Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Bill O'Reilly's Rant on MJ's Blackness
Ok I have my thoughts about his video but I really want you to post your thoughts as well. I have had this conversation with myself several times about Michael Jackson's identity and his place in the black community particularly as a pillar of elevation for our race. As a African-American I think we tend to want to claim what's ours especially if its positive or crosses boundaries like Michael did. He was the greatest Entertainer of all time and it gives blacks a sense of pride to know that he's one of us. But when he began to go through all of his changes many blacks neglected to stand behind him, denouncing him as black and attributing his likeness and behavior to that of whites. However, in his death we welcomed him back to our side.
I for one questioned his choices like everyone else but I never expelled him from the race because no matter how much you change your appearance you can't change the roots. Nonetheless, I did feel a lack of pride on Mike's part. Like we were proud of him but he wasn't proud of us. Then I thought well maybe he doesn't see life that way, as Black or White. Maybe that's why he made the song or maybe he did it to soften the blow of judgment that followed from him bleaching his skin. Or perhaps his troubles with his father have unintentionally created a rift between him and his culture. I too wonder why he chose white donors for his children and why he went so far to erase his dark skin and straighten his kinky hair and narrow his broad noes. But I know that his personal troubles were far more complex than I could imagine and opted to not make his choices a racial issue personally directed at blacks. I know that he was not a prejudice person and though he himself may not have been comfortable being black, it would be an ungrounded assumption and unfair judgment of his character to suggest it was because he regarded blacks negatively.
I think he was undeniably black and his musical talent DID open doors for African-Americans across the entertainment spectrum.That's why he's such a pivotal figure in the elevation and progression of blacks. Anyone who is so good at what they do that their race is no longer an issue is worthy of being recognized as a trailblazer for that race. His increasingly white skin and white children don't prohibit him from breaking down doors for blacks just as white people's tanned skin and adoption of African babies don't prohibit them from white privilege.
He was a black man with issues who whether he desired to or not, did do ground breaking things for African-Americans, and for that we appreciate him. It's not for us to say how much of his bizarre behavior was attributed to his troubled childhood and how much to his prejudices. And in death it serves no purpose to attack one's character. Bill is just as guilty of capitalizing on a media opportunity as the next, he just tries to slide by undiscovered by playing the devils advocate. But um yea, we see you boo...nice try.
That's all from me. PLEASE COMMENT!
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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.