Reflecting on the Color of My Skin
So, like Marques (whose tech channel on YouTube is one I subscribe to), I found myself struggling on what to say or do about the recent events surrounding race in America this past week. I originally made the decision that I would say nothing, and keep my voice out of it for saying the wrong thing, like Mr. Drew Brees, who I will discuss in a moment below. I faced some of the same concerns as Marques Brownlee, except for me, these issues appeared in the education and fandom (science fiction/fantasy) arenas rather than tech and sports for him. In case you’re not aware, there are very few writers of color in the traditional epic fantasy/sci-fi categories and there are many more now than when I started getting invested in the late 1970s, early 1980s of my childhood.
For full disclosure, for those who don’t know, although I’ve never made it any secret, I am an African American man living in the Southern area of the United States. I’ve not posted pictures of myself here because I really love words and I’d like for my words in this blog to define me as a writer and I want my words to capture my hopes, dreams, aspirations, goals, and yes, failures as a writer (when I started this blog) and now, as a scholar (as I am so close to completing attaining my goal of a PhD).
A Black Man in America
It is complicated to be an African American in America. Period. Full stop. Whether you are an African American man or woman, there are certain issues that you have to navigate in American society. For African American men, a common refrain is the unfair application of police power and the criminal justice system around them.
For me, reading is THE thing that I do. I was known as a student who would get lost in a book if you let him and was often engaged in other tasks in the classroom to “socialize” me. I had awesome parents who took me to the library every month and I checked out the maximum limit of books at the time (and there was nothing wrong with that in their eyes–they encouraged it!). So, combine my love of books with my grandmother’s edict that I “stay home” and not “go out” with my friends, kept me safe from “getting into trouble” and running afoul of the police/criminal justice system.
So, I know my situation is unique. I know there are Black men (& women) who have had unfair interactions with police/criminal justice system because of their race where I’ve had very little (mine have mostly been racially motivated in a one-to-one setting when I worked with the public, either as a library assistant or when I worked as a bookseller).
Looking at it Through Both Sets of Eyes: The Power of Empathy
Undisputed: Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless
I mentioned that one of the reasons that I stayed silent is that I did not want to say the wrong thing–which is what I felt Drew Brees did by his comments about the dispute over the controversy of the flag. While Brees apologized, his initial lack of regard for African Americans was something that is highly problematic. See Brees’s statement highlights a lack of empathy that someone in authority should have–yes, his two grandfathers’ served, but my uncle (African American) and my grandfather (African American) also served (both are buried in the Chattanooga National Cemetery), and while they taught me to respect the flag (my grandfather hung it outside the house every July 4th until old age kept him from continuing the tradition), but both my uncle and my grandfather were quick to tell me the ways in which this country hasn’t always kept its promise to be fair and just to all citizens.
In the few instances where I’ve had interactions with the police, they’ve all been mostly positive. I even had a member of law enforcement (or at least that’s how he presented himself in my class) in the very first college class I ever taught. I read, with empathy, the papers that he wrote, one of which is still seared into my mind, where he describes trying to protect and do good with a public that, at worst, hates him, and, at best, calls him a “necessary evil” (his words; not mine), trying to understand the pain he felt doing a job that he was despised for doing. Yet, while he might be a good officer, the officer who was seen kneeling on George Floyd’s neck, and the other officers who didn’t make an effort to get him to let up, have forced me (and others like me) to say, “This isn’t right. No one, of any color or creed, should be subjected to that type of treatment. No human being should treat another human being that way.” That’s why I posted the response by Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless from their show Undisputed. Both recognize and articulate that Drew Brees (even after the apology) only sees, and wants other people to see only one side of this complex issue–and that’s disappointing.
What Can I Do?
Grace Randolph
And this is the part where I can only say what I can do–and one of the reasons why I linked Marques Brownlee’s video. He gives some good suggestions if you want to “get involved.” For me, I think I can do 2 things:
ACADEMIC: I should be focusing on my dissertation. Unless my committee makes sweeping changes to my prospectus, I will be discussing Black Panther and the ways in which it succeeds in having a useful and productive conversation about race (in the conventions of film) as well as the rhetorical implications of Afrofuturism to make a difference in race relations. These are critical conversations going forward–more important than ever given the current state of America at the moment.
CREATIVE WRITING: Grace Randolph, a YouTuber I subscribe to, echoes a call that I’ve heard more than once: there needs to be more stories that tell stories featuring diverse characters. She also argues that there should be more diverse roles available. I should be focusing on working on my creative writing in order to craft stories in my favorite genres of fantasy and sci-fi for diverse characters. One of my friends from the library once told me that my story Childe Roland, featuring an African American male protagonist (you can find it for free in the links below), should be a graphic novel. I have yet to get around to that–I need to stop procrastinating and just continue to work to write and publish works with diverse characters with hope that one day these may find there ways into the right people who can help make them them into things that can be seen, and more importantly, experienced . Until we can understand each other, things will likely never change.
In conclusion, I hope this was a respectful and considered discussion of the (very) complex issues that are happening now. The one thing I want to be is part of the solution to this problem, and not part of the problem, unlike Mr. Brees, who despite his long list of football accomplishments, seems to have forgotten that he and his are not the only Americans to have ever lived (and served) in this country. However, this image captured by Sarah Grace Taylor of the Chattanooga Police Department is an excellent start to showing how a little empathy goes a long way.
[image error]Photo: Sarah Grace Taylor. Image Source: Chattanooga Times Freepress https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2020/jun/01/chattanooga-police-take-knee-protesters/524333/
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
The Independent (Sci-Fi Short-Story)–
Editing DraftShip of Shadows Graphic Novel
Finished: Script, Issue #1
Next: Script, Issue #2“Project Arizona” (Weird Western Story)
Finished: Rough Draft (Idea phase)
Next: First Draft (Plot phase)
