Even though the law certifies that Blacks are equal to their White counterparts, Blacks can’t quite shake the feeling of being the “Other”—of being under the omniscent White gaze, judging and measuring their worth as human beings. This unspoken scrutiny is found in the way some Black parents will tell instruct their child to act right around White folks, because for said child to misbehave would reflect negatively on the entire Black community. This not-so-secret code of silence even plays out on a national media platform. From Geraldo Rivera’s comments that Trayvon Martin’s hoodie was to blame for his tragic death, to a little girl, Tiana Parker, being told that her locks were inappropriate to wear to school, the message is clear – if you’re a respectable Negro and play by the rules, you’re granted a certain immunity from racism and welcomed with open arms by the mainstream. The problem with the politics of respectability is that it’s tainted with the belief [that] to be born with brown skin, you are inherently inferior and must work your way up to the goodness of Whiteness. - ReBecca Theodore-Vachon Acting right around White folks: on 12 Years a Slave and respectability politics rogerebert 12 Years a Slave and The Butler are part of a valuable subgenre of American film that dramatizes the fallacy of Black respectability—the notion that if African-Americans will only speak, dress and behave in a certain way, discrimination wont affe
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 19:59:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015