Today's Discussion of Race in America
Business…here’s a look at B.J. and Justin Upton.
Here’s a funny from the chat session…I was accused by chatters, black and white, of showing favoritism to black people because I primarily write about black athletes. Could someone explain to me what else I’m supposed to do when I primarily write about football and basketball? Seriously, could someone enlighten me on that?
In the last few days, I’ve gotten more e-mails that presume my position on a range of issues purely because I’m black. Since I’m black, I must just side with black people on everything. I must look for every opportunity to slam white people. You know, because I’m black.
Wanna know the most frustrating thing about racism for any black person? That it’s stripped us of our humanity.
Not just in the obvious ways. To be human is to be unique, to be individual. To be black, however, is to be a part of a presumed monolith. Your views are always totally dictated by your race and allegiance toward Negritude, even though black people frequently complain about how black people don’t stick together nearly enough.
My take is the same as Scoop’s and Jemele’s and LZ’s, according to so many readers. We all just look for a reason to jump on a topic involving race. That’s what we do.
Because it’s not just me, or her, or him. It’s we.
We’re asked our opinions on anything another of us says, especially about race, though my colleagues aren’t asked to answer for us or each other in the same way.
I only write about black people because of some favoritism, even though there’s no reason to say that unless you have some presumption about what black people do. You know, because we’re all doing the same thing.
The word is that we only talk about race. Check this archive page and tell me where you see that. More importantly, show me where, in the stories where race is the major issue, how the story could have been done without discussing race.
By my count, that was only about four of the first page. Maybe that’s less than my white counterparts, but there are a few theories on what that might mean.
My voice is mine. It is no one else’s. I don’t represent black people. I represent the view of a black man, one influenced by the experiences that come from that, but one that’s individual within that blackness. I’m concerned with race because it’s at the center of this society, but I ain’t doing nothing because of what anyone else wants or some sort of allegiance. I’ve got a brain, and it’s not conjoined with any other.
In other words, I offer a voice full of humanity. Whether anyone sees it that way or not. And that ain’t about to change.
