In search of black men's masculinities

Feminist Studies

Volumn 24, Issue 3, 1998, Pages 599-626

  Ross, Marlon B ^a  

^a NONE

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0032164069     PISSN: 00463663     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2307/3178582     Document Type: Article

References (49)

1. In fact, spokesmen for these militias frequently compare themselves to and use the rhetoric of besieged minority groups, appealing especially to Native American battles against an encroaching U.S. cavalry and to the Black Panthers' heroic shootouts against COINTELPRO and local police.
2. The theme of the "hollering" Black man can be traced from 1940s' protest literature in, for instance, Chester Himes's 1945 novel, If He Hollers Let Him Go (rpt.; New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 1986), to the contemporary post-civil rights mode in Nathan McCall's Makes Me Wanna Holler: A Young Black Man in America (New York: Random House, 1994).
3. The theme of the "hollering" Black man can be traced from 1940s' protest literature in, for instance, Chester Himes's 1945 novel, If He Hollers Let Him Go (rpt.; New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 1986), to the contemporary post-civil rights mode in Nathan McCall's Makes Me Wanna Holler: A Young Black Man in America (New York: Random House, 1994).
4. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, The Negro Family: The Case for National Action (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1967). In the Dred Scott decision, the 1857 Supreme Court case found that Scott, a Negro man, had "no rights which the white man was bound to respect" (emphasis added).
5. Paula Giddings offers a definitive feminist critique of the Moynihan report in When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America (New York: Bantam Books, 1984), 325-35.
6. Many documents have been published since the 1980s focusing on this concept of Black men as an endangered species. See, for instance, J.T. Gibbs, Young, Black, and Male in America: An Endangered Species (Dover, Mass.: Auburn House, 1988); John C. Gaston, "The Destruction of the Young Black Male: The Impact of Popular Culture and Organized Sports," Journal of Black Studies 16 (June 1986): 369-84; Jawanza Kunjufu, Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys, rev. ed., 2 vols. (Chicago: African American Images, 1984-1985); Nathan Hare and Julia Hare, The Endangered Black Family: Coping with the Unisexualization and Coming Extinction of the Black Race (San Francisco: Black Think Tank, 1984); and Haki R. Madhubuti, Black Men: Obsolete, Single, Dangerous? The Afrikan American Family in Transition (Chicago: Third World Press, 1990).
7. Many documents have been published since the 1980s focusing on this concept of Black men as an endangered species. See, for instance, J.T. Gibbs, Young, Black, and Male in America: An Endangered Species (Dover, Mass.: Auburn House, 1988); John C. Gaston, "The Destruction of the Young Black Male: The Impact of Popular Culture and Organized Sports," Journal of Black Studies 16 (June 1986): 369-84; Jawanza Kunjufu, Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys, rev. ed., 2 vols. (Chicago: African American Images, 1984-1985); Nathan Hare and Julia Hare, The Endangered Black Family: Coping with the Unisexualization and Coming Extinction of the Black Race (San Francisco: Black Think Tank, 1984); and Haki R. Madhubuti, Black Men: Obsolete, Single, Dangerous? The Afrikan American Family in Transition (Chicago: Third World Press, 1990).
8. Many documents have been published since the 1980s focusing on this concept of Black men as an endangered species. See, for instance, J.T. Gibbs, Young, Black, and Male in America: An Endangered Species (Dover, Mass.: Auburn House, 1988); John C. Gaston, "The Destruction of the Young Black Male: The Impact of Popular Culture and Organized Sports," Journal of Black Studies 16 (June 1986): 369-84; Jawanza Kunjufu, Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys, rev. ed., 2 vols. (Chicago: African American Images, 1984-1985); Nathan Hare and Julia Hare, The Endangered Black Family: Coping with the Unisexualization and Coming Extinction of the Black Race (San Francisco: Black Think Tank, 1984); and Haki R. Madhubuti, Black Men: Obsolete, Single, Dangerous? The Afrikan American Family in Transition (Chicago: Third World Press, 1990).
9. Many documents have been published since the 1980s focusing on this concept of Black men as an endangered species. See, for instance, J.T. Gibbs, Young, Black, and Male in America: An Endangered Species (Dover, Mass.: Auburn House, 1988); John C. Gaston, "The Destruction of the Young Black Male: The Impact of Popular Culture and Organized Sports," Journal of Black Studies 16 (June 1986): 369-84; Jawanza Kunjufu, Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys, rev. ed., 2 vols. (Chicago: African American Images, 1984-1985); Nathan Hare and Julia Hare, The Endangered Black Family: Coping with the Unisexualization and Coming Extinction of the Black Race (San Francisco: Black Think Tank, 1984); and Haki R. Madhubuti, Black Men: Obsolete, Single, Dangerous? The Afrikan American Family in Transition (Chicago: Third World Press, 1990).
10. Many documents have been published since the 1980s focusing on this concept of Black men as an endangered species. See, for instance, J.T. Gibbs, Young, Black, and Male in America: An Endangered Species (Dover, Mass.: Auburn House, 1988); John C. Gaston, "The Destruction of the Young Black Male: The Impact of Popular Culture and Organized Sports," Journal of Black Studies 16 (June 1986): 369-84; Jawanza Kunjufu, Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys, rev. ed., 2 vols. (Chicago: African American Images, 1984-1985); Nathan Hare and Julia Hare, The Endangered Black Family: Coping with the Unisexualization and Coming Extinction of the Black Race (San Francisco: Black Think Tank, 1984); and Haki R. Madhubuti, Black Men: Obsolete, Single, Dangerous? The Afrikan American Family in Transition (Chicago: Third World Press, 1990).
11. Consult Huey P. Newton's chapter on Eldridge Cleaver in Revolutionary Suicide (1973; rpt., New York: Writers and Readers Publishing, 1995), 128-36; and his speech, "The Women's Liberation and Gay Liberation Movements: August 15, 1970." in To Die for the People: Selected Writings and Speeches, ed. Toni Morrison (1972; rpt., New York: Writers and Readers Publishing, 1995), 152-55.
12. Consult Huey P. Newton's chapter on Eldridge Cleaver in Revolutionary Suicide (1973; rpt., New York: Writers and Readers Publishing, 1995), 128-36; and his speech, "The Women's Liberation and Gay Liberation Movements: August 15, 1970." in To Die for the People: Selected Writings and Speeches, ed. Toni Morrison (1972; rpt., New York: Writers and Readers Publishing, 1995), 152-55.
13. I say "hyper-visible" both because African American men occupy these particular kinds of positions in numbers larger than their percentage in the total population and because even one Black man in such a position automatically stirs up unresolved racial and gender issues for most Americans, whereas powerful, visible white men occupy these positions as the assumed norm, unmarked and unremarkable.
14. Michele Wallace, Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman (New York: Dial Press, 1978); Alice Walker, The Color Purple (New York: Washington Square Press, 1982). For an excellent critique of this phenomenon, see Deborah McDowell, "Reading Family Matters," in The Changing Same: Black Women's Literature, Criticism, and Theory (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995), 118-37; and Ann duCille, "Monster, She Wrote: Race and the Problem of Reading Gender-Wise," in Skin Trade (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996), 60-80. Also for a diverse set of views analyzing the fallout from this controversy-while alas contributing to it-see Orlando Patterson, "Blacklash: The Crisis of Gender Relations among African Americans," Transition, n.s., 3 (spring 1993): 4-26, and the symposium of responses to Patterson, "The Crisis of African American Gender Relations," Transition, n.s., 5 (summer 1995): 91-175.
15. Michele Wallace, Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman (New York: Dial Press, 1978); Alice Walker, The Color Purple (New York: Washington Square Press, 1982). For an excellent critique of this phenomenon, see Deborah McDowell, "Reading Family Matters," in The Changing Same: Black Women's Literature, Criticism, and Theory (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995), 118-37; and Ann duCille, "Monster, She Wrote: Race and the Problem of Reading Gender-Wise," in Skin Trade (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996), 60-80. Also for a diverse set of views analyzing the fallout from this controversy-while alas contributing to it-see Orlando Patterson, "Blacklash: The Crisis of Gender Relations among African Americans," Transition, n.s., 3 (spring 1993): 4-26, and the symposium of responses to Patterson, "The Crisis of African American Gender Relations," Transition, n.s., 5 (summer 1995): 91-175.
16. Michele Wallace, Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman (New York: Dial Press, 1978); Alice Walker, The Color Purple (New York: Washington Square Press, 1982). For an excellent critique of this phenomenon, see Deborah McDowell, "Reading Family Matters," in The Changing Same: Black Women's Literature, Criticism, and Theory (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995), 118-37; and Ann duCille, "Monster, She Wrote: Race and the Problem of Reading Gender-Wise," in Skin Trade (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996), 60-80. Also for a diverse set of views analyzing the fallout from this controversy-while alas contributing to it-see Orlando Patterson, "Blacklash: The Crisis of Gender Relations among African Americans," Transition, n.s., 3 (spring 1993): 4-26, and the symposium of responses to Patterson, "The Crisis of African American Gender Relations," Transition, n.s., 5 (summer 1995): 91-175.
17. Michele Wallace, Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman (New York: Dial Press, 1978); Alice Walker, The Color Purple (New York: Washington Square Press, 1982). For an excellent critique of this phenomenon, see Deborah McDowell, "Reading Family Matters," in The Changing Same: Black Women's Literature, Criticism, and Theory (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995), 118-37; and Ann duCille, "Monster, She Wrote: Race and the Problem of Reading Gender-Wise," in Skin Trade (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996), 60-80. Also for a diverse set of views analyzing the fallout from this controversy-while alas contributing to it-see Orlando Patterson, "Blacklash: The Crisis of Gender Relations among African Americans," Transition, n.s., 3 (spring 1993): 4-26, and the symposium of responses to Patterson, "The Crisis of African American Gender Relations," Transition, n.s., 5 (summer 1995): 91-175.
18. Michele Wallace, Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman (New York: Dial Press, 1978); Alice Walker, The Color Purple (New York: Washington Square Press, 1982). For an excellent critique of this phenomenon, see Deborah McDowell, "Reading Family Matters," in The Changing Same: Black Women's Literature, Criticism, and Theory (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995), 118-37; and Ann duCille, "Monster, She Wrote: Race and the Problem of Reading Gender-Wise," in Skin Trade (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996), 60-80. Also for a diverse set of views analyzing the fallout from this controversy-while alas contributing to it-see Orlando Patterson, "Blacklash: The Crisis of Gender Relations among African Americans," Transition, n.s., 3 (spring 1993): 4-26, and the symposium of responses to Patterson, "The Crisis of African American Gender Relations," Transition, n.s., 5 (summer 1995): 91-175.
19. Michele Wallace, Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman (New York: Dial Press, 1978); Alice Walker, The Color Purple (New York: Washington Square Press, 1982). For an excellent critique of this phenomenon, see Deborah McDowell, "Reading Family Matters," in The Changing Same: Black Women's Literature, Criticism, and Theory (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995), 118-37; and Ann duCille, "Monster, She Wrote: Race and the Problem of Reading Gender-Wise," in Skin Trade (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996), 60-80. Also for a diverse set of views analyzing the fallout from this controversy-while alas contributing to it-see Orlando Patterson, "Blacklash: The Crisis of Gender Relations among African Americans," Transition, n.s., 3 (spring 1993): 4-26, and the symposium of responses to Patterson, "The Crisis of African American Gender Relations," Transition, n.s., 5 (summer 1995): 91-175.
20. Their autobiographies demonstrate how they exploit the janus-head of Black masculinity for subversion and profit. See Dennis Rodman's Bad as I Wanna Be, with Tim Keown (New York: Delacorte Press, 1991); and RuPaul's Lettin It All Hang Out: An Autobiography (New York: Hyperion, 1995).
21. Their autobiographies demonstrate how they exploit the janus-head of Black masculinity for subversion and profit. See Dennis Rodman's Bad as I Wanna Be, with Tim Keown (New York: Delacorte Press, 1991); and RuPaul's Lettin It All Hang Out: An Autobiography (New York: Hyperion, 1995).
22. Some of the most notable ones include Elliot Liebow, Tally's Corner: A Study of Negro Streetcorner Men (Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown, & Co., 1967); Robert Staples, Black Masculinity: The Black Man's Role in American Society (San Francisco: The Black Scholars Press, 1972); Doris Y. Wilkinson and Ronald L. Taylor, eds., The Black Male in America: Perspectives on His Status in Contemporary Society (Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1977); Elijah Anderson, A Place on the Corner (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978), and Streetwise: Race, Class, and Change in an Urban Community (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990); Dan Rose, Black American Street Life: South Philadelphia, 1969-1971 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987); Mitchell Duneier, Slim s Table: Race, Respectability, and Masculinity (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992); Richard Majors and Janet Mancini Billson, Cool Pose: The Dilemmas of Black Manhood in America (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992); and Anthony J. Lemelle Jr., Black Male Deviance (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1995).
23. Some of the most notable ones include Elliot Liebow, Tally's Corner: A Study of Negro Streetcorner Men (Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown, & Co., 1967); Robert Staples, Black Masculinity: The Black Man's Role in American Society (San Francisco: The Black Scholars Press, 1972); Doris Y. Wilkinson and Ronald L. Taylor, eds., The Black Male in America: Perspectives on His Status in Contemporary Society (Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1977); Elijah Anderson, A Place on the Corner (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978), and Streetwise: Race, Class, and Change in an Urban Community (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990); Dan Rose, Black American Street Life: South Philadelphia, 1969-1971 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987); Mitchell Duneier, Slim s Table: Race, Respectability, and Masculinity (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992); Richard Majors and Janet Mancini Billson, Cool Pose: The Dilemmas of Black Manhood in America (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992); and Anthony J. Lemelle Jr., Black Male Deviance (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1995).
24. Some of the most notable ones include Elliot Liebow, Tally's Corner: A Study of Negro Streetcorner Men (Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown, & Co., 1967); Robert Staples, Black Masculinity: The Black Man's Role in American Society (San Francisco: The Black Scholars Press, 1972); Doris Y. Wilkinson and Ronald L. Taylor, eds., The Black Male in America: Perspectives on His Status in Contemporary Society (Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1977); Elijah Anderson, A Place on the Corner (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978), and Streetwise: Race, Class, and Change in an Urban Community (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990); Dan Rose, Black American Street Life: South Philadelphia, 1969-1971 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987); Mitchell Duneier, Slim s Table: Race, Respectability, and Masculinity (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992); Richard Majors and Janet Mancini Billson, Cool Pose: The Dilemmas of Black Manhood in America (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992); and Anthony J. Lemelle Jr., Black Male Deviance (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1995).
25. Some of the most notable ones include Elliot Liebow, Tally's Corner: A Study of Negro Streetcorner Men (Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown, & Co., 1967); Robert Staples, Black Masculinity: The Black Man's Role in American Society (San Francisco: The Black Scholars Press, 1972); Doris Y. Wilkinson and Ronald L. Taylor, eds., The Black Male in America: Perspectives on His Status in Contemporary Society (Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1977); Elijah Anderson, A Place on the Corner (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978), and Streetwise: Race, Class, and Change in an Urban Community (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990); Dan Rose, Black American Street Life: South Philadelphia, 1969-1971 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987); Mitchell Duneier, Slim s Table: Race, Respectability, and Masculinity (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992); Richard Majors and Janet Mancini Billson, Cool Pose: The Dilemmas of Black Manhood in America (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992); and Anthony J. Lemelle Jr., Black Male Deviance (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1995).
26. Some of the most notable ones include Elliot Liebow, Tally's Corner: A Study of Negro Streetcorner Men (Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown, & Co., 1967); Robert Staples, Black Masculinity: The Black Man's Role in American Society (San Francisco: The Black Scholars Press, 1972); Doris Y. Wilkinson and Ronald L. Taylor, eds., The Black Male in America: Perspectives on His Status in Contemporary Society (Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1977); Elijah Anderson, A Place on the Corner (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978), and Streetwise: Race, Class, and Change in an Urban Community (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990); Dan Rose, Black American Street Life: South Philadelphia, 1969-1971 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987); Mitchell Duneier, Slim s Table: Race, Respectability, and Masculinity (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992); Richard Majors and Janet Mancini Billson, Cool Pose: The Dilemmas of Black Manhood in America (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992); and Anthony J. Lemelle Jr., Black Male Deviance (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1995).
27. Some of the most notable ones include Elliot Liebow, Tally's Corner: A Study of Negro Streetcorner Men (Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown, & Co., 1967); Robert Staples, Black Masculinity: The Black Man's Role in American Society (San Francisco: The Black Scholars Press, 1972); Doris Y. Wilkinson and Ronald L. Taylor, eds., The Black Male in America: Perspectives on His Status in Contemporary Society (Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1977); Elijah Anderson, A Place on the Corner (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978), and Streetwise: Race, Class, and Change in an Urban Community (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990); Dan Rose, Black American Street Life: South Philadelphia, 1969-1971 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987); Mitchell Duneier, Slim s Table: Race, Respectability, and Masculinity (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992); Richard Majors and Janet Mancini Billson, Cool Pose: The Dilemmas of Black Manhood in America (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992); and Anthony J. Lemelle Jr., Black Male Deviance (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1995).
28. Some of the most notable ones include Elliot Liebow, Tally's Corner: A Study of Negro Streetcorner Men (Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown, & Co., 1967); Robert Staples, Black Masculinity: The Black Man's Role in American Society (San Francisco: The Black Scholars Press, 1972); Doris Y. Wilkinson and Ronald L. Taylor, eds., The Black Male in America: Perspectives on His Status in Contemporary Society (Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1977); Elijah Anderson, A Place on the Corner (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978), and Streetwise: Race, Class, and Change in an Urban Community (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990); Dan Rose, Black American Street Life: South Philadelphia, 1969-1971 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987); Mitchell Duneier, Slim s Table: Race, Respectability, and Masculinity (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992); Richard Majors and Janet Mancini Billson, Cool Pose: The Dilemmas of Black Manhood in America (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992); and Anthony J. Lemelle Jr., Black Male Deviance (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1995).
29. Some of the most notable ones include Elliot Liebow, Tally's Corner: A Study of Negro Streetcorner Men (Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown, & Co., 1967); Robert Staples, Black Masculinity: The Black Man's Role in American Society (San Francisco: The Black Scholars Press, 1972); Doris Y. Wilkinson and Ronald L. Taylor, eds., The Black Male in America: Perspectives on His Status in Contemporary Society (Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1977); Elijah Anderson, A Place on the Corner (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978), and Streetwise: Race, Class, and Change in an Urban Community (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990); Dan Rose, Black American Street Life: South Philadelphia, 1969-1971 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987); Mitchell Duneier, Slim s Table: Race, Respectability, and Masculinity (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992); Richard Majors and Janet Mancini Billson, Cool Pose: The Dilemmas of Black Manhood in America (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992); and Anthony J. Lemelle Jr., Black Male Deviance (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1995).
30. Some of the most notable ones include Elliot Liebow, Tally's Corner: A Study of Negro Streetcorner Men (Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown, & Co., 1967); Robert Staples, Black Masculinity: The Black Man's Role in American Society (San Francisco: The Black Scholars Press, 1972); Doris Y. Wilkinson and Ronald L. Taylor, eds., The Black Male in America: Perspectives on His Status in Contemporary Society (Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1977); Elijah Anderson, A Place on the Corner (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978), and Streetwise: Race, Class, and Change in an Urban Community (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990); Dan Rose, Black American Street Life: South Philadelphia, 1969-1971 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987); Mitchell Duneier, Slim s Table: Race, Respectability, and Masculinity (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992); Richard Majors and Janet Mancini Billson, Cool Pose: The Dilemmas of Black Manhood in America (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992); and Anthony J. Lemelle Jr., Black Male Deviance (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1995).
31. See Judith Newton's review essay on hegemonic masculinity studies in this volume. Two exceptions to a token treatment of masculinities of color in the making of hegemonic male identity include historian Gail Bederman's Manliness and Civilization: A Cultural History of Gender and Race in the United States, 1880-1917 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995); and anthropologist David D. Gilmore's cross-cultural study, Manhood in the Making: Cultural Concepts of Masculinity (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990).
32. See Judith Newton's review essay on hegemonic masculinity studies in this volume. Two exceptions to a token treatment of masculinities of color in the making of hegemonic male identity include historian Gail Bederman's Manliness and Civilization: A Cultural History of Gender and Race in the United States, 1880-1917 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995); and anthropologist David D. Gilmore's cross-cultural study, Manhood in the Making: Cultural Concepts of Masculinity (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990).
33. See Judith Newton's review essay on hegemonic masculinity studies in this volume. Two exceptions to a token treatment of masculinities of color in the making of hegemonic male identity include historian Gail Bederman's Manliness and Civilization: A Cultural History of Gender and Race in the United States, 1880-1917 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995); and anthropologist David D. Gilmore's cross-cultural study, Manhood in the Making: Cultural Concepts of Masculinity (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990).
34. Thelma Golden, Black Male: Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary American Art (New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1994).
35. James Baldwin actually said: "No true account really of black life can be held, can be contained in the American vocabulary. As it is, the only way that you can deal with it is by doing great violence to the assumptions on which the vocabulary is based." See Quincy Troupe, "The Last Interview," in James Baldwin: The Legacy, ed. Quincy Troupe (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989), 204.
36. W.E.B. Du Bois, The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1899).
37. By "mass and popular culture" I refer to the common distinction made between mass culture as that resulting from the technologically advanced modes of capitalist distribution in a global market economy and popular culture as the practices, beliefs, and discourses deriving directly from local networks of traditional oral and written communication among a distinct group of people before the capitalist market intervenes. My point is that African American popular culture has become deeply implicated in these slick mass culture representations.
38. Alain Locke, foreword, The New Negro: An Interpretation (New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1925), ix. Or see the modern reprint: The New Negro: Voices of the Harlem Renaissance, introduction by Arnold Rampersad (New York: Atheneum, 1992), xxv.
39. Alain Locke, foreword, The New Negro: An Interpretation (New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1925), ix. Or see the modern reprint: The New Negro: Voices of the Harlem Renaissance, introduction by Arnold Rampersad (New York: Atheneum, 1992), xxv.
40. On Alain Locke's understanding of individual free expression in relation to race and culture, see Johnny Washington, Alain Locke and Philosophy: A Quest for Cultural Pluralism (New York: Greenwood Press, 1986), esp. 39-60; also see Rutledge M. Dennis, "Relativism and Pluralism in the Social Thought of Alain Locke," and A. Gilbert Belles, "The Politics of Alain Locke," both in Alain Locke: Reflections on a Modern Renaissance Man, ed. Russell J. Linnemann (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1982), 29-49, 50-62.
41. On Alain Locke's understanding of individual free expression in relation to race and culture, see Johnny Washington, Alain Locke and Philosophy: A Quest for Cultural Pluralism (New York: Greenwood Press, 1986), esp. 39-60; also see Rutledge M. Dennis, "Relativism and Pluralism in the Social Thought of Alain Locke," and A. Gilbert Belles, "The Politics of Alain Locke," both in Alain Locke: Reflections on a Modern Renaissance Man, ed. Russell J. Linnemann (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1982), 29-49, 50-62.
42. On Alain Locke's understanding of individual free expression in relation to race and culture, see Johnny Washington, Alain Locke and Philosophy: A Quest for Cultural Pluralism (New York: Greenwood Press, 1986), esp. 39-60; also see Rutledge M. Dennis, "Relativism and Pluralism in the Social Thought of Alain Locke," and A. Gilbert Belles, "The Politics of Alain Locke," both in Alain Locke: Reflections on a Modern Renaissance Man, ed. Russell J. Linnemann (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1982), 29-49, 50-62.
43. Amiri Baraka and Larry Neal, Black Fire: An Anthology of Afro-American Writing (New York: Morrow, 1968); Barbara Smith, Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology (New York: Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, 1983); Joseph Beam, In the Life: A Black Gay Anthology (Boston: Alyson Publications, 1986).
44. Amiri Baraka and Larry Neal, Black Fire: An Anthology of Afro-American Writing (New York: Morrow, 1968); Barbara Smith, Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology (New York: Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, 1983); Joseph Beam, In the Life: A Black Gay Anthology (Boston: Alyson Publications, 1986).
45. Amiri Baraka and Larry Neal, Black Fire: An Anthology of Afro-American Writing (New York: Morrow, 1968); Barbara Smith, Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology (New York: Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, 1983); Joseph Beam, In the Life: A Black Gay Anthology (Boston: Alyson Publications, 1986).
46. In the same year, a similar anthology was brought out, but it was a canonical survey of excerpted writings by African American men from enslavement to the present: Herb Boyd and Robert L. Allen, eds., Brotherman: The Odyssey of Black Men in America-An Anthology (New York: Ballantine Books, 1995).
47. James Baldwin, Nobody Knows My Name: More Notes of a Native Son (New York: Dial, 1961).
48. Citations taken from The Souls of Black Folk, introduction by Donald B. Gibson (New York: Penguin Books, 1989).
49. Michael Awkward, Negotiating Difference: Race, Gender, and the Politics of Positionality (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995).