I am Not Your Negro by James Baldwin and narrated by Samuel
L. Jackson, is a powerful, insightful, and truthful documentary that narrates Black History from
the Civil Rights to present day Black Lives Matter. The film discusses how African Americans are
depicted throughout Hollywood, as they were almost always vilified or portrayed
as less than. They were never portrayed as a hero, which often lead young black
children to idolize white actors because that was what they saw. They were lead
to believe that the white actors were the brave ones. This reminded me of the Doll Test, the study was conducted in the 1940’s by Dr Kenneth and Mammie Clark, both psychologists.
The test studied psychological effects
of segregation on African-American children. They used four identical dolls
with the exception of skin color to test children’s racial perceptions. The doctors asked children whose ages ranged
for three to seven. They were asked a variety of questions about the dolls
including the race of the doll and which doll they would prefer. Most children preferred
the white doll and described it with positive characteristics. The test concluded that young children were
feeling the effects of discrimination and segregation which resulted in inferiority. The same test was conducted more recently and
the results show that nothing has changed in 70 years .
The film also shows
footage of Baldwin on the Dick Cavett show, discussing the progress (or the
lack there of) that has been made. Cavett comments that “they’re even accorded
the ultimate accolade of being on television now.” In response to this comment,
Baldwin smiles.
James Baldwin also recounts about his friendships with Malcolm X,
Martin Luther King Jr., and Medgar Evers.
Three individuals who he knew personally and were all American civil rights
activist during the Civil Rights Movement. All three men were assassinated for standing
up for their beliefs. All three were assassinated because of racism.
While viewing this film, these quotes stood out to me. ”White
people are astounded by Birmingham… Black people are not, white people are
demanding Birmingham is really on mars they don’t want to believe that what is happening
in Birmingham that is happening all over the country”. ““You don't know what's
happening on the other side of the wall, because you don't want to know.” Baldwin
also states that “Black people have been the victim of violence at the hands of
white people for over 400 years. “
These three quotes are just as true in 1963, as they were in 2014 in Ferguson Missouri as it is
today. People are still blind and naïve to
think racism is a thing of the past. It is sadly, very real. Most people choose
to believe it doesn’t exist because it doesn’t happen to them. People are still
racial profiling and beating someone solely based on the color of their skin.
They are automatically considered a threat and deemed unsafe, because they are
not white. It is astounding that nothing has changed, and black people are victimized.
It is appalling that in the 21st Century, that so much hate, prejudice, and bigotry are
still as prevalent as ever.
I remember watching the 1940's Doll Test and thinking how disturbing it is that children are brainwashed. I did not know a recent one was conducted and had same results! When you think about it, the majority of Disney's main characters are white, and the same goes with Barbie. What a subtle way to plant the seeds of racism in young children!
ReplyDeleteAmanda, Thank you for sharing the information on the Doll Test. I hadn't heard of it before. I found this link as well, https://www.history.com/news/brown-v-board-of-education-doll-experiment, which talks more about how it impacted the Brown decision. Although I have not experienced this personally with race, I know that I have felt similar things with gender and profession. At the time I did my undergraduate work in mathematics, there were many fewer math professors that were women. It didn't seem as normal for women to study mathematics. Now twenty years later, as I am back in school there are more women mathematicians and that does a lot for me personally. Still, as a friend pointed out to me, we have very few black mathematics professors. I believe that it is very valuable to have diversity across the professions so that students can see that their choice of career doesn't need to depend on their profession. One thing that struck me in the first film we watched, In Sickness and Wealth, was when the boy is talking about playing for the NBA and Dr. Troutman says he is a doctor. I felt like Dr. Troutman was trying to educate and show another perspective to this child. Have you ever considered how in your classroom or through your influence you show more diverse roll models?
ReplyDeleteAmanda,I too was so moved by this film. Its so interesting that you chose the doll test to reference as that is the very first thought I had when I watched them portray the black boy as a "good boy." What was really ironic is that my 11 year old daughter decided she was going to attend a peaceful protest with her friend in town on Sunday while I was viewing this. We live in South Kingstown, my girls are white. We have a "few black friends." Averys really dear friend is adopted, and is also 11, from Africa, her mother and father are both white educators, her grandfather(also white) was the superintendent of our school district. Interesting, the cycle that played itself out right in front of me, as I sat there and worried about how the message would be best delivered to my super impressionable girls. I thank you for your insight and your comparison to the doll study as it was relatable for sure. I showed it to my girls. Have you ever done the study in real life with any of your students or own children?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the thoughtful post, Amanda, and for the link to the doll test. In your last paragraph, I think it's important to note that it is *white* people who are not aware of the realities of racism, since we don't experience it and also benefit (via white privilege) from denying its existence.
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