integration is not just about mixing bodies, but culture also.
yesterday, in the comments raving_liberal noted that the last part of rev. lowery's benediction caused some controversey. we both had a chuckle over this and i didn't think anything of it until i started seeing other grumbles in several places across the blogosphere. then i realized that what we have here is a failure to communicate and since communications is kind-of my thing, i thought i'd make an attempt to explain the significance and brilliance of lowery's turn of phrase.
here is the text:"REV LOWERY: Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around -- (laughter) -- when yellow will be mellow -- (laughter) -- when the red man can get ahead, man -- (laughter) -- and when white will embrace what is right. Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen.
AUDIENCE: Amen!
REV. LOWERY: Say amen --
AUDIENCE: Amen!
REV. LOWERY: -- and amen.
AUDIENCE: Amen!"
now, let me start by acknowledging a very blunt, very obvious truth. the racial history of the united states is one in which the majority population, which is (for now) white, has discriminated against all others (even when the "others" have white skin, but are somehow not white enough -- at various times irish, eastern europeans, etc. -- you know the history, let's not pretend that it's become so archaic since erm, yesterday, that we just can't remember).
the election of the first black president, monumental though it was, does not wipe away the bare facts of the historical matter and it's current legacy (the same way that the election of a female president would not mean that sexism no longer existed and all women's advocacy issues should become null and void).
this is no time for amnesia. the whole joy of this moment is the acknowledgment that past injustices, even if they have current legacies, can not stop us from getting our shit together and getting on with the future.
but even given the fact of the country's history in general terms, it's worth noting that this passage is a specific artistic allusion.
lowery's last passage is an alteration of a song written in 1951 by big bill broonzy a chicago blues artist (chi town, again!). it was originally about the level of discrimination supposedly appropriate to each color (with the obvious underpinning that no discrimination is appropriate). in the original it is concluded, from all available evidence, that "white is right." hence lowery's twist.
(fun fact: this song inspired a beatles track -- one of their rare political songs, entitled "get back" off "let it be," their final studio album.)
during the seventies, the song was altered into a kind of common saying or folk poem (as in "well, you know what they say if you're black you have to get back, if you're brown you may be able to stick around, etc.") oft recited by folks of color and generally known to their children. for example, i have always been as familiar with this tongue-in-cheek truism as, say, the other major allusion in lowery's benediction, the lift every voice and sing passage that he opened with: "god of our weary years, etc." an entirely appropriate and profoundly moving integration of the "negro national anthem" with a signature all-american moment.
but i digress: the point is, the "black, brown, and white" song was always kind of a joke, but it was also, as all good satirical social commentary is, rooted in a social truth.
dr. lowery used the opening and closing allusions to open and close his benediction, precisely because those words have always before been the somewhat obscure and singular purview of african american folkways. folkways which are, of course, as old and distinctly american as white american folkways, but rarely as visible and never considered mainstream. not a huge surprise when you consider that the majority decides what's mainstream.
i do think the offense and defensiveness which this passage provoked in some folks is a very interesting study in how easy it is to misunderstand the cultural commonplaces of another people (even when those "other people" are not really "other" at all).
i think it is also evidence that the whole double-consciousness thing dubois wrote about is still very much in effect.
but times are a changin' in a number of ways. thankfully.
here is the text:"REV LOWERY: Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around -- (laughter) -- when yellow will be mellow -- (laughter) -- when the red man can get ahead, man -- (laughter) -- and when white will embrace what is right. Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen.
AUDIENCE: Amen!
REV. LOWERY: Say amen --
AUDIENCE: Amen!
REV. LOWERY: -- and amen.
AUDIENCE: Amen!"
now, let me start by acknowledging a very blunt, very obvious truth. the racial history of the united states is one in which the majority population, which is (for now) white, has discriminated against all others (even when the "others" have white skin, but are somehow not white enough -- at various times irish, eastern europeans, etc. -- you know the history, let's not pretend that it's become so archaic since erm, yesterday, that we just can't remember).
the election of the first black president, monumental though it was, does not wipe away the bare facts of the historical matter and it's current legacy (the same way that the election of a female president would not mean that sexism no longer existed and all women's advocacy issues should become null and void).
this is no time for amnesia. the whole joy of this moment is the acknowledgment that past injustices, even if they have current legacies, can not stop us from getting our shit together and getting on with the future.
but even given the fact of the country's history in general terms, it's worth noting that this passage is a specific artistic allusion.
lowery's last passage is an alteration of a song written in 1951 by big bill broonzy a chicago blues artist (chi town, again!). it was originally about the level of discrimination supposedly appropriate to each color (with the obvious underpinning that no discrimination is appropriate). in the original it is concluded, from all available evidence, that "white is right." hence lowery's twist.
(fun fact: this song inspired a beatles track -- one of their rare political songs, entitled "get back" off "let it be," their final studio album.)
during the seventies, the song was altered into a kind of common saying or folk poem (as in "well, you know what they say if you're black you have to get back, if you're brown you may be able to stick around, etc.") oft recited by folks of color and generally known to their children. for example, i have always been as familiar with this tongue-in-cheek truism as, say, the other major allusion in lowery's benediction, the lift every voice and sing passage that he opened with: "god of our weary years, etc." an entirely appropriate and profoundly moving integration of the "negro national anthem" with a signature all-american moment.
but i digress: the point is, the "black, brown, and white" song was always kind of a joke, but it was also, as all good satirical social commentary is, rooted in a social truth.
dr. lowery used the opening and closing allusions to open and close his benediction, precisely because those words have always before been the somewhat obscure and singular purview of african american folkways. folkways which are, of course, as old and distinctly american as white american folkways, but rarely as visible and never considered mainstream. not a huge surprise when you consider that the majority decides what's mainstream.
i do think the offense and defensiveness which this passage provoked in some folks is a very interesting study in how easy it is to misunderstand the cultural commonplaces of another people (even when those "other people" are not really "other" at all).
i think it is also evidence that the whole double-consciousness thing dubois wrote about is still very much in effect.
but times are a changin' in a number of ways. thankfully.