tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11122973.post112543722637514594..comments2024-02-08T05:04:18.484-08:00Comments on J'S THEATER: Amy Alexander on Black Mass Market Idea MagsJohn Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08073378940347627766noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11122973.post-1125585203668970532005-09-01T07:33:00.000-07:002005-09-01T07:33:00.000-07:00Cane, thanks for posting. And Rod, I agree to som...Cane, thanks for posting. And Rod, I agree to some extent, though there is another side to Black American culture that encourages intellectual inquiry--which might not be viewed as serious by some--on an autodidact level. <BR/><BR/>I'm thinking of all the folks I know who have taught themselves Afrocentric, Kemetic, Muslim, 10 percenter, etc. principles, who are knowledgeable about Africa, Black American history, and so on. Now there are publications that address some of these ideas, but you're right that in mainstream, bourgeois Black American discourse, and in particular in magazine form, there appears to be little place either for the kind of esoteric thought (or at least public engagement with it) or other kinds of public intellectual engagement, except when put forward by a very few people, like Cornel West, bell hooks, Michael Eric Dyson, etc., all of whom have had to play the authenticity card, to "keep it real," in part to maintain their educated, middle-class audiences. <BR/><BR/>The sad thing is that we as Black Americans have a long tradition of intellectual and artistic inquiry, whether you go back to Jupiter Hammon and Phillis Wheatley, or Benjamin Banneker, on through any number of figures in the 19th and early 20th century, like W.E.DuBois and Alain Locke. It's really, really sad that we've come to this place, but I think it's possible to turn it around. But it will require a "fight"--for those basic educational opportunities AND for a recognition of what we've accomplished on our own in the past.John Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08073378940347627766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11122973.post-1125548139181223902005-08-31T21:15:00.000-07:002005-08-31T21:15:00.000-07:00Unforunately, much of Black-American culture is hi...Unforunately, much of Black-American culture is highly suspect of intellectuals, or, as Susan Sontag says, "the serious." <BR/><BR/>This is most unfortunate, because for we've had to fight so long for basic educational opportunities. Today's celebrity-driven African-American culture makes even the bourgeois and educated "play down" their accomplishments and "try to keep it real." ??Rodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14836018481765878405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11122973.post-1125523737110532252005-08-31T14:28:00.000-07:002005-08-31T14:28:00.000-07:00thanks for your post on my blog - i responded to y...thanks for your post on my blog - i responded to you - check it out when you can.Clayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16938240631738859935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11122973.post-1125511087223378212005-08-31T10:58:00.000-07:002005-08-31T10:58:00.000-07:00great post - there are many of us missing in publi...great post - there are many of us missing in publishing ... it is something that we really dont think aboutClayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16938240631738859935noreply@blogger.com