Lynessa, I enjoyed reading your post. Quite frankly, who is Bill O'Reilly to question anyone's blackness or the likes and dislikes of black America? That he thinks that this is right to do demonstrates the extent of his own white privilege, that he feels himself entitled to be able to tell others what they should think or how they should feel. Decades after his passing, there still remain scores of individuals who continue to celebrate the life and musical legacy of Elvis Presley, their king. And who am I to say who or what he is to them. As for Michael Jackson, we often have a tendency to what to blame him for the, albeit very unattractive, cosmetic changes that he chose to undergo. If Michael's decision to lighten his skin, streamline his nose, straighten his hair, and rear children who phenotypically bear no resemblance to him is motivated by a disdain for blackness, then, let me tell you, he is not the only black person to have committed the above crimes or to feel as such. I'm not saying that it is right. What I am saying is that for many blacks, growing up in America is anything but beautiful. From the time we come into the world, we are bombarded with images that suggest that black is anything but beautiful--ugly, criminal, bestial, illegitimate, savage, brutal, in essence, lacking in some way. Many of us chemically alter our hair. Some of us fret about becoming a shade darker for fear that we will be deemed less attractive. If Michael's decision to alter his appearance is based upon shame, then he alone is not to blame. This is something in which all of us, blacks included, must share the blame. Think of the ways in which black people have teased, even in the spirit of fun, one another about the one thing over which they have no control--their skin color. Think of how light skinned women with European or ethnically ambiguous features are paraded as paragons of beauty, much to the exclusion of their darker and sometimes even lighter sisters. When we talk about what is beautiful in the black community, very rarely do we conjure up images that cover the entire spectrum of complexions. The sad thing is, Michael Jackson isn't the only black person to have skin complexion issues. He was just the most visible, the most public individual. We all saw what MJ was doing, but we stood idly by. None of us said, perhaps we can't be responsible for white society's actions, but we certainly can control what we do, say, and believe. We've not done a thing to make sure that not another black child never has to feel the way that Michael Jackson felt. So yes, we can be mad at and ashamed of Jackson, but we also have to feel the same ways about ourselves. We can, however, make amends with Michael and all of the other blacks who have felt they were too black or not black enough by committing to "make a change today." I don't know.
Lynessa, I enjoyed reading your post. Quite frankly, who is Bill O'Reilly to question anyone's blackness or the likes and dislikes of black America? That he thinks that this is right to do demonstrates the extent of his own white privilege, that he feels himself entitled to be able to tell others what they should think or how they should feel. Decades after his passing, there still remain scores of individuals who continue to celebrate the life and musical legacy of Elvis Presley, their king. And who am I to say who or what he is to them.
ReplyDeleteAs for Michael Jackson, we often have a tendency to what to blame him for the, albeit very unattractive, cosmetic changes that he chose to undergo. If Michael's decision to lighten his skin, streamline his nose, straighten his hair, and rear children who phenotypically bear no resemblance to him is motivated by a disdain for blackness, then, let me tell you, he is not the only black person to have committed the above crimes or to feel as such. I'm not saying that it is right. What I am saying is that for many blacks, growing up in America is anything but beautiful. From the time we come into the world, we are bombarded with images that suggest that black is anything but beautiful--ugly, criminal, bestial, illegitimate, savage, brutal, in essence, lacking in some way. Many of us chemically alter our hair. Some of us fret about becoming a shade darker for fear that we will be deemed less attractive. If Michael's decision to alter his appearance is based upon shame, then he alone is not to blame. This is something in which all of us, blacks included, must share the blame.
Think of the ways in which black people have teased, even in the spirit of fun, one another about the one thing over which they have no control--their skin color. Think of how light skinned women with European or ethnically ambiguous features are paraded as paragons of beauty, much to the exclusion of their darker and sometimes even lighter sisters. When we talk about what is beautiful in the black community, very rarely do we conjure up images that cover the entire spectrum of complexions.
The sad thing is, Michael Jackson isn't the only black person to have skin complexion issues. He was just the most visible, the most public individual. We all saw what MJ was doing, but we stood idly by. None of us said, perhaps we can't be responsible for white society's actions, but we certainly can control what we do, say, and believe. We've not done a thing to make sure that not another black child never has to feel the way that Michael Jackson felt. So yes, we can be mad at and ashamed of Jackson, but we also have to feel the same ways about ourselves.
We can, however, make amends with Michael and all of the other blacks who have felt they were too black or not black enough by committing to "make a change today." I don't know.