The Black Republican

Hello, sir! This is the first time that I recall being to this weblog... I like the title - I am a College Republican, and here at UIS, we just started a new conservative organization. One of the founders of this new club put out a flyer about black conservatives, and the conservative, Republican support for civil rights. In my most recent blog entry, I mentioned Dr. Alveda King, who is the daughter of the late Rev. A. D. King, who was the brother of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. Alveda King is an amazing woman - she is a staunch conservative, and a Republican... I will be updating that blog entry with some information on her.

Anyway, keep up the good work here. Thanks!

When we say "African American tradition" we are speaking of 400 years of culture and history on these shores, not in Africa. This white kid was born in South Africa at a time when white and black cultures were separated by law. If he is a member of any culture other than the US, it is the white colonial culture that held sway in SA during those times... the English-speaking son of a missionary might be born in Manchuria, but he is not culturally a Chinese American; if one of our female soldiers returns from Iraq with a newborn infant, the child will not be an Arab American. This award obviously exists so that the black students (who number 1 in 30 at the Westside High School) will be assured to have the encouragement of seeing at least one black face on the dais each year. When this kid campaigned for the award, he undoubtedly introduced a tension that belongs in no school environment. The school's actions are entirely justified.

Hi Robert,

How silly would it be if my neighbors at the German-American club tried to tell me that they were celebrating 300 years of "culture and history on these shores"? That's nonsense - they are ethnic Germans (and their children) who emigrated from Germany, celebrating the culture they brought with them to contribute to the American melting pot. The same is true of Irish-Americans, Italian-Americans, and every other ethnic group that inhabits this land. Except one - as you rightly point out. So if African Americans (without a hyphen, I might add) aren't really African, why do we call them that? If their cultures and histories as Africans were stripped from them before and immediately after they reached these shores, and a unique culture imposed on them, shouldn't that new culture disdain any association with Africa? Moreover, "Africa" doesn't have a culture or a history to it unto itself, does it? The closest one could say is that the multitude of cultures in Africa were all commonly affected by colonialism - but that doesn't make all Africans some monolithic culture, does it?

As you yourself point out, the award is not there to honor African-Americans, it is there to honor black American students. So children are being recognized not for the content of their character (no matter how laubable that character might be), but for the color of their skin. And this event takes place to "honor" a man who said - in very clear and convincing terms - that it was his Dream that one day we would no longer be burdened with such a shameful display of racism in our country.

Don't you find it just slightly hypocritical to suggest that this boy and his family must be a product of colonial South African culture, since we know nothing about them? Isn't it equally fallacious to assume that the son of a Chinese missionary would not carry with him any knowledge or respect for the culture he grew up in? Your assumptions in both these scenarios sounds like the very definition of prejudice to me.

Don't let my criticism dissuade you from visiting again, and thank you for your input.

Robert, I couldn't agree more. But if you are indeed speaking of 400 years of culture and history on these shores, and not in Africa, then why say "African American tradition"?

Your statement "This award obviously exists so that the black students... will be assured to have the encouragement of seeing at least one black face on the dais each year" undermines the Politically Correct term "African-American" and exemplifies my point exactly! Why didn't you say "African-American students" instead of "black students"? The reason is because you wanted to say that this award is for black students - NOT "African-American students". I have no issue with such an award for black students and would wholeheartedly endorse the idea. My problem, and the real issue the white "African-American" student was illustrating, is the fallaciousness of calling black Americans "African-Americans" and the efforts of the school to promote a Politically Correct agenda ahead of honest, truthful discourse. The student from Johannesburg is - in fact - the ONLY true African-American student in that school, because he and his parents were born in and emigrated from Africa.

As for your examples, they just do not apply. Had your hypothetical female soldier emigrated from... let's say Norway, become a naturalized US citizen, joined the Army and then had a child while in Iraq, that child would also not be an Arab-American - but could be considered a Norwegian-American, could it not? The fact of the matter is, however, that the mother would probable consider herself an American who just happened to come from Norway - and my guess is that she would raise her child to believe the same. By the same token, the fact that a black American has African ancestry does not mean they are African - they are every bit as much American as I am (Scotish-Irish-German ancestry), and possibly even more so. My ancestors had the luxury to be able to bring their native cultures and heritages with them when they emigrated - black ancestors almost never got that luxury and so, had to develop a culture and heritage from whole-cloth. Some would say (Chris, the owner of this Blog, and myself among them) that the black culture - the same culture that has given us, among other things, uniquely American things such as Soul Food and Jazz - is the only wholly "American" culture.

BTW: I dislike the term 'black' as well, but it is much more descriptive and accurate (and easier to use) when speaking about a cultural group than "colored" or "persons of color". My wife is a beautiful dark caramel color and my god-son is wonderful chocolate color... but it's a bit cumbersome and too specific to say "dark caramel colored" people or "chocolate colored" people. And my sister (who is technically my half-sister) has an Italian father and is olive skinned... she has color too, doesn't she?

When Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed, my mother sat me down in front of the TV and made me watch the tributes to him - specifically his "I have a Dream" speech. She taught me that this country would not truly achieve it's true greatness until that dream was a reality - until all people were judged on content of their character and not by the color of their skin. I live by that code, and I see many who do also - but there are still many people, of ALL colors (yes, blacks too) who abuse the message of Dr. King and still attempt to divide us according to the color of our skin... or by hyphenating our status as Americans.