this post. There will be no pictures; no extra anything to highlight that this truly is a reintroduction. HOWEVER: I must introduce something, right? I want to state that, yes, this IS for school again, but I have a new twist to the things I will be posting. I'm making no exceptions. Pulling punches? Not happening. I will be as real and as honest as possible, spreading what I know and what others, who know way more than me, know, and all in the name of RHETORIC. Yes, rhetoric. African American women's rhetoric, in fact. I will be bringing you MY take and MY views on what Black women in this field have to offer the world and the ways in which actual and theoretical rhetors have actually changed the world with their discourse. This won't be pretty. I make no apologies for the things I write, and the only caveat I'm giving you is that THE TRUTH WILL BE SPOKEN. If you don't want to hear the truth, please, and by all means, keep doing what you've been doing. If you do, stick around! You may not be interested, and you may not care, but I do (Duh!), so get ready!
There will be no adornments in this post. There will be no pictures; no extra anything to highlight that this truly is a reintroduction. HOWEVER: I must introduce something, right? I want to state that, yes, this IS for school again, but I have a new twist to the things I will be posting. I'm making no exceptions. Pulling punches? Not happening. I will be as real and as honest as possible, spreading what I know and what others, who know way more than me, know, and all in the name of RHETORIC. Yes, rhetoric. African American women's rhetoric, in fact. I will be bringing you MY take and MY views on what Black women in this field have to offer the world and the ways in which actual and theoretical rhetors have actually changed the world with their discourse. This won't be pretty. I make no apologies for the things I write, and the only caveat I'm giving you is that THE TRUTH WILL BE SPOKEN. If you don't want to hear the truth, please, and by all means, keep doing what you've been doing. If you do, stick around! You may not be interested, and you may not care, but I do (Duh!), so get ready!
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