“No Excuses”—a simple phrase scrawled across the front pages of the Huffington Post and the New York Times politics section this morning—has proven to be the salient takeaway from President Obama’s speech to the NAACP last night. Unfortunately, the most salient takeaway is not always the intended takeaway, nor is it always the most important takeaway.
Yes, Obama urged black parents to take responsibility for their children. He told them to “[put] away the Xbox and [put] our kids to bed at a reasonable hour.” He noted that every black kid can’t become the next Lebron James, or the next Lil Wayne—“even if they might think they’ve got a pretty jump shot or a pretty good flow.” And yes, he did deride excessive excuses for black underachievement.
But Obama’s message--grounded in sound analysis of racial inequality--was much more profound than these simple sound bites suggest.
Obama correctly noted that there is less discrimination in America today than ever before. Sure, black and brown folks are still getting kicked out of swimming pools—but they aren’t being told to sit in the back of the bus anymore. A new racism built on euphemisms and proxies persists, but overt discrimination is becoming less and less socially acceptable.
Obama went on to detail the extent of structural inequalities that have emerged from past discrimination, specifically citing their pernicious effects on the racial achievement gap. While discrimination remains omnipresent, it is structural inequalities that matter most in determining the life chances and opportunities for folks of color. It almost seems lost in the headlines that Obama’s discussion of personal responsibility occurred only after laying out the root of inequality: unequal access to healthcare, unequal schools, unequal access to quality housing, and unequal rates of incarceration.
As Ta-Nehisi Coates and G.D. at Postbourgie point out, the rhetoric of “no excuses” is common banter heard in black churches, dinner tables and barbershops across the country. The idea is not to absolve racism, discrimination, or structural inequities from blame; rather, it’s a battle cry to work that much harder in the face of profound disadvantage. It's a declaration, a statement of perseverance—a “We Shall Overcome” for the 21st Century. Structural forces are responsible for inequality, but we are culpable for our reactions as we confront this disadvantage. As Adam Serwer notes, Obama's speech was “far more nuanced…than media narratives about race ever seem to acknowledge.”
Above my desk I have a small computer printout of the phrase “Just Shut Up and Do It.” These were the wise words of encouragement my high school football coaches gave me anytime I felt the need to complain about, well, anything: when I broke my finger during a pre-season scrimmage, when I got illegally chop-blocked in pursuit of a tailback, when I threw up after a particularly intense conditioning session, or when I was convinced there was no possible way I could squat 250 pounds. Each excuse I gave was met with a simple rebuttal: “Shut up, and do it.” It didn’t matter if our rival’s tight end kept holding me each time the ball came to my side of the field, nor did it matter that I was the most undersized outside linebacker to ever grace New York State Class AA football. I had to rise up against my disadvantage. I had to shut my mouth, and do it.
After a tough practice or a long game, when my eyes were bloodshot from yelling and my head pounded from throwing my body into players three times my size, the coaches often pulled me aside to praise my determination and willpower. Their tone would be noticeably different; less expletives, more words of encouragement. They knew I was undersized. They knew how much punishment my body could take. But they also knew the formidable foes I would have to face. Excuses mattered little on Friday nights, under the stadium lights and in the eyes of the community.
The rhetoric of “no excuses” has dominated the coverage of Obama’s speech to the NAACP. But there was more to the speech—and more to the rhetoric itself—that shouldn’t get lost in the shuffle. Obama exhibited a tremendous grasp of the causes of inequality, a refreshing departure from our past President’s woeful ignorance. Our task now is to listen to the whole message, and resist getting caught up in the sound bites.
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I understand and appreciate that the President, as a Black man, wants to groom a generation of youngsters of color whose aspirations go beyond becoming rappers and ballers, and who desires to hold parents of color to greater levels of responsibility and accountability in raising their children. However, I sometimes find the President's approach paternalistic. In other words, "let's give the Black folk a good schooling". Perhaps the President believes that some Black folks need "the talk", and, certainly some do. However, given the people who comprise the NAACP membership, they don't need to be schooled, at least, not in this manner.
ReplyDeleteI have also noted this paternalistic tone on the President's part when he addresses corporate groups. He goes into professor mode, and talks to the professionals in attendance as if they're law students.
Interestingly, the President doesn't talk to predominately, White audiences in such a way as to "school" them. As a teacher at a predominately-White college prep school, there are plenty of White parents who could use "the talk" re: being more responsible and accountable parents.
i believe obama's speech is not just meant for the people at the naacp convention. in this day we all get to hear through the media in all forms (even instantaneously), what he says and it is not meant for just them..... it was meant for all races... it's just that his talk was there. it would be awkward for him to talk to a white audience in the same way although i have no doubt he understand that ti is true of other colors besides "black folks."
ReplyDeletei'm not sure if you're worried or concerned.... i'm not yet!
I do not always think it is about black people making excuses for their lives. People in general just seem to have a bigoted definition of "blackness." What is blackness anyway? It's an ambiguous term people tend to tie many adjectives to, mostly negative. From my experiences back home it is as though all a black person can be is poor and uneducated, any one who aspires to be otherwise either has their head in the clouds or they think they are "white," another ambiguous term that does not have any inherent meaning.
ReplyDeleteI once had a white teacher back home who told me and another black student, that he did not consider us black, but white, like the Tiger Woods and Bryant Gumbel's of the world. The other student said something along the lines of: I guess we should start acting more black. I said in reply: I'm going to continue to be Joyia. At the time I found what the teacher said pretty damn amusing, but the student on the other hand, really pissed me off.
I had another fellow student say to me one day, out of the blue: Why are you trying so hard to get A's? You're black, white people aren't going to let you do anything. I guess he was trying to say that I'll always be perceived as being black in the eyes of the white majority and all the terms that seem to go along with that black identity.
I understand that people look at black people and have certain preconceptions, but since when did black people do this to themselves? Since when did black people put themselves in boxes and tell themselves this is not for me, because I am black? That is the problem. Not the way blacks are raised, because it's not like whites exercise better parenting, but how black people perceive themselves, that is the thing that needs to be changed.
What people in general, regardless of their race, neglect in their conceptions of black people is that we are a diverse group of people. Yes, there are the Lil Wayne's and Kobe Bryant's that we see on tv. But there are also the Barack Obama's and the Colin Powell's in the world, with more of a presence in the world than people may allow in their definitions of blackness. All of these things are black and is time that they are seen as such.