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to whit
Journalist and academic Kim Pearson called the new titles “benign,” but had strong words for the concept behind the new language policy.
“We don't call bigoted, stereotypical depictions of other people ‘__ Americana,’ do we?” said Ms. Pearson, assistant professor of English at the College of New Jersey.
Mind you, when my students created an image gallery of collectible racist memorabilia as part of the ASALH commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, we used "Black Americana" in the title as a bow to convention.
But I maintain that the term "Black Americana" itself is a racist convention that needs to be changed, because it implies that African Americans willingly participated in the creation and perpetuation of their own oppression, while obscuring the reality that these caricatures were created, marketed and served the interests of white supremacists and white supremacy. The perniciousness of first image in the gallery alone -- a pin tray depicting a crocodile eating a black man alive -- ought to dispel any notion that there is anything benign about these artifacts, or the culture that popularized them.
In any event, when you read the article, be sure to note the comments of my consistently righteous brother-bloggers Earl Dunovant and Lester Spence.
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4 comments:
Wow, Kim; I think you're totally wrong! To me, at least, the term "Black Americana" speaks to and emphasizes the fact that these objects are caricatures which were created and marketed to serve the interests of white supremacists and white supremacy. What else could "Black Americana" mean? That has been the sole function white America has made of our images, and colors their understanding of our significance. Interestingly, ebay was amenable to removing the "n" word as a search term and from its seller listings, but was NOT amenable (or was it even asked?) to cease from facilitating the active trade in these items. And don't forget, there are lots of us Black folks who collect this stuff, for reasons of their own. I'm glad you can no longer type in "nigger" at ebay and get a slew of listings of objects for sale; hopefully, you now get a message saying "no objects found." I'm glad people are being discouraged (albeit subtlely) from perpetuating an historically accurate, but nevertheless demeaning term's use in the 21st century. Now if we can just figure out a way to get the brothers on the corner to chill with that shit....
I think your argument would make sense if there was an acknowledgemnt of the role that white supremacy played in the production of these images. However, there is no evidence of that acknowledgement in our language. I turned to two authoritative dictionaries, and I could find no definition of "Black Americana." However,here are some definitions of Americana:
Oxford English Dictionary:
1. a. Belonging to the continent of America. Also, of or pertaining to its inhabitants.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000:
1. (used with a sing. or pl. verb) Materials relating to American history, folklore, or geography or considered to be typical of American culture: Americana are featured in the exhibit. 2. (used with a sing. verb) The culture of America: “[Hip-hop is] as much of a fixture in Americana as hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet” (Ken Capobianco, The Tab October 17-23, 1995).
Nowhere is there a reference to whether the materials in question are degrading or uplifting. As for the word "Black," my former student, Lamar Hines, has an interesting perspective on one dictionary's definition of that word. (This is an interactive artwork in progress best viewed in IE; sound and flash player required. When the page loads, click on the word "definition" in the upper right hand corner.)
I went looking for examples of "Americana" applied to other ethnic groups, and I found examples of folklore created by members of that ethnic group. Some examples:
Irish AmericanaJewish AmericanaIn each of these examples, "Americana" is used to refer to the cultural production of that ethnic group, not to oppressive images of the group in question.
Indeed, some black people collect this stuff, just as some of us collect artifacts from slavery. Most of the people I know of who do that see the materials as having educational value. That was certainly my reason for putting these images online. To my mind, however, that makes them no less vile.
You argue that the term "Black Americana" is a racist convention, implying that we "willingly participated in the creation and perpetuation of our own oppression," but the definition of "Americana" in the Oxford Dictionary you cite suggests otherwise. If "Americana" is defined as "relating to American history, folklore or geography, or considered to be typical of American culture," there is no judgment being made about the nature of the culture or history, whether it was good or bad, exploitative, original, oppressive, or even significant. Simply put, Americana includes those things that happened in America, and the output from the past. No, by calling something "Black Americana," there is no reference to whether the item is degrading or uplifting, but by the same token, there is no implicit value judgment in labelling a badly-made blanket "Irish Americana," either (other than implying that such badly made blankets were typical of these people's historical output). Nearly all Jim Crow-era racist memorabilia was neither designed by or produced by African Americans; not many people who know anything of history would suggest with a straight face that African Americans WANTED TO be depicted as grinning, watermelon-eating ninnies. These images were produced and marketed by white America, and are, indeed, indicative of the unfortunate state of American history and culture of that period. They are authentic and real, whether we like it or not.
If we as African American consumers wish to express our reaction to these objects as products of white supremacy and oppression, we don't need ebay's consent! Nor do we need to rely on the Oxford Dictionary to define our reaction or the label we choose to give these items. If we want to call it "racist memorabilia," let's just do it when we speak of such things. Dictionaries eventually reflect the actual usage of terms in the current vernacular, and African Americans have contributed to this regular compilation of our language and culture. If we believe a different term is more appropriate, let's just use it, and let ebay worry about how to position its marketing to address OUR language and understanding.
I agree with you that we participate in the making of meaning, and that dictionaries reflect (and trace) prevailing usage. And yes, "Americana" is a neutral term. However, when modified by the adjective "Black," the suggest is that we are seeing African American folklore, and that is not what these pieces are. I think that these artifacts should carry a name that reflects what they are: racist.
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