Hue

"Say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud" sings James Brown in a 1968 classic. Race is that ever pervasive issue in the United States, and everywhere, people are talking about it or ignoring it altogether. But why do we make such a big deal about race anyway? Is color really that important in defining our identity, and should we, in the spirit of James Brown, embrace our race? Or is there a stronger bond that ties us together and forms our identities? Let us search for these answers.


In her book, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria, Beverly Daniel Tatum examines some of the conversations happening about race and seeks to explore the formation of identity from a racial perspective. She gives her definition of racism right out, referring to it as, "a system of advantage based on race." I'm not sure how I feel about this since it means that all White people are racist but that people of color cannot accurately be called racist, merely prejudiced. Really? Even if a person of color hates another based solely on the matter of race, they are still not considered racist in the the context of Tatum's definition. Although I don't agree with it, understanding and accepting her definition makes the rest of her arguments easier to understand.

I know I remember the black table.


I never sat there even though I am a very much a black individual. According to  Tatum, it seems I quickly developed an oppositional identity and did not feel comfortable associating with my fellow Black students. I prized academics and other things I associated primarily with a White identity. Even at a young age, I had problems with having role models that were either athletes or entertainers. Because I saw no positive academic, black role models, I set to carve out my own identity and in doing so, rejected the sports and music traditionally associate with the black community and did what I wanted. Consequentially, taking on such an identity alienated me from the black community, but because I was still outwardly black, I never fit in so well with the White crowd either. I created for myself what Tatum calls an "oppositional identity."

One of the most absurd race related exercises I've ever witness happened on this campus. I attended a mandatory student organization diversity meeting along with dozens of other student org reps, and I could not have been more displeased with the turnout. We all formed a big circle, and the host would read a question, and all those fitting the catergory outline in the question would step forward for all to see. Ok, that doesn't sound so bad except were along the lines of, "Step forward if the owner store thinks you're going to rob the place when you enter," or step forward if you've ever been unable to ride in the front of the bus or drink from the same water fountain as the majority." The whole exercise seems targeted at specific ethnic groups, primarily Blacks, and did nothing to promote productive conversation or awareness about diversity. No one present at the meeting learned anything new, and the whole exercise prompted disgusted and outrageous feedback. The worst part: we were treated to "diversity cake" at the beginning of the meeting, that is, black and white cake.


I get tired of talking about race though. Tatum encourages us to overcome the fear associated with racial conversations to get other people talking. But I agree with what Morgan Freeman says about race. I want to be me. My identity is more than the color of my skin, and I hate having to participate in special  focus groups or surveys or black issues simply because I'm blacks. I consider my self a blend of races culturally, and I too wish the problems of color would go away. (I'm loving the additional financial aid though).

Socially constructed as it may be, I feel the problems will not simply disappear anytime soon. There is still so much misinformation, and so many stereotypes floating around, often unacknowledged. Many people still grow up today having uneducated or misinformed views of American Indians, Latin Americans, and even Black People.  As long as these keep recurring in the media and being passed on to children, the problems of race will not disappear easily.

Unity

The ancient Greeks had the idea that we as humans, no matter our ethnic group or political or national affiliation, fall into a community under a single morality. Cosmopolitanism, as it is called, is the belief that we are all citizens of the world.

Sure, that was over two thousand years ago, but even today many cosmopolites adhere to this traditional Greek notion.

 

  Kwame Anthony Appiah gives the ideology a modern treatment in his book Cosmopolitanism:Ethics in a World of Strangers. He shows that this ancient system is still substantially applicable to contemporary society and I can see that. We all have our differences. Americans love guns, French like baguettes, but these cultural differences are no reason to fight over and alienate each other. We inhabit the same planet, feel the same feelings, and experience the same struggles regardless of where in the world we live or what food we eat. This is, after all, a time period where being “global citizens” is important.

When I traveled to Greece a few years ago, I feel I experienced something of cosmopolitanism. During one evening in Karpenisi, Greece (a sister city to Asheville, for what's it worth), my cohorts and I were invited to a traditional Greek dinner with the assistant mayor, Papadopoulos (amazing Greek name), and various other citizens of the city. It didn't matter that we were American; at that table, we were all citizens of the world, dining together on Greek delicacies and living it up as if we were one in the same. 

Being in Greece the whole time as an outsider never seemed like a bad experience. People rejoiced over the election of Obama and yearned for a greater global community. When I was in Turkey as well, the people sought solidarity among the nation especially with the Turks being excluded from the European union and shunned by Greece.

Similarly, I like when Appiah writes, “a lot of what we take to be right or wrong is simply a matter of customs.”  We may judge the practices of another culture or group of people, but when we do so, we inevitably use our own values as a point of comparison. Should we give each culture a fair view, perceiving them not as wrong but simply different. I think not; that is what we call, as you may know, cultural relativism. I have a firm set of moral beliefs rooted in my faith, and I have no problem applying what I believe to the rest of the world’s practices, because I believe my faith is universal. I do believe activities like genocide or genital mutilation are wrong because my worldview is steeped in love, and I have no interest in perceiving other cultures as merely different. The whole idea of cultural relativism seems lazy.

This notion of cosmopolitanism causes me to think about my own Christian faith. I believe that we all do fall under a shared, single morality system, one originating from a single omnipotent God. As Paul writes in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” With the person of Christ, all are reconciled and fall under equal justification in a way that seems even more logical and beautiful than cosmopolitanism can articulate. There is a lot of stigma associated with evangelical religions because the nature of proselytizing seems to indicate, “we’ll only love you if you become one of us.” I don’t see it that way at all; the whole message of Christ revolves around and love and unity, bringing all individuals unto the unfailing love of one God. Any fault in the approach is of the messengers and not the message.

Even in the apocalyptic prophecy of John in the Book of Revelation, we can find instances of international harmony. He writes, "After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Rev 7:9-10). In the realm of Christian eschatology, in the end, all people will come together under a common cause, and that is the kind of end which I try to bring about in my daily interactions with people around me. Although I recognize the various differences in the people around me, their strengths as well as their shortcomings, I do not let that hinder the way I treat or try to love them. Where it counts, we are no different.

Regardless of whether you accept or adhere to another culture's beliefs, I think the real question is, "Can we all get along?"