What is important for Jerald and all of us to understand, is that no man is an island, and we depend on each other, particularly in a white-dominated environment. That means we sacrifice some of our needs or notions, for the greater good of our black community. We don't have to lose our 'self'to do this, but our solidarity is important.
However, if you're the "American" black man (see Clarence Thomas, Armstrong Williams, Ward Connerly et. al.)...they who have no history (that they want to acknowledge), they who have no culture (or think it only began in 1619 at Jamestown), they who probably don't want to be around a roomful of people who look like them (self-hating of the highest order)...and thus, we read - "I recognize that the desire to celebrate customs and traditions is a good one, but Kwanzaa's emphasis on Africa simply has no personal appeal to me. I am American, not African". Most folks don't celebrate Kwanzaa beyond noting it's start and ending times, but if one was on a campus where you are a part of a tiny black faculty, and it was a sanctioned campus event like this one was, you would think one would feel a spiritual and dare I say, ancestral, obligation to go and support my colleagues.
I should note here that this supporting of your fellow colleagues, is duplicated campus-wide among other self-defined organizations like Hillel and related Jewish groups, Latino/Hispanic functions, Greek organizations, etc.- all are ethnically and culturally relevant to particular students and faculty. It's even duplicated in our congress, with the Black caucus, Latino caucus, Woman's caucus, Jewish caucus, and other caucuses as examples.
Then the author who is only mindful of recent history says this, "I applauded, too, even though I knew blacks had accomplished more in the past 40 years than in the previous 400." Yes, like Condi, Colin, Clarence?....the advances are mind-numbing ...and aren't we all benefiting phenomenally?? Or is it only a select few that are benefiting - like Dubois' "talented tenth"? In fact we are not all benefiting even a little bit, not withstanding his noting the hundreds of well-dressed blacks in attendance at the M.L.King breakfast, but conveniently forgetting or ignoring the multiple thousands of less fortunate blacks who would be hard-pressed to applaud any progress in the last 40 years, and who would be unable to even afford to attend this breakfast.
Oops....someone on the "programming committee" needs to be fired it seems! As the author notes by saying - "at some point I glanced at Brenda, whose mouth and eyes were opened wide, and then I scanned the room and saw similar expressions of disbelief, including on the faces of some of the event organizers and the colleague who had invited me...and never again would I applaud speeches that celebrated the myth of black defeat, and I would not participate in events simply because of the color of my skin." When did speeches of historical relevance become "celebrations of 'black defeat'?
This speaks volumes of the author's consciousness (or lack thereof), and his comments about the segregation of black commencement exercises is also unfortunate. What is wrong with a private supplemental graduation exercise, recognizing the hard work and achievement of the black graduates? So he did not like the speaker nor the 'entertainment' offered - so what? Has he always liked everything that white groups do?
Lastly, his comments in general, connote a dismissive and overly critical view of anything that has a black cultural connection - this is what he is running away from!...and it would be curious to know if his wife, Brenda, is black, or some other ethnicity. One can wonder if that has a lot to do with his lack of cultural identification and his hesitancy to identify with his black colleagues. And his, "I intend to be visible.........but only in ways I wish to be seen" comment, means he will be mostly invisible in the future - and to that many will say, a hearty amen and good riddance!
The fact is, the author will be yet another member of the higher education community who does not execute a "fade-to-black" (seen and visible, regardless of whether scorned or applauded), but does a "fade-to-clear" (invisible and a non-entity), which will likely be his metaphor of achievement and resulting legacy.
(bennie thanks Nezet 'Prophet of The Surreal' for his invaluable inputs to this post)
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