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Very well argued, writersjourney. Yes, simply avoiding talking about race
was probably just an overly simplistic nod to the fact that we draw way too much attention to each other's shade of skin, past and present.
posted by
saul_relative
on February 4, 2006 at 11:28 PM
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This is a Tough One
Saul, this is a tough one. Why do you have to force us to think? Can't you just leave us all alone so that our minds can go numb by drinking beer and watching the Steelers?
I have mixed thoughts on this subject. I can understand why Carter G. Woodson promoted Negro History month in 1926; at that time is was necessary to counter the highly effective propaganda of white supremacists.
I think the issue of African American history today should be one of scholarship, not of giving acknowledgement of this or that ethnic group. In other words, the challenge is on the table for contemporary historians; do they intend to revert to bad history by excluding the role that "race" has played in American society since the founding of the republic, and that racism is a variant of bestial modes of thought of dehumanization, or do they want to white wash all of the that (sorry for the pun) and downplay the 150 year constitutional crisis that centered primarily on the status of African Americans in this society.
Additionally, do they want to ignore that, due to the mixed composition within the African American community, the population known as "black Americans" are quintessentially American (as Ralph Ellison and Albert Murray would point out).
Resolving the Constitutional crisis saved the republic; but that tends to be overlooked when African American history is reduced to tokenism, symbolism and merely tossing a bone of acknowledgment to a constituency group (as if it were one of many other such constituencies).
I think Freedman is wrong in saying that if we do not talk about race then racism will go away; but I think he is right in insisting that American history cannot be properly done, apart from the 150 year Constitutional crisis that swirled around the status of African Americans.
posted by
writersjourney
on February 4, 2006 at 10:50 PM
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Thanks, anglofinspirtion. Superlatives are always appreciated.
posted by
saul_relative
on February 4, 2006 at 9:16 PM
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This is fabulous!
Angel
posted by
anglofinspirtion
on February 4, 2006 at 9:04 PM
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