Blinded by the Whites

David H. Ikard

Description

Redistributing power in a "post-racial" society

The election of Barack Obama gave political currency to the (white) idea that Americans now live in a post-racial society. But the persistence of racial profiling, economic inequality between blacks and whites, disproportionate numbers of black prisoners, and disparities in health and access to healthcare suggest there is more to the story. David H. Ikard addresses these issues in an effort to give voice to the challenges faced by most African Americans and to make legible the shifting discourse of white supremacist ideology—including post-racialism and colorblind politics—that frustrates black self-determination, agency, and empowerment in the 21st century. Ikard tackles these concerns from various perspectives, chief among them black feminism. He argues that all oppressions (of race, gender, class, sexual orientation) intersect and must be confronted to upset the status quo.

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Hidden In Plain Sight: What Does Black Empowerment in the Twenty-First Century Look Like?
1. White Supremacy Under Fire: The Unrewarded Perspective in Edward P. Jones's The Known World
2. Easier Said than Done: Making Black Feminism Transformative for Black Men
3. All Joking Aside: Black Men, Sexual Assault, and Displaced Racial Angst in Paul Beatty's The White Boy Shuffle
4. Boys to Men: Getting Personal about Black Manhood, Sexuality, and Empowerment
5. Rejecting Goldilocks: The Crisis of Normative White Beauty for Black Girls
6. "Stop Making the Rest of Us Look Bad": How Class Matters in the Attacks against the Movie Precious
Epilogue: So What Does It All Mean?
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

• Ethnic Studies
• Political Science
• América
• Commentary
• Opinion
• American
• Discrimination

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 28 octobre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9780253011039
• Langue: English

Extrait

BLINDED BY THE WHITES
BLACKS IN THE DIASPORA
EDITORS
Herman L. Bennett
Kim D. Butler
Judith A. Byfield
Tracy Sharpley-Whiting
Blinded by the Whites
WHY RACE STILL MATTERS IN 21ST-CENTURY AMERICA
David H. Ikard
INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS Bloomington Indianapolis
This book is a publication of
INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS
Office of Scholarly Publishing
Herman B Wells Library 350
1320 East 10th Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA
iupress.indiana.edu
Telephone orders 800-842-6796
Fax orders 812-855-7931
2013 by David H. Ikard
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z 39.48-1992.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Cataloging information is available from the Library of Congress .
ISBN 978-0-253-01096-4 (cloth)
ISBN 978-0-253-01103-9 (ebook)
1 2 3 4 5 18 17 16 15 14 13
To
TERRY TYRELL JOHNSON
(OCTOBER 28, 1996-AUGUST 27, 2012)
A life well lived
She did not tell them to clean up their lives or to go and sin no more. She did not tell them they were the blessed of the earth, its inheriting meek or its glorybound pure.
She told them that the only grace they could have was the grace they could imagine. That if they could not see it, they would not have it.
Baby Suggs in Beloved , by Toni Morrison
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: What Does Black Empowerment in the Twenty-First Century Look Like?

1 White Supremacy Under Fire: The Unrewarded Perspective in Edward P. Jones s The Known World
2 Easier Said Than Done: Making Black Feminism Transformative for Black Men
3 All Joking Aside: Black Men, Sexual Assault, and Displaced Racial Angst in Paul Beatty s The White Boy Shuffle
4 Boys to Men: Getting Personal about Black Manhood, Sexuality, and Empowerment
5 Rejecting Goldilocks: The Crisis of Normative White Beauty for Black Girls
6 Stop Making the Rest of Us Look Bad : How Class Matters in the Attacks against the Movie Precious
Epilogue: So What Does It All Mean?
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
On august 27, 2012, my fifteen-year-old nephew tyrell Johnson died in a car accident on the first day of school in his sophomore year. The driver of the car, sixteen-year-old Cody Rives, also died. A few weeks prior to his death, Ty visited Tallahassee, Florida, with his grandmother (my mother) to hang out with me and my two children, both of whom adored and idolized Ty. Little did I know this was going to be the last time I would see this extraordinary young man alive. A standout student and leader, Tyrell was mature beyond his years. He had come to visit, in fact, because he knew I was teaching summer school and wanted to sit in on my class to get a feel for what goes on in a college classroom. Though he was unfamiliar with most of the material I was teaching, he was visibly and intensely engaged for the entire hour and forty-five minutes of the class meeting. In addition to sitting through my class, we laced em up, went to the FSU gym, and played ball for an entire afternoon. As is always the case with the men in my family, there were lots of junk talking, laughing, and fade-away jump shots. We had a blast. Though a somewhat introverted teen, Ty was rather chatty that weekend, going on and on about obtaining his driving permit, an ROTC leadership camp he had recently attended, his older brother BJ, whom he deeply admired, his challenges with his divorced father and mother, both of whom struggle with substance abuse, and, more generally, about his future hopes and dreams. Later that weekend, we headed to the beach. The normally clear water at St. George Island - a public beach on the Gulf of Mexico - was laden with seaweed. Rather than deter us from playing in the water, the seaweed served as weapons of mischief - it was more fun than I can adequately articulate. Everybody played to the point of exhaustion. It was a good day indeed. When Ty and his grandmother left that Monday morning after gracing us with their presence for four days, I remember thinking to myself as the car pulled off how wonderful it was to have been able to spend such quality time with my nephew. He was becoming a man right before my eyes and it was beautiful to watch. I had no doubt that Ty would go on to do great things, that his future was bright. Then the call came about ten days later. It was my mother. Out of breath. Frazzled. Scaring me because I feared for her health. But when she gathered herself and told me the news, I heard myself screaming, No, Mom! This cannot be real! Tell me this is not real! He s gone, David, she responded, as if not truly believing the words coming out of her mouth: My baby is gone.
Though it s been several months now since his death, I think about Ty every day. I now see Ty s visit for what it was - a gift by the universe; my opportunity to make more memories with my nephew; to assure him that despite the familial obstacles he faced, he was going to be all right; that his uncle had his back. I even told him that he could stay with me the next summer - an offer, I later learned from my mother, that he was so excited about that one of the first things he did when he returned to North Carolina was to ask his father for permission to live with me the following summer. During his stay with me I told him about this book and promised to send him a copy when it was published. I also told him that he would be in the acknowledgments, as he had been in my previous books. He was floored. He didn t realize that his name was in print - that he d been acknowledged. He was even more floored when I reached up on my bookshelf and showed him his name in the acknowledgment section of my first book. I was touched by his humility and pride.
When I spoke at Ty s funeral, I reminded his loved ones that his was a well-lived life; that more than mourning a life cut short, we should celebrate the fifteen wonderful years that we were able to be in his presence. When my son and first child, Elijah, was born, Ty was five years old. I was so enamored of my precocious nephew, whose favorite things were books and hugs; I remember telling my mother that if my son turned out nearly as well as Ty I d be a very happy father. Indeed, Ty was the role model that I chose for my son or, perhaps more accurately, the role model my son chose on his own and which I wholeheartedly endorsed. Don t you want to do well in school like Tyrell? I would ask Elijah from time to time to keep him academically motivated. In recent years, however, it was Elijah who would invoke Tyrell as his intellectual muse, saying things like, Dad, I can read almost as well as Tyrell! and Dad, do you think Tyrell would know the answer to this math problem? Grandma says he s a real math whiz. So, while my heart remains heavy, I choose to celebrate the short but beautiful life of my oldest nephew, Tyrell (Ty) Johnson. I dedicate this book to him as a way of memorializing his wonderful life. I miss you terribly, youngblood. You were a blessing. I ll see you on the other side.
There are many people to thank for making this book happen. My first shout out goes to my partner and brother from another mother, Mar-tell Teasley. Besides being a brilliant scholar, dynamic teacher, eloquent speaker, visionary leader, and devoted father, Martell is the best friend a brotha could have. Though I ve only known him for five years, I feel like I ve known him my entire life. He s that brotha you can call in your darkest hour; that brotha who will tell you what you need to hear - even if it stings - rather than what you want to hear; that brotha who loves his people and wouldn t hesitate to die for his beliefs; that brotha who has forgotten more than you have read. You re an inspiration, Brotha Teasley. Thanks for always being there.
Much love also goes to that badass scholar par excellence Tracy Sharpley-Whiting, who exemplifies what it means to profess. One of the most brilliant, accomplished, and relevant scholars putting it down today, Tracy has read and edited many drafts of this and other manuscripts of mine. Her comments and insights were invaluable to this project. I continue to marvel at her generosity of spirit and the care she takes to empower those around her. In a word, she is a BOSS . Thanks, Trace, for all that you do.
Shout outs also go out to my boy Mark Anthony Neal. He is that dude. Bold enough to call himself a ThugNiggaIntellectual, Mark has taught me how to stay on my grind, how to keep the haters at bay and remain focused on the work. Though he has every reason to have the big head, Mark remains one of the most humble and giving scholar-activists I know. What I most admire about Mark is his ingenuity. Year after year he finds a way to raise the bar - from creating the New Black Man blog, which has now become a clearinghouse for cutting-edge black scholar-activism, to his web media show, Left of Black, which has created a much-needed venue for scholars and activists of color to discuss their work and its relevance to empowering the dispossessed. It was Mark who introduced me to Tracy Sharpley-Whiting, Bakari Kitswana, and Joan Morgan; Mark who wrote my job letters, my tenure binder letters, who put me on to the Scholars Network, encouraged me to venture out and begin my own blog, and has even thrown his immense support behind my graduate students. You re an inspiration, MAN .
I d also like to show some love to my writing group, consisting of Alisha Gaines, an outstanding yo