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When I was writing To a Little Boy, my original title ~handwritten in my spiral notebook~ was To a Little Black Boy. I debated whether or not to mention his race in that post. Does it matter that the boy is black? He was a sad, tiny boy. He was a sad, tiny, black boy.
Knowing the incarceration rate of black males & the achievement gap of black males in schools did increase my concern for him. So maybe it does matter? But I decided not to mention it because his race is irrelevant to the story I was telling on that day.
In that story, he was representative of me, and of the “little guy” in general. But now, he’s part of this one:
That same afternoon I realized that the only film we watched all year that didn’t have a character in it that could be ~and routinely was, by black and white students alike~ called “the black guy” was “Crooklyn.” ~except for the ones with all white characters~ This is because, of course, all the characters in “Crooklyn” are black.
I’m a white teacher of both black and white students in a state that is steeped in old Southern racism. I never thought of myself as a racist, and in my heart I know I’m not hateful of others because of their skin color, but I never knew until I went to grad school that there’s a difference between racism and bigotry. Peggy McIntosh’s article Unpacking White Privilege was one thing ~of several~ that opened my eyes.
I’m not a bigot, but racism is everywhere. Like the air we breathe.
It bothers me to refer to characters in movies as “the black guy.” I reject the notion that “the black guy” suffices as a description of anyone, much less someone like Courtney Vance or James Earl Jones. ~i mean, hell, this is a film class, and those are dudes you’re going to see again~ But, as a shortcut when discussing a scene in a film with only one black character it seems to work for all the students in the room, and my avoiding saying it seems ~at least to me~ to stick out like a sore thumb.
It also bothered me that the only students who liked “Crooklyn” were black students, and that some white students were very vocal about their distaste. One student said it was “stupid,” which ~according to my film class policy~ obligated him to write an essay critiquing the film, which he posted on his blog. ~the idea is that “stupid” does not constitute substantive analysis. they do not have to like any film, but they have to say why they don’t like it in a reasoned argument~ The blog post was racist. Great. Hardly the substantive analysis I was looking for.
That was several months ago, and I haven’t written about it for the same reason that nobody talks about race in the classroom. Where does this resistance come from?
White guilt?
I have wanted to discuss race on this blog forever, but have hesitated for fear of saying something wrong.
Screw that. Guilt is unproductive. White guilt is a mental trap. As a white teacher, there’s the fear that I’ll say something wrong, reveal my “hidden racism,” hurt someone’s feelings, or stir up some closeted klansman to say something really horrible. As a white blogger, I have the same concerns. So I try to avoid it. ~but have been brave in the classroom several occasions, which i would have written about but, you know…~
But I don’t believe the current white-people-can’t-discuss-racial-issues-with-black-people policy is working.
So I think we should talk about it.
I hope some other concerned folks will talk with me.
9 responses so far ↓
1 Damian // Apr 26, 2008 at 1:39 pm
A few weeks ago, I showed clips from various versions of Hamlet to my Brit Lit class. One of the versions takes place in kind of an ambiguous, late-19th century-ish setting, and stars Roscoe Lee Browne and Lisa Gay Hamilton as Polonius and Ophelia. Both actors are black, and there was an audible gasp from some of my students (all of whom I consider to be reasonably progressive, socially aware kids) when they appeared on screen.
In debriefing the clip (as I did for each one), one of my students mentioned that for her, seeing black actors play these roles was very unexpected. I tried pursuing that line of discussion with my kids - essentially, how do casting actors of varying ethnicities play upon our biases/prejudices and perhaps add another layer of complexity to the story - but it kind of fizzled. I don’t know if they were too uncomfortable discussing issues of race, or just didn’t know how to express their thoughts. I really wish I’d been able to draw that out of them a bit more.
I try to bring up issues of race (as well as gender, and other “no-no” topics) whenever it’s pertinent to what we’re reading, and while no two classes are exactly the same, I have noticed that in my experience, students seem a lot more prepared to discuss these issues out loud when they are in a racially homogeneous (hell, who am I kidding - all-white) group than when students of different races are in the room together, and I’m well north of the Mason-Dixon.
Damian’s last blog post..More Than You Ever Cared to Know
2 Taylor // Apr 26, 2008 at 2:42 pm
“I have noticed that in my experience, students seem a lot more prepared to discuss these issues out loud when they are in a racially homogeneous (hell, who am I kidding - all-white) group than when students of different races are in the room together.”
I’ve had exactly the same experience. Not that I’ve ever actually had a homogeneous group, but I’ve seen how uncomfortable both white and black students get when trying to have a class discussion.
3 Phillip // Apr 26, 2008 at 3:07 pm
This made me think of a story about my nephew, and how surprisingly color-blind he can be given that we do live in the south.
About eight years ago he played basketball at a youth center nearby and he was the only white kid on the team. One day, my brother-in-law said jokingly, “Everyone knows who my kid is out on the floor.”
My nephew, not even thinking of race, said, “Yeah, I’m the only one on the team that wears glasses.”
Maybe there is hope for us yet.
4 jose // Apr 27, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Good to know there are more white teachers discussing (or at least wanting to discuss) race. That’s important for the progress of our society. I’d go more into it, but you read my last entry. Good entry.
jose’s last blog post..The More You Know, The Less You Feel
5 sadcox // Apr 27, 2008 at 10:05 pm
It’s odd…when I read your original post, I’d seen the little boy as black to begin with.
Anyway, I’ve heard people tell stories and include phrases like “This big black guy was crossing the street…” and wondered why they needed to specify his ethnicity…it doesn’t really add to the story, right?
But I don’t think they (or you) are specifying ethnicity out of racial bias necessarily. It’s just another adjective, just like “big”, that helps you get an image in your head.
If the same story used the phrase “this little hippy guy was crossing the street…” you would have a completely different image in your mind. But, “A guy was crossing the street…” doesn’t give you any type of image.
sadcox’s last blog post..Pouring The Coals
6 ken // Apr 27, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Let’s see what type of discussion comes out of the soon-t0-be release film, “tropic thunder”. Check out the trailer…you’ll see what I’m talking about.
On another note, I think we should do away w/ adjectives. They only get us in trouble.
I mean, poor Dan Meyer uses the word ‘weak’ to describe a student, and then Dan finds himself defending, re-defending, and then re-re-defending all the while clarifying and re-clarifying and then re-re-clarifying the use of the word.
What an (adjective free) world.
ken’s last blog post..from noble to professional
7 Kaelie // May 10, 2008 at 9:35 pm
I could have told you that post was going to be racist–I could have told you that that PERSON was racist. That’s why he didn’t like that movie. Do not doubt me–I do not lie.
Kaelie’s last blog post..Happiness Is A Warm Gun
8 Taylor // May 12, 2008 at 2:56 pm
That’s very disappointing.
9 Kaelie // May 12, 2008 at 7:51 pm
You’re telling me.
Kaelie’s last blog post..Happiness Is A Warm Gun
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