Identity 'Black' vs Racial Classification 'Black'

In this Miniclip I talk about the Identity "Black" vs the Racial Classification "Black"

Enjoy!

#ColemanHughes #ConversationswithColeman #CwC #DifficultConversations #Antiracist #Books #Children #IdentityPolitics #Blackness #Identity #Racism #CulturalDiversity #RacialDisparity

[sklatn]

As a black american who immigrated from Africa, blackness and black identity are not terms that are ever on my mind, and for good reasons: I grew up surrounded by other blacks in a majority black country. 9% of blacks in America were foreign born (in 2015), so black is no longer a monolith and the experience and meaning of being black varies drastically from person to person. I suspect it will evolve as well, as more blacks from different walks of life and socio economic status get to interact more. I know people use African immigrants to shame US born blacks, but there is definitely something about growing up in a place where inter-race conflicts were not a thing: i grew up thinking as an individual, though this might also have to do with being the majority race in my home country. I am not better, I was just lucky to be born there so that my only focus was to be successful, nothing else mattered. Even so, I still think we should treat each others as individuals instead of statistics.

[Capius]

You have encouraged me to start reading books again instead of tidbits and interpretations on topics of interest on-line. Be it video or long form articles. For that, thank you.

[offcenterconcepthaus]

Just occurred to me --> no one refers to Robert Johnson, Hendrix, or B.B. King as "black" guitarists. We've got to stop using the term.

[Dilmahkana]

When it comes to our innate attributes, flaws and all, 'practicing Self-Compassion' is more powerful than 'looking for Pride in yourself'.
One is cultivating love, the other is propping up your ego, and the defensiveness that comes with it

[misterevil]

John's Rules #1 - Be neither shamed nor proud of any aspect of my life that I did not choose. Neither shall I shame nor elevate any aspect of another’s life that they did not choose.

[SineEyed]

The quote from the book put it well, sure, but more favorable to me were Coleman's thoughts on it there at the beginning for being logically succinct. I think that was a very efficient critique--something I can appreciate..

[incollectio]

People who are proud of their "blackness" remind me of people who are proud of their "whiteness". Wonder why that is...

[RonnieD]

Colman the USA so needs you. You give me PRIDE for being a human

[DangerMouse]

"That's not what pride and shame are for"
Exactly!

[MoviesByeMark]

You have a special talent to see the big picture. Sometimes it's not polite or in tune with societal trends. But it is truth and it speaks volumes. I enjoy hearing your thoughts so I subscribed.

[odysseuslost]

I feel that there is a Golden Mean to be found between shame and pride. While there have been those that sought to make a person's race a point of shame (individually or collectively), it is often perceived that pride is the "antidote" to such shame. While no one should feel or be made to feel shame on account of a happenstance of birth, pride in that happenstance is not the best answer. Pride in such instances is effectively unearned virtue used to shield against those who are wrong to inflict shame. A defiant reaction rather than a considered view. The passage recited here details the failings of such an outlook.

Just because we may disagree with someone who is wrong does not make our position right by default.

[matthewheadland]

This is really interesting. It seems to me though that people gain a “pride” in their race when they’ve been either told or felt as though it was something to be ashamed of. This happens not only with race, but with sexual orientation for instance. People feel shamed because of the persecution they’ve dealt with in their life. Your logic here is sound and seems obvious to me. I wholly agree, but the question becomes how do we help people appeal to it?

[john]

To be proud or ashamed of the color of your skin makes about as much sense as being proud or ashamed of having 5 toes or that you're a person rather than a fish...

[spry]

Zora is the Queen. She immersed herself into the living realities of the people - rather than theorise from an ivory tower - and thus retained her humanity.

[larrypitts]

I had never heard of Zora Neale Hurston, I am going to buy her book. That excerpt you read was incredible. Thanks for expanding my knowledge, I really enjoyed this clip.

[yvonneprimeau]

I have ancestors from many different countries and it makes me really cranky when people try to pinpoint me into identifying my racial identity. My DNA identifies seven different countries of origin. I already knew of most of them through doing family genealogy for many years. I was recently pressured into choosing one identity by stats canada and will not do that anymore. I am Canadian. Period.

[Wandering.Homebody]

I feel the same way, for exactly the same reason. I feel neither shame nor pride about my skincolour, and it seems absurd to me when other people do so. Same with nationality, or region one is from. Like, I LIKE where I m from, it seems pretty, functional and sweetly familiar, but I'm not proud that I happen to have been born here, because I literally had no control over it. Anyhow, Coleman, thoughtfully and well put, as always. Thanks for putting out this content that you do.

[LuckkyCanuck]

Wow, that was beautifully written and a refreshing perspective. Thanks for sharing!

[ktoth]

I took a trip to South Africa a few years back and flew into Zimbabwe to visit Victoria Falls... at the time Mugabe was still alive and Zimbabwe was deep in an economic crisis with many Bantu fleeing to South Africa as economic migrants (they had completely overrun Johannesburg). I remember getting off the Plane in Zimbabwe and there was a picture of a dictator on the wall, and outside the airport a local dance troop dressed up in generic tribal costume and performed for tips (the kind of depiction of native africans you might see in a 1930's movie) and I remember a number of African American women who had arrived with me were wearing a traditional a head dress taking selfie with the dancers, so excited to finally be back among "their" people (although presumably their ancestors came from west africa). The whole situation was bizarre on a number of levels.

[LifeWithTarsha]

Beautifully articulated. Thank you for introducing me to an excellent quote demonstrating the idea. I loved "Their Eyes Were Watching God" and now I am inspired to read her autobiography.