This past week we have been examining a number of things: Dangerous Assumptions; the question of whether “education” really does pay off for Black Men enmasse; and why Black Men have historically, taken as a group, lagged behind other groups insofar as employment and earned incomes go, for decades. The ensuing discussions surrounding these questions, have been for my part, quite illuminating, and I trust they were for you as well.
Although many points of interest were raised over the course of these discussions, one point seemed dominant over all the others-the notion that a major reason for Black Male un and/or underemployment was due directly to their failure and/or refusal, to “assimilate”.
This is a very interesting point to me, because as I’ve noted in several posts this week, African Americans are in virtually every way “assimilated”-for the most part we are Christians, (and even Muslim groups like the NOI are “assimilated in terms of dress even demeanor, if by that is meant, being polite and the like are “White” traits), ate largely American cuisine, speak English (no African American I am aware of is even aware of, much less can speak, a more native African language), wear American clothes, fry/dye our hair so as to appear more White, have American names, and so on. Yet, these simple facts don’t seem to matter to those-in the main White Men-who makes this argument. It is for this reason then, that one must consider that these guys are meaning something else, when they use the word “assimilate”.
Yesterday, I talked about how for Black Women, “education” has proven to be an unquestionable success-not only would they make more money than if they hadn’t gone on to school, but the evidence shows that they can even make more money that their White counterparts. A big part of this reason, it seems, has to do with their innate ability to perceive, and then cater to, the social dynamics at work on the workplace. Talk to any Sista so situated, and she will be only too eager to acknowledge this, often without any hint of cognitive dissonance or discomfort in the least.
Black Men on the other hand, and here we can include White and Men of other races/groups, either aren’t as attuned, or aren’t as interested, in such dynamics, and here in lies the point of contention. As we’ve noted before, though the times are a changing, White Men still matter-they still control enough of the patronage networks to literally reward or punish whoever approaches their gates. Black Women clearly aren’t “punished” anywhere near the rate that Black Men are, and yesterday’s post outlines why I think those reasons are.
So, in this thread, I have a question for all of you:
When it comes to BLACK MEN, exactly what do White Men mean, when they use the word “assimilate”?
Here’s what I think they mean. Ready?
I think when White Men use the word “assimilate” wrt Black Men, what they really mean is that Black Men either aren’t *deferential* to White Men, or, aren’t deferential enough. Remember, Black Men have, are and will likely continue to be viewed in America, as the most “manly” of Men. And remember, if Women are hardwired to be intuitively aware of social dynamics, to seek consensus and to defer to the powers that be, Men are hardwired to see other Males-particularly those who are visibly different from them-as COMPETITORS. And when Women are involved, this dynamic only increases. Studies have shown this.
So, one major reason why Asian, East Indian, Hispanic, even Arab Men, don’t have such a hard go of it, is because *they aren’t viewed as the manly “threat” that African American Men are. Think about it.
Yea, well how do you explain the fact that Caribbean and continental African Blacks seem to get on with these same White Men, Obsidian? Shouldn’t the “manly threat” thing be in evidence there, too?
My response to that would be, “that’s a very good question”. Especially since very few continental Africans have any White blood in them, as the vast majority of African Americans, do, if anything one would expect more of a “manly threat” coming from them than American born Blacks. I don’t have an ironclad answer for this, but I can speculate:
1. All of these Blacks are coming from lands where Colonialism was rampant (here we can include both the Asians and East Indians, too), and perhaps there is something inherent in said process that creates a “less threatening” Black than what obtained here in the States.
2. A big part of American culture, is the idea that there is no Landed Gentry-all Men are created equal. Therefore, Black Men, especially after the end of the Civil War, Reconstruction and the death of Jim Crow, felt they no longer needed to “defer” to their White countrymen. In the aforementioned societies, rigid class hierarchies existed and to some extent, largely remain. This notion is somewhat alien to American life and thought.
I have some other ideas, but those two above should be enough to get the convo started.
Finally, with the idea of “lack of assimilation” in mind, I offer the following link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_race_riot
This was the worst race riot ever in American history. Please explain to me how if Black Men then would have just “assimilated” a bit more, such a situation could have never happened.
Holla back
The Obsidian
