This Won't Make Me Popular, But...
There was an article from the Associated Press yesterday regarding a talented young poet named Autumn Ashante and the controversy raised by her public reading of a poem called "White Nationalism Put U In Bondage". First of all, let me say that I think it's fantastic that a 7 year old girl is so interested and evidently talented in the creation of poetry. I do not think it's so fantastic that she is evidently being led down a path of racial stereotyping and discrimination.
I honestly have no problem with Autumn. She seems like a very bright, talented young girl, and she should be encouraged in her endeavors. She should also be guided, however, because a 7 year old, however bright she may be, has a limited understanding of weighty issues like race relations, the impact of slavery and white nationalism in America, and the various ways of approaching those problems. It's not her fault. She's 7. She has very limited experience due to her young age, and shouldn't be expected to have a firm grasp of these topics. Neither should she be encouraged to believe that she does. That's why I definitely do have issues with Autumn's father and the others who have obviously encouraged and, yes, coached Autumn to focus her poetry on inflammatory topics that she can't possibly yet understand.
Look, yeah, I'm a white male. I do not pretend for a second that white males are a group that suffers from prejudice, and I cannot conceive of someone like me getting indignant about reverse discrimination. I realize that we still have a long way to go in regards to race relations in this country, and it disturbs me when angry white males try to convince me that they are now the underprivileged group. My issue with Autumn's poem is based on the racial content of her poetry, but it honestly isn't racial in nature. My issue is with the exploitation of a 7-year-old girl, and the concept that children should be taught to accept double standards when those double standards are exactly what those of us striving for an equal society work to overcome.
Frankly, if a girl Autumn's age gets up and recites a poem equating Columbus and Darwin to pirates and vampires, one has to wonder how a 7-year-old could possibly have the experience and education to understand the histories of those two men. Quite simply, she couldn't. Even if somehow she had the advantage of a very focused, very balanced education regarding them, she doesn't have the perspective to truly parse what she'd learned and develop solid theories about them. Highly educated doctoral students can't come to a consensus, so how realistic is it to believe that a second grader has it all figured out? It's great that she's thinking about such difficult topics, but it's sad that her father and others in the community are exploiting her for a cause that no one has the right to bring a child into. It is simply not possible that Autumn has developed a mature perspective on race relations at her age. One has been pushed upon her, and that is just as dangerous and unfortunate a situation as that of the children of the white nationalists she speaks of.
I really wish I could read Autumn's entire poem, but I haven't been able to locate it. I've read pieces of it in various places, but those snippets do not exactly reflect what New York City Councilman Charles Barron referred to as a poem of "peace, power, and pride about her heritage." I really would like to read the whole thing, but I don't feel compelled to withhold comment until such time as I have. After reading her poem to high school students, she asked the black students to stand and recite a "Black Child's Pledge." When white students stood in solidarity with their black friends, Autumn told them to sit down. How does that speak to inclusion and equality? I hate to say this, because it is definitely overused, but in this case I think it needs to be said. What would have happened had the races been reversed? I certainly would have considered it a disgusting case of racism, and for that reason, I find myself forced to label this situation similarly. I can't hold Autumn responsible for her racial discrimination and isolationism, but I certainly can hold her father responsible, as well as Councilman Barron and others who supported it.
This is exactly the kind of activity that makes those of us seriously dedicated to an equitable society want to throw up our hands and give up. Not only does it send the wrong message, but it gives invaluable fodder to the kind of people who will inevitably say, "Hey, if there's a 'Black Child's Pledge,' why can't we have a "White Child's Pledge?'" If I can justify Autumn's actions, then I have to concede their point, and if I have to concede the point of white nationalists, I'll feel like I'm flushing fifty years of progress down the toilet. I'm not willing to do that. If white nationalists are my enemy, then so are black nationalists, and I want to break into sobs when I think about a 7-year-old girl brainwashed into my enemies' camp.
When asked by reporters, by whom Autumn requested to be called "African" instead of "African-American," how much help she'd had in writing the poem, she said, "My dad helped with spelling and pronunciation." Generally speaking, people tend not to need help pronouncing words that they're familiar enough with to incorporate into their poetry, but since her poetry deals with topics she isn't experienced enough to understand, I suppose it isn't surprising that it includes words she isn't familiar enough with to pronounce.
I honestly have no problem with Autumn. She seems like a very bright, talented young girl, and she should be encouraged in her endeavors. She should also be guided, however, because a 7 year old, however bright she may be, has a limited understanding of weighty issues like race relations, the impact of slavery and white nationalism in America, and the various ways of approaching those problems. It's not her fault. She's 7. She has very limited experience due to her young age, and shouldn't be expected to have a firm grasp of these topics. Neither should she be encouraged to believe that she does. That's why I definitely do have issues with Autumn's father and the others who have obviously encouraged and, yes, coached Autumn to focus her poetry on inflammatory topics that she can't possibly yet understand.
Look, yeah, I'm a white male. I do not pretend for a second that white males are a group that suffers from prejudice, and I cannot conceive of someone like me getting indignant about reverse discrimination. I realize that we still have a long way to go in regards to race relations in this country, and it disturbs me when angry white males try to convince me that they are now the underprivileged group. My issue with Autumn's poem is based on the racial content of her poetry, but it honestly isn't racial in nature. My issue is with the exploitation of a 7-year-old girl, and the concept that children should be taught to accept double standards when those double standards are exactly what those of us striving for an equal society work to overcome.
Frankly, if a girl Autumn's age gets up and recites a poem equating Columbus and Darwin to pirates and vampires, one has to wonder how a 7-year-old could possibly have the experience and education to understand the histories of those two men. Quite simply, she couldn't. Even if somehow she had the advantage of a very focused, very balanced education regarding them, she doesn't have the perspective to truly parse what she'd learned and develop solid theories about them. Highly educated doctoral students can't come to a consensus, so how realistic is it to believe that a second grader has it all figured out? It's great that she's thinking about such difficult topics, but it's sad that her father and others in the community are exploiting her for a cause that no one has the right to bring a child into. It is simply not possible that Autumn has developed a mature perspective on race relations at her age. One has been pushed upon her, and that is just as dangerous and unfortunate a situation as that of the children of the white nationalists she speaks of.
I really wish I could read Autumn's entire poem, but I haven't been able to locate it. I've read pieces of it in various places, but those snippets do not exactly reflect what New York City Councilman Charles Barron referred to as a poem of "peace, power, and pride about her heritage." I really would like to read the whole thing, but I don't feel compelled to withhold comment until such time as I have. After reading her poem to high school students, she asked the black students to stand and recite a "Black Child's Pledge." When white students stood in solidarity with their black friends, Autumn told them to sit down. How does that speak to inclusion and equality? I hate to say this, because it is definitely overused, but in this case I think it needs to be said. What would have happened had the races been reversed? I certainly would have considered it a disgusting case of racism, and for that reason, I find myself forced to label this situation similarly. I can't hold Autumn responsible for her racial discrimination and isolationism, but I certainly can hold her father responsible, as well as Councilman Barron and others who supported it.
This is exactly the kind of activity that makes those of us seriously dedicated to an equitable society want to throw up our hands and give up. Not only does it send the wrong message, but it gives invaluable fodder to the kind of people who will inevitably say, "Hey, if there's a 'Black Child's Pledge,' why can't we have a "White Child's Pledge?'" If I can justify Autumn's actions, then I have to concede their point, and if I have to concede the point of white nationalists, I'll feel like I'm flushing fifty years of progress down the toilet. I'm not willing to do that. If white nationalists are my enemy, then so are black nationalists, and I want to break into sobs when I think about a 7-year-old girl brainwashed into my enemies' camp.
When asked by reporters, by whom Autumn requested to be called "African" instead of "African-American," how much help she'd had in writing the poem, she said, "My dad helped with spelling and pronunciation." Generally speaking, people tend not to need help pronouncing words that they're familiar enough with to incorporate into their poetry, but since her poetry deals with topics she isn't experienced enough to understand, I suppose it isn't surprising that it includes words she isn't familiar enough with to pronounce.
posted by Zafrod at 12:49 PM
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