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klhportfolio2022 · 2 years

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REVISION 3: NEW PAPER

CHARACTERS

HER, a very beautiful, young Black female writer. HER is Howard educated and it comes with a little snooty-ness but she’s cool people still. HER has been writing for HER’s whole life and HER’s work is finally starting to pick up momentum

HIM, a young Black man. Sweet and kind and loves HER with all HIM’s heart. He’ll do anything for HER. With a goofy, lanky build his limbs often seem like an obstacle to movement rather than an aid.

THEM, a gaggle of no good losers who have no idea what they’re talking about. Various sizes, but all white (see above for actual photo of THEM)

SETTING

1950’s New York City

Act One

Scene 1

Inside a large conference room. In it is a large table and oversized chairs. Those chairs are filled with THEM. Standing before THEM is HER, dressed in HER’s sunday’s best. HER is speaking.

HER

Each character is a real person. They’re based on interviews of people from all across New York. Black folks who all got a story to tell

HER is interrupted at “Black”. THEM begin to shriek and snicker. HER stands there, face turning red. The fattest of THEM, sitting in the center, speaks. Spit leaving his mouth everytime he talks and his eyes doing something very weird and very nasty.

THEM

Look here….hun.. It's cute. I mean I don’t believe it but it's cute. Bottom line babe, You won’t get it published here. Our audience you see they’re looking for……polish… They want a story to care about and they won’t care about this. Maybe you’ll have better luck with a more uuurbAn publisher, sweetheart. You have a good day.

THEM laugh collectively. THEM collects THEM’s things and scurry out of the room leaving HER all alone. HER stands for a moment in disappointed shock and then grabs HER’s things and races off stage.

The stage goes black.

Scene 2

Outside in front of a large building on a busy city street. It is loud

HIM is standing on the corner, he looks at the door to the large building anxiously. After a few moments HER comes out of the building. HER is walking quickly towards him as if she were to pass HIM. HIM catches up but not before tripping over himself.

HIM

Well…what did they say? How did it go? Did they love it? Did you love it? Tell me, tell me! I been waiting out here, ya boy is quite the catch everyones been hollerin at m-

HER

Lets just go

HIM

That bad, huh?

HER shakes her head in response and continues to walk quickly across the stage. HIM struggles to keep up. HIM chases behind HER off the stage. Stage goes black.

Curtain rises, to reveal a small home, barely furnished. HIM and HER enter stage left. HER is taking off her jacket still visibly upset.

HIM

You’ve gotta tell me! The silence is killing me. What did they say about your story?

HIM is met with silence

Oh so you’re gunna make this hard…ok..

HIM slinks towards HER. HIM starts to do a silly dance around her and sing “I’ve Got A Woman” by Ray Charles.

Welllllllll I got a woman! Way over town

Dancing intensifies, HIM kisses HER

That's good to me, oh yeah

SAIIIIDDDD, I got a woman, way over town

Good to me, oh yeah

The dance reaches its peak and HER is now laughing.

I know how to get you, so tell me….what happened?

HER takes a breath.

HER

It wasn’t good, it was real bad and I should have known! I should have known. I should have known those white publishers wouldn’t print me. ME!? I went to Howard! THEE Illustrious! Still isn’t good enough. I knew better, how could I be so stupid.

HIM

Okay but tell me what happened

HER plops down on the small couch at center stage. She begins her lament

HER

Oh I’ll tell you what happened. I walked in there with the best story they’ll ever see. “Extra Ordinary: The life of Black folk”. You’ve read it a thousand times. It's real and it's raw and it tells the stories of so many. You know how hard I worked to write it. You know how much I put into this project. All the long nights of interviewing, editing. It's better than anything I’ve ever created. They just don’t want to see it. They don’t want to know about us. They don’t got no interest in our lives.

HIM moves from where he is standing to sit on the same couch. HER stands

You see they think we’re easy, nothing complex about us. They think “oh its just another story about negros being negros, they couldn’t possibly have nothing to say. You should have seen the way that publisher man looked at me with those nasty beady eyes! He spoke for all white folks when he told me, looked me in my face and told me “we just don’t care” I mean can you believe that! I knew, I knew then he didn’t even see me as human. He told me no one will read it. No one could possibly enjoy a story that makes us even slightly SLIGHTLY equal to the white man. Our stories should be about work and struggle. He didn’t even let me finish the pitch. Him and his team of suits shut me up right in the middle. In the middle! And he was calling me all these weird names hun, sweetheart like boy! Just creepy and nasty and mean. Then they had the nerve to tell me to “Have a good day”. Have a good day? How can I?

HIM

Oh man, I'm sorry. Awful sorry. They don’t deserve a story half as good as yours. I sure am proud of you and I would read it, I'm sure a lot of people would.

HER

You don’t understand. He’s right. No one will read it. Ain’t no white man interested in the lives of us. And I can’t blame em. Their whole life they've been told that our stories don’t matter. Hell, we don't matter! To them we’re just some unassuming background noise. We’re just static on a TV.

HER grabs her draft of her book off a nearby table and sighs. HIM listens and watches intently. HIM pauses for a bit then starts.

HIM

Oh we can’t let that stop you! We can’t just give up. There's a publisher out there that’ll print it. We just gotta find them. We just have to keep trying.

HER

Keep trying? Oh what's the point! Did you not just hear anything I said! They won’t publish it, no one will. It's dead.

HIM walks over to HER and grabs HER’s hand. HIM leads HER to the table and they both sit.

HIM

Listen. These are the stories they need. These are the stories they’re going to get. It's brilliant. Each story represents so much more than just one person. All we have to do is get people to look, to read it. What these people need is a wake up call. We ain’t all that different! We are just like them. We hurt, we laugh, we go through stuff and we can do stuff just like them. Your stories will show the world to see us. See us as whole and human and maybe just maybe changes the minds of all those bigots who think we aint nothing. All we have to do is get them to read it. Your stories will help our people everywhere all over the country.

HER

How? Without a publisher the stories won’t leave the neighborhood much less make it around the country.

HIM

We’ll publish it ourselves! We can do it. We’ll get some friends to come o…

HER

…are you out your mind? You must be out your mind. I don’t even want to talk about this anymore.

HIM

No, I'm serious! Let's make copies of your book and leave it in all the places white folks like to go.

HER

They’ll see the title and throw it down.

HIM

So we change the title! The goal here is to get them to read it so what if we’ve gotta bait them a little.

HIM jumps up from the table and runs to grab a box from under the bed. The box is filled with papers and pencils

So in your story, each chapter is a different person right?

HER doesnt respond. HER is completely uninterested in HIM’s shenanigans

Hey, work with me here! I'm telling you we can do this! We can get your story read.

HER sighs reluctantly and nods her head

Alright so here’s what we’ll do. We will take the whole book apart and we’ll write each one like a magazine article, like an interview

HER

You want to take apart the whole book! You know how hard I worked on that thing! We aren’t doing that no way. I write books, not magazine articles.

HIM

Yeah and no ones reading those books

HER playfully punches HIM on the arm. They share a brief laugh.

HER

Really I appreciate you trying to help but this won’t work. The publishers were right. As soon as white folks see that these stories aren’t about white folks they’ll put it down.

HIM

Well then let's not tell them

HER looks at HIM as if HIM just called HER’s mom fat. HIM knows he is on thin ice.

Of course we’ll tell them. But not until the end? We’ll do our best to detail their life without color. Staying true to the original story and then at the end we’ll break it to them. We’ll tell them their new favorite character is actually a Black lady. They'll be forced to face it.

HER sits silently for a moment. HER fiddles with the draft in front of her. Silence swallows up the stage. HIM watches HER with a hopeful eye. After a while, HER responds

HER

I want people to read it.

HIM

Yeaaah…

HER

I want people to be interested in our stories.

HIM

Uh huhhhhhh

HER

And I know white publishers won’t print it

HIM

Exactly

HER

So I’m willing to try it

HIM

Yes!

HIM jumps on top of the table and starts to do a victory dance. HIM is singing a song, clapping and dancing. HIM tries to get HER to dance. HER denies the request. HIM continues HIM’s silly dance and HER eventually jumps in. They sing and dance and share an embrace.

POSTSCRIPT

HIM and HER get straight to work. For weeks they throw writing parties. They invite friends over and copy HER’s stories onto single sheets all night. There were a few hiccups, but nothing the two couldn’t overcome together.

When the stories were finally written they did the real work. They spent a whole week tucking HER’s writing in coffee shops and bookstores and newspaper stands all around town, white and Black areas.

The excitement and bussle of preparation slows down in the following weeks. 2 months later while HIM and HER are walking to the laundromat they grab a newspaper. HIM is casually reading, his eyes grow wider and wider as he hones in on one specific article, It's about HER’s stories! The local paper caught wind of them and fell in love with them. The responses from the public were mixed, of course, but the paper called it “brilliant” “The next Hurston '' they said. They sang praises to the distribution method, something HIM was sure to tell everyone he came up with.

HIM and HER go to the newspaper headquarters together so HER can get the recognition HER deserves. The paper is ready to discuss HER next work but this time with Blackness on full display. They’re invited to a luncheon to celebrate young writers. Can you guess who was there? yup. THEM. THEM tried to talk to HER, get HER to publish HER next project with THEM. HER, in all her beauty and grace turns to THEM and simply says:

“Have a good day, sweetheart.”

END

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klhportfolio2022 · 2 years

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REVISION 3: ORIGINAL PAPER

Zora Neale Hurston’s “ What White Publishers Won’t Print” is a dive into why there is such a lack of interest around the stories of black folk and other historically marginalized peoples. She starts discussing how the lack of supply, stories about Black people, comes from an absolute lack of demand. It is difficult for white people to discuss or be interested in the lives of Black people because it is difficult for them to fathom that our stories can be worthwhile. That our stories can be just as full of life and love and complexity as theirs. To them, we are simply unassuming background noise. Hurston gives examples of times where giving them any autonomy or power to be more than their dangerous stereotype was rejected, laughed at. It was more unbelievable than anything in the world. She is then kind to publishers and promoters for not telling more Black stories. She places the blame on the consumer and excuses the publisher by saying their job is to make money and there is not money to be made off the life of a Negro unless its related to labor .

Hurston moves on to discuss why it is that our lives are believed to be so unimportant. She cites that the difference between white and Black people goes beyond a difference in skin color or national origin but the essence of being human, to feel to act as one's own administrator. But it is important to dispel this and to see Black people as human with all of the same functionality of the white folk.

When our stories are told, Hurston says they are riddled with interrogation and examination of ability, and then eventually defeated. We also regularly return to the stereotypical ways that were forced upon us by western culture when we are written. Ridiculous and nonsensical notions such as these or dangerously believed. Believed by minds who remain unchanged even when there is no fact or basis to the arguments.

To wrap up, Hurston shines a light on new stories that are making headway in the breaking down of these unfounded beliefs about the lives of Black people. She says knowledge of your average Black person is key to changing the tide. It is what will devastate the negative narrative and to discover this knowledge won't cause any upraor. She concludes the piece by highlighting that beyond racial attitudes, these types of stories are essential to art as we know it as life imitates it.

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klhportfolio2022 · 2 years

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REVISION 2: NEW PAPER

Note: this was not a revision

The curtains raise. A single light glitters towards center stage. A young woman appears exquisitely hugged by a tight fitting dress. Three red velvet loungers are placed on stage and her body lays draped like silk across one of them. Soft hums from an eager orchestra echo through the theater. The woman joins them, releasing a sultry low prowl like a hungry kitten. She crawls across each of the three chaise chairs. The song begins:

“Traffic has been known to stop for me, prices even rise and drop for me, Harry S Truman plays a bop for me”

She moves to the edge of the stage turning her head to the audience and raises her hands to reveal a cat-like paw shape as if to pounce into a besotted crowd of showgoers. Her sound, her presence lingers throughout the theater. Her song finishes and a faux faint is her finale.

The crowd is in uproar. Intoxicated by the performance, the theater erupts with cheers and applause.

This sensational performance in the Broadway revue New Face of 1952 sent that beautifully talented young woman into stardom. That young woman was Eartha Kitt. For her role in this show she won critical reviews. While her brilliance on stage was unmatched, it wasn’t often that she received the acclaim she deserved. Her life was plagued with hardship and strife, not unusual for a woman of her kind. She searched her whole life for love and acceptance only to find there were very few places for an outspoken, adept, and sexually liberated Black woman in the United States to be themselves and be in the spotlight. It's not easy to be Black and a woman and Kitt found out quickly that no amount of praise from an audience would cease the racist and sexist attacks on her career and personal life. But Eartha Kit’s story isn’t one all about tragedy. It’s a comeback story to inspire any young Black woman to continue doing what they love, to avoid being the quiet Black girl just so they won’t eventually be seen as the angry Black woman, to be unapologetically them.

Eartha Kit, otherwise endearingly known as Mother Eartha and Kitty, was born in a small town in South Carolina in 1927 as Eartha Mae Keith. Her mother was abusive and her father was unknown to her. During her childhood she lived in extreme poverty, was forced to work picking cotton, and faced constant violence from her family who couldn’t stomach being connected to a mixed race child. There is a lot of confusion around Kitt’s childhood. She was an unwanted child and she grew up not knowing her birthday or her siblings not finding these out until young adulthood. Kitt’s mother, Anna, sent her away to live with family and after a little bouncing around she eventually found her way to Harlem, New York to live with an aunt in 1936.

In the 1930’s Harlem was vibrant with Black talent. Black writers, artists and musicians burst onto the scene showcasing a brilliance unseen. The works produced during the Harlem renaissance by Hurston, Ellington, Robeson, and others ushered in a new wave of Black activism powered by creativity through media and literature. Harlem is where it was at. Harlem was where Eartha Kitt needed to be. There, Kitt finally came into contact with leading Black entertainers. She finds herself successfully auditioning for the Katherine Dunham Company, the first African American modern dance troupe. Here Kitt becomes a highly skilled, classically trained dancer and she learns French, her fourth language. Her promise as a dancer was evident. Yet still, Kitt was ridiculed by other dancers and troupe leadership who told her she’d never make it as a serious dancer because she was “ugly” and had “too much excess baggage,“ a swipe at Kitt’s full figure. It never stopped Kitt from pushing forward and she found quick success as a company dancer-which, in turn, enabled her to travel the world and break into film, television and music.

Kitt performed for sold-out crowds throughout the United States and abroad. She eventually left the dance troupe to try her hand as a solo singer. Her debut performance at a French nightclub was hailed by critics as "the most exciting thing that has happened in Paris in 25 years". She became a regular component on the city's club scene, but in 1951, at 24 years old, returned to the US, looking to duplicate her success at home.

"I wanted to prove to all those who had abused and rejected me that I had talent."

She goes on to record hit records "Santa Baby" and "C'est Si Bon" ("It's So Good"), and became the first Black Catwoman in the '60s TV series Batman. She appeared in the 1958 movie St Louis Blues alongside Nat King Cole.

Eartha Kitt did her best to keep her private life separate from her public life. She never knew the identity of her father and it affected her deeply. Much of her later life was dedicated to searching for him to no avail. Kitt loved romance and had plenty of high-profile love interests throughout her lifetime: Charles Revlon, founder of Revlon cosmetics; Arthur Loew Jr, a film industry bigwig; and Porfirio Rubirosa, a Dominican Diplomat. In 1960 Kitt settled down and married businessman John William McDonald. The couple had a daughter, Kitt, in 1961 and were divorce in 1964. The birth of Kitt’s daughter was a dream come true and she considered it her greatest accomplishment. Eartha Kitt took her daughter everywhere she went, serving as her constant companion. Kitt and Eartha’s relationship made up for the lack of love and instability she had experienced as a child. What Eartha Kitt couldn’t get as a child, she gave as a parent.

Kitt was receiving all the love she ever wanted but still something wasn’t right. There are inherent challenges that come with being a successful Black woman in show business, or any industry for that matter. Despite her legitimacy as an artist, she found herself being treated like a fun novelty, not someone to be taken seriously. While performing abroad and in the United States she had to endure racist attacks often from men who couldn’t have her and jealous women who’s husbands eyes wandered towards the star. This pain coupled with the unhealed wounds from her childhood cause a deep internal conflict. She loved Eartha Kitt, the glamor and lights and fans was a dream come true however, when she got behind closed doors she became Eartha Mae, a timid woman, fearful that no one wanted her and the success Eartha Kitt had, was not hers. Her success is proof that she pushed through these challenges. Her work inspired greats like Diana Ross and Madonna and she practically shaped the modern cabaret scene. She was deserving of the acclaim she had, she just needed time to see it.

Eartha Kitt wasn’t just a performer, she also had a lengthy career in activism. Her memories of childhood made her an outspoken campaigner against injustice. She established the Kittsville Youth Foundation, a non-profit organization for youth in Watts, Los Angeles. In Anacostia in Washington, D.C she was involved with "Rebels with a Cause" supporting the groups' efforts to clean up streets and establish recreation areas by testifying on their behalf to secure funding. She raised money for Black schools in South Africa, played benefit shows for HIV/AIDS groups. Kitt later became an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. She was a member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. She never did consider herself a political person, but her fame came at a highly political time.

Because of her rising success and activism, Kitt was invited to many high-profile events. In 1968 Kitt was invited to the White House under the Lyndon B Johnson administration for the “Women Doers Luncheon” hosted by First Lady Johnson. The topic of interest was juvenile delinquency. 50 women attended, 46 of whom were white. It is noted that the First Lady ignored Kitt’s presence for a large part of the luncheon, encouraging her to “wait her turn”. Finally, when she was asked directly about the Vietnam war, her response linked race and social issues in the United States to the war.

“You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed. No wonder the kids rebel

and take pot. The children of America are not rebelling for no reason…There are so many

things burning the people of this country, particularly mothers. They feel they are going

to raise sons…and you have children of your own, Mrs. Johnson – we raise children and

send them to war.”

This “woman doer” did a little too much. The next day the media reported that her remarks reportedly caused the First Lady to burst into tears. Even though this was found to be false, just the inkling of any white woman's tears is enough to send people into a frenzy. But this white woman happened to be the First Lady of the United States and “frenzy” doesn’t even begin to describe the reaction. Eartha Kitt couldn’t compete with the power the White House held.

Seemingly overnight Kitt lost everything she had worked so hard for. The racism, sexism and sexual objectification in the media concerning her were running rampant. The CIA branded her as "a sadistic nymphomaniac" she was called “An ill-bred lady with a great big chip on her shoulder” and President Johnson was quoted saying “I don’t want to see that woman’s face anywhere”. The media coverage was devastating to her private and public life. Friends stopped calling and engagements were canceled. A CIA dossier was published in The New York Times including comments about Kitt's sex life and family history, two things she often kept so private.

Analyzing the attack launched against Eartha Kitt after the White House incident could fill up a book. Simply put, the reason this was so explosive for Eartha Kitt was that she was a Black woman who was a little too loud. It was an honor to be invited to the White House and so Kitt should be grateful. She was one of only four Black women so she should quietly serve as a credit to her race. She should never speak out of turn and she should always be polite, toning down her statements to fit the audience. She violated proper social norms for someone of her race and even someone of her gender. The media made it to seem as though by speaking out, Eartha Kitt levied a personal attack against the First Lady and the entirety of the Johnson Administration. For this there must be consequences. Following the incident, Eartha Kitt was effectively pushed out of the United States and returned to the cabaret scene in Europe and Asia.

After a successful six years abroad Kitt made her way back to the United States. She returned to the stage and her first project, Timbuktu! earned her a Tony nomination for Best Actress. She was in Broadway performances of Wizard of Oz, Cinderella, and Mimi Le Duck. Kitt broke into voice-over work appearing in the Jungle Book and the widely popular The Emperor’s New Groove. Her musical career also received revival with the recording of her first-ever gold record, the disco single "Where Is My Man" which helped her acquire an entirely new fan base and solidified her place as a gay icon and disco queen. In between recordings she made numerous television and film appearances, and received Tony, Annie, and Drama Desk nominations and awards.

Eartha Kitt died of colon cancer at 81 in her Connecticut home with her daughter by her side. Several years after her death a biography, America's Mistress: The Life and Times of Miss Eartha Kitt by John L Williams was published. Much of the book focuses on Kitt’s “mystery” and calls her a mistress of an entire country. It’s the only biography on Kitt and it has the story all wrong. Kitt wasn’t “mysterious”. She gave everyone what she was willing to, she knew who she was, and she knew what she wanted but it's the world that wouldn’t let her have it. The world can be so entitled to the stories and experiences of Black women. Everyone, her mother, lovers, and industry execs, tried to convince her she was something else and that she should fit into a box designed for Black women. The White House incident and the media aided in that. When someone constantly defines you, how can you define yourself? Her sexuality and boldness weren’t gimmicks, it was an essential part of her identity. The media coverage of Eartha Kitt after the White House incident made her sexual liberation into something she should be ridiculed and shamed for. Deliberate attacks on her sexuality and artistry completely changed how she was perceived by the media. Eartha Kitt deserved only love and praise for her contributions to the culture and yet when she needed the most help no one was there for her. She wasn’t trying to be America’s mistress, she was forced into it.

Eartha Kitt was ahead of her time. She was a style icon, actress, singer, author, activist and did each with style and grace. The chains that existed on Black women’s self-expression weighed her down and the political turmoil of her time in the US and abroad contributed to both her success and her short downfall. Kitt never stayed down long, her confidence could fill up a room. She transformed herself into a star maintaining a successful career over several decades, and she became an African American icon in the entertainment world.

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klhportfolio2022 · 2 years

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My recipe for life is not being afraid of myself, afraid of what I think or of my opinions.

Eartha Kitt

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klhportfolio2022 · 2 years

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REVISION 1: NEW PAPER

Mirrored Experiences: Connecting Similarities Between African Americans and Colonial Subjects

Since the first wave of colonialism in the 1950’s, individuals in colonies have illustrated their experiences with the violence and control inflicted on them by colonial powers. These descriptions include many similar threads despite the different countries they come from and languages they are written in. From studying the experiences of the colonized and tactics of colonizers we can find that a traditional colonial relationship is characterized by a colony who is robbed of its raw materials and then those raw materials are used to support the development of a colonial power. This relationship doesn’t exist in the African American experience and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor in “From #Black Lives Matter to Black Liberation” would agree. While I agree with Taylor that the type of economic exchange between African Americans and the United States warrants a title that is not “colonial”, based on the writings of May Ayim and Grada Kilomba, there are cultural and psychological resemblance between the African American experience and that of a colonial subject, especially colonial subjects who reside in a parent colony.

In “From #Black Lives Matter to Black Liberation,”Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor denies African Americans are a colony in their relationship to the United States based on their economic connection. Taylor does not offer an alternative definition or define the parts of colonial relationships herself which I find hurts her argument but it is still a valuable one. Taylor’s section Radical Reconstruction calls on the knowledge of Stokely Carmichael and Charles V. Hamilton. In their book Black Power they delegate Black people in America as a colony and the United States as their colonial power. Taylor agrees at this time this was a popular opinion in the 1960’s but doesn’t agree that this was a correct representation of their relationship:

“It was, however, inaccurate to describe Black Americans’ relationship to the United States as colonial, despite these obvious similarities. The profits reaped from the exploitation of Black urban dwellers were not insignificant, but neither were they the important revenue streams back to the American “metropole.” The outflow of capital from the inner city worked almost exclusively to the benefit of the layer of business owners directly involved in economically exploitative relationships with the urban ghetto, such as bankers and real-estate agents. This was not a motor of American capitalism compared to the cotton, rubber, sugar, and mineral extraction and trade that had fueled colonial empires for hundreds of years.” (Taylor, 198)

Here Taylor is identifying business owners in the 1960’s who led and widely benefited from the exploitation of Black city dwellers. This is in direct opposition with the traditional colonial relationship because the capital created by Black labor at this time was not used to further develop the United States but to line the pockets of a select few. This doesn’t mean though that Black Americans are that far separated from colonial subjects.

Before diving into the similarities between the experiences of colonial subjects globally and African Americans, it's important to note that these similarities stem from the general presences of violence and control by a larger power (oppressor) over a smaller/weaker one(oppressed). This then causes trauma extending across generations of oppressed people. Because this process exists in both colonial relationships and the relationship between African Americans and the United States it serves as something of a baseline for the two experiences. Afro-German activist, poet and writer, May Ayim, primarily focused on themes of identity, difference, community, and marginalization. She largely reflected on colonialism's effect on her and others’ experience in Germany as Afro-German women. In May Ayim’s book Blues in Black and White we find her recounting of the Afro-German experience. Ayim writes about othering in many of her writings, a form of psychological violence. Colonialists use the othering process to oppress. To best illustrate this process, think of an unwanted step child. Others are made to feel like they’re a negligible side character in someone else’s story. They’re unwanted and they don’t belong. Othering is characterized by repeated rejection, identity questioning and an inability to self define because of a more dominant, prevailing definition. It is dangerous to self image and self esteem and can cause long lasting internalized issues in oppressed groups. In Ayim’s poem “Afro-German I” she talks about language used by the oppressor. In this poem Ayim directly confronts the language that fuels German racism and microaggressions. She is addressing language deeply embedded in German culture that seeks to designate Afro-Germans and other members of the diaspora as burdensome, subhuman, and deserving of unjust treatment. Finally Ayim discusses the ever present threat of physical violence against Afro Germans. In “Blues in Black and White” she describes how Non-white Germans were experiencing violence at unprecedented levels without any help from police and other athourities. Historically, according to May Ayim, Black people in Germany faced stages of isolation, their bodies used and science and placed on display and their children were beaten and labeled with racist names.

How do these defining factors translate to the Black American experience? It is safe to say examples of each of Ayim’s highlighted experiences are present in the relationship between Black Americans experience. By the 1960’s Black communities were no stranger to state and federally sanctioned violence. During the 1950’s Black communities saw tragic losses such as Emmett Till and Harry and Henriette Moore, as well as lesser known victims like Hilliard Brooks Jr and lynchings were still occurring widely. This violence was allowed and in some places even encouraged by state and federal governments. Through overt racism in the South and covert racism in the North, negative messaging and racist policy continuously made Black Americans the other in their own homes. Censorship of and disinterest in Black stories, tone policing and the assassinations and incarceration of prominent Black voices and activists made it clear to African Americans that they were unwanted . Surely then we can assert that Black people at this time were familiar with the process of othering. It was common to refer to Black Americans as the N-word and popular media regularly engaged in the vilification of Black men and disrespect of Black women. Black Americans were regularly subjected to being defined by the dominant media and having to choose between being the exceptional example, succumbing to the labels, or striking a balance in between.

Taylor would not be against my thesis here and I think she might even want to expand on it to examine deeper the overlap between the Black experience in the United States and globally throughout the diaspora. There are absolutely more similarities between the African American experience and that of a colonial subject but Ayim gives a very sound picture of what it is like to be a colonial subject and I have completed that picture by placing it next to Taylor’s ideas and my own. Even though African Americans are not in a colonial relationship with the United States there are many similarities between their experience and the experience of a colonial subject who lives within the colonial power.

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klhportfolio2022 · 2 years

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REVISION 1: ORIGINAL PAPER

Blues in Black and White speaks to several themes. The first theme I find most present is the other. May Ayim questions the definition of “other” and asks who really gets to decide the other. Othering is a process that we have talked about all semester. Colonialists use the othering process to oppress. When colonizers invade a country they leave lasting cultural, economical and psychological impacts. May Ayim discusses many of these “colonialist staples”. She talks about the physical displacement and violence “others'' have to experience. In addition to this physical threat, the process of “othering”, is dangerous to self image and self esteem and can cause long lasting internalized issues in oppressed groups. The quote by Grada Kilomba ``While I write, I am not the 'Other', but the self, not the object, but the subject. I become the describer, and not the described. I become the author, and the authority on my own history. I become the absolute opposite of what the colonial project has predetermined. I become me.” relates to this theme.

Another present theme comes up in May Ayim’s use of ⅔ and ⅓ . This prompts me to think about isolation as another tactic of oppression. ⅔ is very clearly a majority and yet that two thirds still experiences oppression from the numerical minority. I think May Ayim wants people to consider if we are really isolated? Or rather do we really have to be isolated? When we recognize that most oppressed group’s struggles are intertwined we can have strength in numbers and rise against our oppressors. We can accomplish so much as one voice.

The title Blues in Black and White is just pain plainly stated. The title could suggest the poem is about the Blues Black people experience and the blues white people experience. However, after reading the entire poem this interpretation of the title does not really fit. Blues, which can mean a range of things but are most commonly related to a feeling of sadness. Black and white are plain. They imply that there are only two sides, not a spectrum, just one or the other. Another way to interpret the “Blues” in this title is the music genre. Blue was used but enslaved and former enslaved Africans in the United states. It was a way for them to express sorrows but also express hope for the coming days. In the Blues assignment, I defined the Blues as three things; taking some of the saddest most difficult times of an artist's life and turning it into something beautiful like a song, survival tactic and a ways to talk to someone when it feels like there is no one to talk to, and finally the Blues meant people were able to put feelings which are so complex into a short work that is easy to understand and relatable. These definitions, especially the second and third, relate to the poem Blues in Black and White. May Ayim took some of the most difficult times Black people and other minority groups in Germany had to endure and turned it into a poem. A poem that is easy to understand on the surface and one that so plainly and kind of beautifully explains and challenges the power dynamic that was displayed in 1990 and can still be seen to this day. I also think May Ayim talks a little about survival. The minority groups she speaks about still have to live in the Black. They mourn and don’t join the party but they survive and that is what is so important. She also encourages these groups to think about more. Think about being the strong ⅔ that can rise up and not the two thirds that just survive.

The tone is soft and simple and also very matter of fact. Laying out Germany's wrongs in such a plain tone.

Throughout the poem I made note of the repetition of “it's the blues in black and white”, May Ayim continually repeats this phrase to help the reader better understand just how simple the actions of oppressors are. I think in history people will attempt to sugarcoat or downplay the actions that violent oppressors took but not May Ayim. She reminds the reader just how severe and painful some of the actions were. May Ayim uses language throughout that makes me think of a high school homecoming dance or prom. The “popular” kids get to enjoy the night dancing, having fun, probably thinking about the after party they will undoubtedly attend once the school sponsored festivities end. Then, on the other side of the room are maybe the nerds or rejects. They sit or maybe stand in clusters trying not to stand out too much, unable to really enjoy themselves, getting “danced over '' by the rest of the party goers. They move to the beat of hierarchy and partitioning, staying in their lane and not really rising up to fight.

This poem directly confronts German racism and microaggressions through language. It challenges the way people talk about historical events by presenting them with nothing but the bare, plain facts of the actions of Germany and other mentioned countries.

May Ayim was a beautiful writer, organizer and person. Her journey to Blackness and self discovery is one that is so beautifully done. May Ayim’s death feels like the result of the content of this poem. Black people, because of our history and heritage will experience mental health problems, I think that's a given. After having to tell the world so plainly about the wrongs of Germany and other huge world powers, challenging these powers and having to do all of it with such high visibility is such a heavy burden to bear.

1990 was a year before the fall of the Berlin wall and the reunification of Germany. Non-white Germas were experiencing violence at unprecedented levels without any help from police and other athourities. Historically, according to May Ayim, Black people in Germany faced stages of isolation, their bodies used and science and placed on display and their children were called terrible names and even considered unideal for a white Germany.

One of the most interesting parts of this poem is when May Ayim talks about who celebrates in white she doesn’t give readers that explicit information. She doesn’t demonize the celebrators immediately before or after discussing them. She makes them part of humanity. I think in resistance work it's an interesting approach to put oppressors and the oppressed in the same category.

The other poem is related to this one is “Borderless and Brazen” I think they are similar because they both take strong stances, challenge the status quo and declare things about Black people and other minorities that amy ot have been all the way acceptable at the time it was written.

Black Germans don’t have the luxury of finding home at home. They’re subject to invasive rude questions about their fatherland and mother tongue. They aren’t afforded some of the same rights despite them having a green passport. Their invisibility makes them extremely visible, they stick out. But like Black people everywhere have done in the face of isolation, they created a space for themselves.

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klhportfolio2022 · 2 years

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COURSE PROPOSAL

Revision 1 (Taylor)- What White Publishers Won't Print Summary and Response (SP2021, AfroLit)

What White Publishers Won't Print by Zora Neale Hurston is an exploration of the supply and demand of Black stories. The original assignment is mostly summary with a brief critical response. I plan to use this to expand on Taylor's stance concerning historical Black erasure in socialism.

Revision 2 (Biography)- Gwendolyn Brooks (SP2021, Afro Lit)

I never wrote a biography about Brooks. I will use our culminating assignment for AfroLit as a basis. We were required to choose a text (including music) or art piece and clearly explain why that piece is a piece of literature as well as how it fits within the literary tradition. We did that by finding the piece’s literary “cousins” or texts it is in community or communication within the genre. I chose rapper and activist NoName’s Telefone project to argue its integrity as a piece of literature and supported it through comparison with the poetry of the late Gwendolyn Brooks. Brooks is well renowned for her celebration of ordinarity. When the greater community saw Black ghettos as filled with blight, crime and tragedy, she wrote about beautiful beams of joy and personal successes. I am striving for a piece that is succinct and clearly demonstrates the ways Brooks’ activism directly shaped a way forward.

Revision 3 (genre change)- Literacy Narrative (SP2019, ENG104)

I am not really set on this one yet. There is a possibility that I will use another paper from my AfroLit class. If I am to use the literacy narrative though, I’m going to change it to a letter to English teachers.in hope of getting them to use some of the pedagogy my previous professors have used that most helped me academically and personally.

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klhportfolio2022 · 2 years

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INTRODUCTORY JOURNAL

Despite my critiques, I commend the protestors. Howard University is a giant, and to take her on takes courage. Just as the dissenter Dr. King referenced in A Testament to Hope is America’s hope, the students at Howard who chose to take a stand are Her hope.

If Dr. King was alive today, I can undoubtedly say he’d be a champion for Howard University. He would praise and celebrate this university for generating scholarship dollars, educating the masses and providing a world class education to Black students across the world. The recent events regarding the Blackburn Takeover, would have made his confidence in this university falter. I do believe Dr. King would have praised protestors but they and Howard University administration deserve critique.

As Howard University soars to new heights, she grows increasingly like the very organizations Dr. King and other Black leaders (some of whom attended Howard) spoke out against. University leadership is alienating Howard from the larger community. The amount of closed doors and ambiguity coupled with an out of touch Board of Trustees and administration creates cause for concern and poses the question: “What is Howard willing to do to set itself apart from other oppressive, self-serving institution leadership?”. Administration started off by answering this question poorly with threats of police force and expulsion. They chose to close down Blackburn keeping students from accessing meals, COVID testing and student-help offices. Through the 34 days university administrators sort of took a page from King’s book and revised their approach not necessarily for the better. This time they chose to be much more silent. Another wrong strategy. Howard University owes us a whole lot for $40,000. But at the minimum they owe students a clear plan for student safety. The university was disappointing, to say the least. They chose to gaslight and threaten students instead of admitting their wrongs and making this place home again.

There is no right way to protest and action is not unilateral. There are so many moving parts to oppression, to change. Once the protest found its end many students were left wondering about the resolution. What could be the benefit of a silent solution when the problem was so loud, when it affected so many people? I feel like protestors involved in the agreement signing became resentful towards students who didn’t find themselves participating in the same kind of action. Once the video of the agreement signing was posted, social media was in uproar. Students, faculty and alum were interested in finding out the terms of the agreement. The response from the students who attend the signing? “If you slept outside all 34 days then you’d know”. Was the purpose not to fight for all students? Was the intent not a brighter future for every Bison? This response, like the university’s, was disappointing. The Blackburn takeover was an accountability check for Howard but students are not able to hold the university accountable if they don’t know what the university agreed to. An action I feel would have been more in line with an MLK approach would have been an open meeting, where not only are the interests of the community represented but taken and reflected in a community driven solution.

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