Black separatism is an idea which seeks to create separate institutions
for those of African descent in societies dominated by whites.
In July 2016 Micah Xavier Johnson ambushed and shot at a
group of police officers in Dallas, Texas. He killed 5 of them and injured 9
others. It was reported that he claimed that the violence was in retaliation
for the killings of blacks at the hands of police. He was later linked to the
black separatist group The New Black Panther Party (NBPP).
This event, although isolated shows that the black separatist
movement is still alive and well in modern day America. The shooting also links
back to a famous speech by Malcom X where he says that African Americans should
“bring about the complete independence of people of African descent here in the
Western Hemisphere, and first here in the United States, and bring about the
freedom of these people by any means necessary.”
The New Black Panther Party is one of the largest separatist
groups in the USA and has been branded by some, including the co-founder of the
original Black Panthers as “xenophobic” and “absurd”. The NBPP’s extreme policy
points are listed on their websites including this one:
8. We want freedom for all Black Men and Black Women held in
international, military, federal, state, county, city jails and prisons.
OFFICIAL NBPP BLACK POWER MANUAL
We believe that all Black People and people of color should
be released from the many jails and prisons because they have not received a
fair and impartial trial. ‘Released’ means ‘released’ to the lawful authorities
of the Black Nation
This website is a perfect example of there the separatist movement
is today and shows the evolution of the movement.
The new upcoming film "Get Out" directed and scripted by Jordan Peele, challenges the contemporary African-American identity surrounding Chris (main character) and his attempts of assimilating himself with his girlfriend's family.
From the trailer we are already engaged with the doubts and fears that Chris has about being Black around her family. "Do they know that I'm black?" To which Rose replies "Does it matter?" And begins to mock him suggests that Rose is happy to assimilate herself with Chris and to have a inter-racial relationship regardless of her family's opinions.
Further on, the police officer asks for Chris' Identification even though he wasn't driving, associating the separatism within society and acts as a reality of unfair treatment towards Black African-Americans within society which could be an association with the victim-shootings of Black African-Americans such as Rodney King as early as 1991 and Trayvon Martin who was killed in 2012, sparking the Black Lives Matter campaign.
When Chris goes to fist-bump Andrew he does not return the gesture in a stereotypical way that is often portrayed as a symbol of respect used by African-Americans. Instead, he shakes his hand, often associated as business-like and a more prominent gesture seen within White society.
It is soon clear that the niche friendship group of the White people wish to perform a labotamy on Chris and replace him with white people through hypnotism while he remains within a 'sunken place'. This correlates with the new derogatory identification of 'Oreos', those who "sacrifice their heritage and instead has adopted the attitudes, values and behaviours" thought to be associated with the middle class White society however, Chris does not do this willingly.
The scene of people sitting in rows playing bingo is a reference to the enslavement of African-Americans in the 1700-1800s. Those who sit and raise their cards is associated with the bidding of a slave within society to benefit White Americans whether on the fields or within the cities. In reality they are holding a modern day slave auction and Chris is who they auction for. The references to poor treatment is continued through the film with the driver wearing a metal mask which is an association to the Ku Klux Klan and their harsh treatment towards African-Americans within society.
While Chris is restrained to the chair by leather straps, in order to prevent the hypnotism from working on him he has to forcibly pick the cotton. Again this is another reference to how African-American slaves were forced to pick cotton to evade punishment and in order to survive.
As seen within the trailer, it is clear that Chris wishes to assimilate within the White society, however, the niche society of the rich people that Rose and her family associate with, they separate themselves from him and only associating themselves with him in order for gain or the more underlining reason for "profit". This horror film is clearly associated with the problems, concerns and questions that are raised with African-Americans within society in America. The sense of "two-ness" spoken of by W.E.B. DuBois of the "negro man and the American man" is seen here throughout the trailers/film.
The tag line of the film "Just because you're invited, doesn't mean you're welcome" finalises this divide. Those who are not seen as one and the same within society are not accepted within society which correlates with the arguments outlined by Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. MLK Jr. argued that 'he had a dream' that white and black people would be equal to one another (assimilation) whereas Malcolm X argued that although the "negro man" lived within American society he should not associate himself with White people, re-enforcing the ideals of separatism.
Sources:
'Get Out' Film Trailer, 2017, Peele, J., https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DzfpyUB60YY, accessed 12th March.
'Are You An Oreo?', Dixon, R., http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2009/08/are-you-an-oreo/, accessed 12th March.
Souls of Black Folk, DuBois, W.E.B., A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago (1903).
'A Message to the Grass Roots', Malcolm X, November 10, 1963.
'I Have a Dream Speech', King Jr., Martin L., 28 August 1963.
Lin-Manuel
Miranda, the son of Puerto-Rican immigrants, wrote and starred in Hamilton: An
American Musical. It is the retelling of one of the founding fathers, Alexander
Hamilton’s, life through contemporary music. The unique selling point of this
musical is the diverse cast. This Broadway musical is a key example of the assimilation
of African Americans into society.
By using the
diverse cast to portray the white founding fathers, some of whom had slaves,
Lin-Manuel Miranda is purposefully reflecting the contemporary America of
today. It may not be historically accurate to cast people of colour as the
founding fathers, but it is a good cultural representation of who America is
made up of now. It also allows people of colour and immigrants like him, to
feel included in the story of the founding of their country. He utilises rap
and R&B, pairing it with the diverse cast, by doing so, we get a feel of
how varied in terms of race New York feels in this century.
The main thread
that runs through the story of the award-winning musical is Hamilton’s desire
to prove himself worthy of his position. This runs parallel to racial attitudes
today that somehow, African Americans are inferior to whites and as such, they
have to constantly battle with that prejudice and prove themselves to the rest
of society. Miranda has done well to appropriately reflect issues of race in a
political society that struggles to even acknowledge the issue, let alone
explore it.
The legacy of this
musical is that people of colour will feel more confident in auditioning for
roles in which they would play a ‘traditionally white’ figure, leading to more
effective assimilation into society.
In his essay,
Gordon Beauchamp notes that Horatio Alger’s novels make the male youth of America
feel as they “any of them, too, could succeed in life, if, like the Alger hero,
he… were good and brave and industrious and perhaps saved a banker’s daughter
from a runaway horse.” This suggests that as well as the bravery, resourcefulness
and honesty that Ragged Dick is known for, in order to be successful one would
need to prove themselves to someone higher up in society. This is because
bravery, resourcefulness and honesty is not enough to get people to believe in
and trust you. The boys would need to get on the good side of a respectable gentlemen,
like a banker as Beauchamp writes. This is evident in ‘Ragged Dick’ when Dick
is trying to get change for the gentlemen he shined shoes for. The man behind
the counter insisted he had given him a counterfeit bill. Dick would not have
been believed by the manager had the man he shined shoes for not come in to
back him up. Dick had to prove his honesty by having a sponsor who could vouch
for him.
Cara Erdheim talks
of how “Alger traced the rise of his boy heroes from penury to middle-class
respectability.” This is particularly persuasive in that we can see from Ragged
Dick that this is the route that his plot took. When we first meet Ragged Dick
he is on the streets living in a box and spending the money he does earn on
gambling and leisure activities, only just having enough for food. Throughout history,
gambling has always been linked with poverty in a desperate attempt to build on
what has been earned. Over the course of the novel, Alger allows Dick to see
that saving and sensible living is a better way to live and build on what is earnt, this results in Ragged Dick referring to him at the end as Richard
Hunter, Esq., a much more respectable name for a boy with a secure job and a
lot in his savings.
John Swansburg
questions in his article, “is it more like a mass delusion keeping us from
confronting the fact that poor Americans tend to remain poor Americans,
regardless of how hard they work?” This is an interesting question, but
unpersuasive in terms of Ragged Dick. By living sensibly, working hard and
trusting the right people, Dick builds up some savings and by the end of the
novel is no longer poor. What Alger is suggesting in his ‘rags to riches’
novels is that you can better your position in society if you are determined
enough and work hard enough to earn it. That is the entire premise of the
American Dream. However, this doesn’t mean that there haven’t been people who
were unsuccessful in bettering their position. Alger is merely proving that it
is a possibility to achieve.
In reference to the idea of the American
Dream and social/economic mobility, Gorman says, “Whether or not this myth is as
uniquely American as sometimes claimed, it is nevertheless quintessentially American”.
This notion is certainly portrayed in Ragged Dick with the most obvious case
being that Ragged Dick is a story of individual social mobility which is set in
America. This is also suggested with Dick’s personality and character. He is
set-up to be filled with rugged American ideals of personality traits and
character image. He is an honest, generous and industrious. He is also good
looking and somewhat aristocratic. This suggests an idea strong American
ideology of what a person should be like no matter of their working background
of economic/social status. This ideology is set throughout the book too with
generosity from others being shown such as when Frank gives Dick a new suit to
replace his rags. Also the setting is uniquely American for the time as New
York is a place that features varying levels of social status although they are
somewhat more fluid than in other cultures. Dick is working his way through a
place that Alger notes the buildings as being ‘palaces for kings and queens’.
The fact that in this story a blue collar worker can rise to a higher social
status in New York gives a strong sense of this being unique to America.
Cara Erdheim
Cara Erdheim’s article on ‘Why speak of American stories as
dreams?’ again makes a particularly academic and interesting argument for a
cyclical nature to the ideology of the American dream which is argued via
culturally important American literature. We see this in Ragged Dick with the
notion of being ‘pulled up by the bootstraps’ for status and social mobility.
This is interesting as the idea of American Dream ‘rags to riches’ is just
that. Riches. We always associate the American Dream with economic mobility
however Erdheim is insinuating that this is more of a bi-product. This is
certainly true in the case of Ragged Dick. The idea of ‘rebirth’ suggests
something more to do with consciousness and aspiration from within, rather than
the American Dream being a ‘must-do’ patriotic ideology as a general sense of
American identity. Of course, this somewhat contradicts Beauchamp’s idea that
the American thing is much more focused to just America and that this idea is
somewhat cemented into the aspiration of Americans to succeed and be wealthy.
It is this distinction of a cyclical nature that delves deeper into something
more from within rather than an external cultural impression that Americans are
surrounded by.
John Swansberg
“In the 19th century, the self-made man had an evil twin: the
confidence man. Americans had to be on guard against those who sought to enrich
themselves by preying upon the gullibility and greed of others.” Swansberg
opens his analysis of Alger: The Bard of the Street Boys with a distinction
which he begins to deconstruct. The distinction he makes is between
hard-workers and the deceitful and sly. He says that Horatio Alger was ‘not a
confidence man but a man who reinvented himself to leave behind a sordid past’.
This quote backs up my previous point on Erdheim’s article that this American
Dream social mobility that occurs in Ragged Dick is something less to do with
American identity and more to do with individual development and consciousness.
Dick is a shoe shiner in rags wanting to better himself for himself, of course,
eventually becoming Richard Hunter, Esquire.
Gorman Beauchamp,
'Ragged Dick and the Fate of Respectability'
This article by Gormon
Beauchamp talks about the formulaic way in which Alger wrote the novels in the
Ragged Dick series, changing little things plot wise because they worked and it
is what people wanted to read. I agree with the statement that his books were
written with a strict set of guidelines and this is shown in the article when
Beauchamp states that ‘at least a dozen Alger novels are not by Alger’ because
after his death it was easy for his publisher to hire ghost writers to follow
the same rules and reproduce similar stories. There is evidence to this formula
as only two of Alger’s novels actually had a female protagonist. This is most
likely because Alger’s main audience was young boys who could associate
themselves with the characters in the novels and hopefully follow the same rags
to riches lives of Alger’s protagonists.
John Swansburg, 'The
Self-Made Man'
In this article by John
Swansburg he talks about ‘self-made men’ like the boys in Alger’s novels such
as ragged dick. He starts by talking about Benjamin Franklin who went from
being poor and under harsh care by his brother to being one of the most famous
scientists in the world.
In Franklins Autobiography,
he talks about his life and it is shown that he, like the boys in Alger’s
novels pulled himself up by his bootstraps from being penniless in Philadelphia.
It is not as clear cut as just being able to help yourself though, as in
Franklins life he already had knowledge of how printing worked which helped him
get off the streets and was a large stepping stone in his life. This is
similarly shown in Ragged Dick where external factors are shown to help the
protagonist as well as him helping himself. Examples of this in the novel are
when he gets a job as a Clerk because he saves a drowning boy. Were it not for
the man offering him the job in his office he would have not been able to get
such a respectable job.
Cara Erdheim, 'Why Speak
of American Stories as Dreams'
Cara Erdheim’s article
talks about shifting attitudes in the ‘American Dream’. This is shown in Ragged
Dick through Dick’s aspiration in the novel to better himself to get better
paying and more respectable jobs in order to escape his ‘old vagabond life’
which he subsequently does at the end of the novel. It is not clear whether
Dick will keep on striving to be more and more successful or stay at the office
as a clerk which raises questions but this open-endedness helps illustrate the
point of Erdheim that the ‘American dream’ has shifting trends and is subjective.
The typical “rags to riches” storyline outlined by
Horatio Alger in his many novels, specifically Ragged Dick, has led to
speculations as to the authenticity of the reality of the ‘rags to riches’ within
modern society.
John Swansburg speaks of this authenticity of an
individual becoming successful within “Horatio Alger: The Bard of the Street
Boys” in ‘The Self-Made Man’. Swansburg’s argument that Ragged Dick’s ‘attributes merely qualify the
Alger hero for success; they don’t produce it’. Therefore, the whole ‘rags to
riches’ of an individual succeeding is not so straight-forward. In order for
the individual to become successful, he must be recognised for his personal
traits and characteristics in order to become something of himself. This is
seen clearly within Ragged Dick Chapter Three, with the counterfeit bill.
Ragged Dick’s honesty as to whether the bill was counterfeit or not was not
sufficient evidence for the store owner and therefore must seek external help
from a man who was more successful than he was, which reinstates Swansburg’s
argument that Dick has qualities that qualify for success but that it does not
necessarily produce success itself.
In addition to this,
Gorman Beauchamp voices their view on the subject but is unsuccessfully
persuasive. Beauchamp argues that with the success of literature of Alger’s
novels, ‘in the last decade of
the nineteenth and the first decade of the twentieth century a vast proportion
of America's youth, it appears, were buying, borrowing and swapping’ such
novels between themselves’. However, in comparison to Horatio Alger’s
characters within ‘Ragged Dick’ it is argued that being literate was only for
those who were educated. In Chapter Twenty, Alger writes about how Dick’s ‘street
education was sharp’ whereas his tangible literate skills were improving
suggesting that there are two meanings behind being literate within society. By
being literate translates to being respected by others and being successful and
having a sufficient financial income whereas ‘street education’ was about
having an understanding about how the lifestyle of the poor was and how to
evade certain situations led to being respected within a niche circle.
To conclude, Horatio
Alger’s ‘Ragged Dick’ does meet to the arguments defined by Swansburg, Erheim
but argues the authenticity of Beauchamp’s argument as to how successful Alger’s
novels were among American youth culture therefore, Beauchamp does not provide
a persuasive argument as to overall lifestyle and culture within America and
the ideals surrounding the American Dream itself.
Sources:
Alger Jr., H., Ragged Dick, (New York, W. W. Norton
& Company Inc., 2007).
Beauchamp, G., 'Ragged
Dick and the Fate of Respectability',
