I Am Not Your Negro
"I Am Not Your Negro" is a documentary written by James Baldwin and directed by Raoul Peck. It analyzes the history of racial inequality and oppression and makes connections to how these are still present in society today and how they have shaped the lives of today's Americans.
After watching this documentary, I learned more about the history of racial inequality than I had known before. Ever since black people have been in the United States, there has been a struggle for equality. Black people started as slaves to white people. When slavery was abolished, the racial inequities only got worse. In the video, Baldwin says, "Now that they don't need us, they're gonna kill us all off." When slavery ended, white people felt that there was no need for black people. They were brought to the United States to be slaves and now that their "role" is no longer needed, they wanted to get rid of them. While watching the documentary, I felt a bit uneasy hearing some of the things that were said about black people and some of the things that were done to them as it opened my eyes to the true abuse and oppression that they had to experience.
The segregation in schools was another topic that I was taken aback by. Leander Perez of the White Citizens Council said, "The moment a negro child walks into the school, every decent, self-respecting, loving parent should take his white child out of that broken school." When I heard this statement, I was shocked. I knew that there was segregation of schools, but I had never thought about the true meaning behind the separation. White families believed that the school was broken when a black student was allowed in. Why did they feel that black children were not worthy of the same education that their white children were receiving? It was unsettling to come to the realization that white people truly believed they were superior to black people and their children deserved better than black children. Schools are still experiencing a type of segregation today. Just this year, in Mississippi, two black students were named Valedictorian and Salutatorian of their class. Shortly after, two white students were announced as Valedictorian and Salutatorian as well. While, the black students were not stripped of their titles. it is still shocking to see that this type of separation is still happening. The school shares their reasoning behind making the decision to have four students recognized, but there are many people that believe that race is involved. Here is the article describing this specific story.
"I begin to suspect that white people did not act as they did because they were white, but for some other reason." This quote made me think of structural racism and how it is the normalization and legitimization of giving advantage to white people. After watching Dr. Rose's presentation on structural racism, this quote from the documentary helped me make a connection between the ways white people treated black people and the reasons behind them. For many people, structural racism is a part of their everyday lives, and some may not even realize that it is happening. While racism is still present in America today, presentations such as Dr. Rose's are starting to help people realize that the way that black people are treated is not right. It is not normal for white people to move out of neighborhoods because there are many black families living there. It is not normal for black people to receive different punishments for the same crimes that white people have committed. These presentations help open the eyes of those that see this as "normal" and help them realize that this is not right. It is not okay that this racism and oppression is still happening and is normalized.
Overall, this documentary opened my eyes to what African Americans have had to go through to live in the United States. They have suffered so much, and the suffering has yet to end. I was truly shocked to hear some of the things that were said to and about black people that I could never imagine hearing someone say out loud. The unkindness and mistreatment of black people is something that I knew was part of our history, but never realized the true extent and certainly wish was not still happening today.
Many of the quotes you mentioned in your post were ones I had written down while watching and had also stuck out to me. It is really tragic and unforgivable that these utterances were made, and I too, also questioned how or why people were saying these things. The quote you listed about segregation in schools, and how the parent believed a school would be broken if black students were allowed, made me think of the talk about "How Structural Racism Works" because the white flight at rates of 20-30% black in a neighborhood, is essentially the same thing. I think in recent times there are less horrendous things said outwardly by people, but the actions, microaggressions and blindness can be just as harmful, if not more because its reduced visibility causes some to believe it doesn't exist.
ReplyDeleteI too dove a little deeper into the Civil Rights Movement. Researching a bit more about Malcom X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Medgar Evers. I found this quote from Medgar Evers that really resonated with me.
ReplyDelete"When you hate, the only person that suffers is you because most of the people you hate don't know it and the rest don't care."
Powerful statement right there.
I thought the same thing about the shocking quote about preferring murderers than integration. This quote made me think about how it might feel to be in a person's of color shoes when being told that god curses those who integrate. I love your reflections on the quotes you chose and the picture from the beginning!
ReplyDelete