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Permalink Reply by Dera R Williams on September 27, 2011 at 11:47pm

 

In Answer to Charles Johnson

 

I find this interesting considering Johnson won the National Book Award for The Middle Passage, which was the definitive book about transport of Africans to America and slavery. I highly respect him and he makes some excellence points and they should be noted, however, I don't belief in throwing out the baby with the bath water. This essay leaves me saddened, saddened for all the stories that will not be told because some great writers will decide this is true.

 

I don't entirely disagree with him but I do not agree that the stories of the past-- slavery and the civil rights era have lost their place or that they should if not eliminated, but not so prominent in literature. On the contrary, as one who studies genealogy and history and who believes in one knowing their history (I always hear the voice of my  sisterfriend, Cynthia playing in my head when someone brings up a topic about race that is misconstrued- "People need to know their history" and find myself echoing this. On that note, if I am reading it right Johnson contradicts himself, when he says there is a false belief that blacks have it better that racism ceases to exist because of President Obama and the success of Oprah Winfrey, yet notes there is still a disconnect about race in this country.

 

 I still say the stories of the past need to be told; they have not lost their value, or their appeal. Yes, it makes a lot of us uncomfortable and weary, black, white, red, yellow and purple. If I felt there is not value in these kinds of stories, I would not spend all the time, sweat and hard work I have put into my novel-in-progress. If I did not feel this story was worth telling, a story set in the south in the 50s and 60s, culminating in the momentous year, 1963; if I felt that readers would not be uplifted or feel pride and the hope in their ancestors; that there are millions of young black Americans who do not know these stories because it is thought to be "passé"; if I thought the pain and humiliation of slavery and Jim Crow  and did not believe these things should never be forgotten, and in fact be kept before us and to learn from; if I thought the great migration of which Richard Wright, Langston Hughes, and Zora Neale Hurston write so eloquently about and  of recent Isabel Wilkerson has expounded upon and brought to the attention of the world was just a lark and a vehicle in which to base a career on the hardships of black folk, then I might as well just stop now, throw out years of research and writing, revisions,  and drafts so that this story will not be told in honor of my ancestors. Just shred every bit of paper and delete every file because it is time to tell a new story. But the fact remains, the history of black people including the horrifying effects of slavery, the grief and devastation of Jim Crow and the triumphs, strides and successes of civil rights and equality are the stories of which this country is built.

 

Permalink Reply by Totsymae on October 1, 2011 at 12:20am

I whole-heartedly agree with you, Dera. Based on where we are now and Johnson's reference to  King's statement of  judging us on the content of our character and not our color, is somewhat a misnomer. You might even say that it's a myth that assimilation has the potential to eradicate the color barrier and I dare say that King's words are misconstrued in how Johnson references it in relation to his essay. Looking at where we are today in race matters, at no time have I understood that we would we would ultimately end up in a colorless society. While it's ideal and can occur in a perfect world, America is so far from that. Johnson's essay somewhat points a finger at writers for crafting narratives he wants to stir us away from. Yet, what happens when a writer of non-African descent tells the stories of us? He doesn't answer who is better fit to relate these stories to our children should we move in new direction he prefers. Do we leave it to the Kathryn Stocketts and movie producers to portray us as marginal and minimize the emotions of our grandparents and simply forget and move on to speak more along the lines of class? What makes us so inclined to want that? He leaves a lot of unanswered questions and his direction is along the lines of serving the bourgeoisie.

Permalink Reply by Dera R Williams on October 1, 2011 at 4:08am

Exacly! I don't dare tell a writer what he or she can or cannot or should or should not write. But as long as others think they can relay the stories of my ancestors, then I need to be right there to tell my story, and if necessary refute or support what they have written. I honestly don't know what Johnson wants. He told his story with The Middle Passage. Was that supposed to be it? Sometimes scholars sit down and think up stuff just so they can have a platform to hear themselves pontificate, I'm going to assume he got out of the wrong side of the bed or there is some underlying issue going on.

Permalink Reply by sara selznick on November 5, 2011 at 5:41am

Okay, as the token Jew here, I bet I can give perspective. Like, okay, get over the Holocaust already. like, I should never write about the Inquisition either. like what's the point? It's already been done.
Well, Sarah's Key, for all it's faults, is sticking France's nose in its collective racist memory. The Invisible Bridge is letting people know about the experience of Hungarian Jews in the Holocaust. New research, new information from the fall of the Iron Curtain, new insight into those who were not previously considered survivors (those who fled to Shanghai, those who managed to get to Russia and survived Stalin's labor camps, those who were hidden), all these justify new works.

How many of us are wading through the newly released j. Edgar files on the Black Panthers? Etc etc etc

But you know, in the end, six million died in the Holocaust and uncounted more had they're lives upended by it, and each one of those is a story, a real story, that like all such stories, deserves to be told. Sometimes, the story comes from an outside source, a non-Jew, like Sarah's Key or a white person, like Sarah Peretsky's gut-wrenching "Hardball" shining new light on 60's gang members in Chicago and the complicity of church, cops and state (church of both colors) in vilifying and demonizing th Panthers, as well as breaking up efforts by Black gangs to help their inner-city communities. Nobody, but nobody has the right to tell you, or me, or any of us that our story is passé. It is our story that we are called to tell, and the world will be far richer for us doing the work of telling it. Yes, blind fools will put out blind books that misrepresent us. We can call them out in reviews and on the record, call out their errors.

But to say that an area of history--of Our Stories-- is passé is just another way of trying to silence us. Do not heed it. Write what you are called to write. Your stories have power. We need them.



Sara selznick

Permalink Reply by RYCJ on September 29, 2011 at 7:27pm

This was a lot of article, though I believe I can keep my thoughts relatively concise... holding to the belief that literature is influenced by the soul of the writer, not the other way around. It's not 'something' to toy around with and direct. That's the long and the short of it.

That said, I'm with you Dera, and don't dare shred a thing; though I'm sure you won't. While I too empathize with where the article was going, of all the lit I've come across, the most powerful are those written by writers writing on matters that affect/ed them deeply. The thought of wanting to alter (or redefine?) this process is offensive, and not necessarily only to writers, but to the arts, to the breadth of what my experience with literature is.

Now what can be shaped, and that's social programs, our education systems, churches, our leadership, parenting, and entities of that nature. Those are the constituents that have the power to influence people (for the better is the hope), so that then writers will be inspired to write on those matters which they feel, hear, and see. From my view, it does not work the other way around. 

Permalink Reply by Dera R Williams on October 1, 2011 at 4:13am

" The thought of wanting to alter (or redefine?) this process is offensive, and not necessarily only to writers, but to the arts, to the breadth of what my experience with literature is."

 

This was right on. It is offensive that our lives which is part of the historical fabric of the buildfing of this nation should be summarily dismissed because it has already been told. Our culture runs the gamut as you say to the Arts, Sociology, History and so much more.

Permalink Reply by RYCJ on September 29, 2011 at 7:42pm

...and I do include the non-fiction pieces. Just take Obama's presidency, and this one writer I just read who cited how he traveled to Washington to 'Witness History', despite following up his travels to capture the moment by including a disparaging remark because he didn't understand what the phrase meant (to him...in 2008).

Permalink Reply by Totsymae on September 30, 2011 at 3:06pm

This article strikes an interest for me because it is one in a long line of discussions among African Americans or otherwise, where one continuously views writing or telling the story of the black experience  in America as a dilemma or obstacle to progressive thinking. No other race of people speak along these lines but African American people and interestingly enough, these type of conversations are primarily initiated by black scholars.

 

I agree with some points in the article but race and gender were not born of the first slaves arriving in America in 1619, but its systemic use of exploitation, not only of African Americans, but of any nation of color, perpetuates dialogue that ultimately unfolds in the form of literature. As part of building a country, as America, relied so heavily upon the labors of African people, it's very disturbing that we should want to erase what is innately a part of who and what we are. We cannot erase that from our history and speech no more than we can our skin color and changing the narrative to fit contemporary times won't necessarily make us more fittingly appropriate or acceptable in certain circles. I think we should tell our history as we experience it and a part of what we live is through our parents' stories, who may or may not be "victims" of race and culture. Whatever that story is, we should not minimize it to fit Johnson's narrow directive for translating our stories.

Permalink Reply by Dera R Williams on October 1, 2011 at 3:28am

Excellent. Very well stated. Why should our history be obliterated when other ethnicities or cultures make sure their histories are not forgotten.

Permalink Reply by Totsymae on October 1, 2011 at 8:06pm

Yes, the Jewish community will never have this conversation. In remembering, we can use our history to empower us. If the story so happens to start as Johnson reflects, then it would be our job as storyteller to craft that history to shape the story. Jews will never forget, so why should we?

Permalink Reply by sara selznick on November 5, 2011 at 9:11am

The Jewish community is constantly told that we are "milking" the Holocaust, or commercializing it, and that it's time to shut up and move on. But those stories percolate through the generations. New perspectives come up or new research comes to light or the story we just learned triggers something we must say. That is history.

Shoud we collectively ignore the founding fathers because theyve all been "done" to death? Should we stop producing Shakespeare? no. We should write our stories. We know the stories we need to write. Write your stories, even if they are grim, or wholesome with intact families, or echo something of Nella Larsen or James Baldwin. Heck, write MLK in sci fi. Please. The world needs your stories. I count on you to give them to us. Please.

Sara Selznick

Permalink Reply by Zetta Brown on October 1, 2011 at 3:10am

I can understand what Johnson is trying to say. I'm not mad. It had to be said. While I don't think anyone should ignore or dismiss the events of the past, we cannot allow ourselves to be stuck in the past. It’s called “progress”...not to be confused with “perfection.” The world is far from perfect but there’s been a hell of a lot of change in the last 111 years and that cannot be denied.

 

How many of us ever thought we'd live to see a black/bi-racial US president? I know I didn't so I'm happy that 2 of my 4 grandparents, who lived through Jim Crow and the civil rights movement, were alive to see it happen.

 

And I can REALLY understand the lesson to be learned from the Kelley-Hawkins situation. The book I read that prompted me to write the blog post "Can't black folks be happy" stemmed from reading a book that I thought was written by a black man (I had received a galley copy to review) but turns out to be written by a white man. It occurred to me that, despite the author’s personal experience, do people only see blacks as sharing a similar fate?

 

I’m not going to go into a long dissertation about what I think—I’ll save that for my mythical blog LOL!—but I do wish for more stories—correction, more well-written stories that portray black people in a more positive light. We are not all gloom and doom and baby mamas and pimps and hos and welfare cases and hip-hop stars. We're also not a bunch of Step 'n Fetch Its or comic relief stock characters.

 

One thing that pissed me off years ago was how some people—white AND black—criticised The Cosby Show for being “unrealistic.” As if a black family would have a doctor and a lawyer at all...let alone in the same family. As if a black family could be middle/upper-middle class. As if a black family could have both parents live together and love each other and raise their children. As if.

 

That attitude still pisses me off. Why? Because it makes ME look like a freak just because my parents were married for 25 years until my mom’s death and loved and raised two kids who went to college and would eventually go on to have successful careers and raise families of their own without going to jail or raising multiple kids by multiple fathers and living on welfare. Why should I feel “guilty” for having a relatively “normal” upbringing that, if I were white, people wouldn’t think twice about?

 

Personally, I have about 5 projects that will hopefully see the light of day in the next 12 months or so that touch on themes about race and identity and not all of them stem from lessons learned by our ancestors.

 

I guess what I’m trying to say is that there should be room for all types of stories that relate to or touch on the black experience without feeling that we need to keep drawing from the same well...at least not all the time. All of us have different stories to tell—not the same story.

 

 

 

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