Hello!
I’m very glad that you have found yourself here, whether out of curiosity or in hopes to complete an assignment. Either way, below is a piece that holds both weight and length, and I know how intimidating that may seem. In this piece, I analyze the similarities that black nonfiction essayists utilize to detail the black experience and struggle. Though daunting, I hope you can take time to read it within its entirety (though I have subheadings that will assist you through the piece.) I believe that this genre, a very niche one, is critical for first year students(you!),especially in PWIs(Predominately White Institutions), to develop an understanding of an experience that is so different from your own. I believe to analyze yourself within an intercultural lense and attempt to understand the struggles of all people(s) is critical in receiving a well-rounded education. One can absorb information consistently, but it is with it’s application that we begin to understand the importance of what it is that we are learning. Thus, I believe this genre will be fruitful for you, whether POC or white, in molding your education. Thanks for visiting, and I hope that this analysis challenges you to want to pursue the complexities of the genre and relate it to your college experience;
for understanding race,
confronting it,
feeling it,
is essential in dismantling the systems that keep racism and prejudice in place.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN, Here are a few interviews with the two essayist I have discussed, in hopes that you can place a face to the name, a voice to the face, and an understanding of who they are.
The black experience is a complex one. Composed of generational trauma, hope, wisdom and rage that finds itself nurtured within the chest and head; various mediums of art erupt from those places in an attempt of resistance, of solidarity, of love. Often, that medium takes its shape in the form of words; And from the ashes of those we have loved and lost, black writers take up their pen and shape a narrative that resonates loudly with both the people they have written it for (black folk) and those who can garner an understanding of it outside of empathy (everyone else). Thus, the exploratory nonfiction essays produced by these artists hold a role of education, of enlightenment, and of change. When examining the essays of James Baldwin and bell hooks, I found that there are commonalities, dare I say patterns, that are utilized in each of these pieces. I noticed commonalities in their development of the essay, in their syntax/rhetoric (which I combine for the sake of their proximity), and in the message that they are conveying. With these similarities comes a distinct purpose, which will also be analyzed in the contents of this paper. It is important to note that within this essay I am addressing solely James Baldwin’s piece “Notes of a Native Son” and bell hooks piece “Class and Race: The New Black Elite”, two essays from one man and one woman from within the genre. I acknowledge that I am working within the binary and with a narrow sampling, which I recognize can give way to incongruities and partial information. Yet, the purpose of this paper is not to deem my findings statistically and factually correct, but rather, to acknowledge congruity between authors within the genre based on my personal knowledge and the similitude I discovered.
Development
Within the development of these essays, I noticed that hooks and Baldwin present three distinct points: a backstory, a synopsis of the part of the black struggle they are discussing, and an application of their analysis on that point. I believe that providing backstory is important to both these authors, and the genre itself, because it allows for the personal to be presented and thus gives the readers reference and understanding of what is being discussed. In hooks piece, she states, “In the community of my growing up it was not difficult to distinguish those black folk with class privilege who were committed to racial uplift, to sharing resources, and those who were eager to exploit the community solely for their own individual gain”(hooks, 92) while Baldwin writes, “When he died I had been away from home for a little over a year.In that year I had had time to become aware of the meaning of all my father’s bitter warnings… I had discovered the weight of white people in the world”(Baldwin, 90). Thus, establishing a backstory leaves it to the independent reader to comprehend based upon their own subjectivity. Both authors explicitly express the black struggle they are discussing, providing information on the complexities of that which has inspired them to develop a thesis upon. Addressing class disparity within the black community, hooks sets up her piece with, “Collectively, black folks in the United States have never wanted to highlight the issue of class and class exploitation, even though there have always been diverse caste and class groups among African-Americans” (hooks, 89). Baldwin sets up his essay by stating, “…I first contracted some dread, chronic disease, the unfailing symptom of which is a kind of blind fever, a pounding in the skull and fire in the bowels… There is not a Negro alive who does not have this rage in his blood- one has the choice, merely, of living with it consciously or surrendering to it”(Baldwin, 96). These examples give way to the reader to understand the purpose of the essay they are reading. Lastly, each author develops a critical analysis on the ways in which we can either confront or consider the injustices they are discussing. “Progressive black folks who have class privilege must intervene when our more conservative and liberal counterparts seek to deny the reality of black on black class cruelty and exploitation”(hooks, 99). hooks concludes her essay by summarizing her analysis of what must be done to ensure class solidarity, and thus racial solidarity, in a society where black folk will always be subject to discrimination and degradation. Baldwin concludes his piece with a similar précis of what he is addressing within the paper,
“It began to seem that one would have to hold in mind forever two ideas which seemed to be in opposition. The first idea was acceptance totally without rancor, of life as it is and men as they are… but this does not mean that one could be complacent, for the second idea was of equal power: that one must never, in one’s own life, accept these injustices as commonplace but must fight them with all one’s strength.”(Baldwin, 115)
Baldwin highlights the necessity of challenging that which is the status quo, racism, and though the power of it may never cease, black folk must never cease fighting against it. Thus, I found that the development of these two essays relied heavily on backstory, a synopsis of the black struggle, and their analysis of challenging it.
Syntax/Rhetoric
The importance of addressing the syntax and the rhetoric around each of these pieces is held within the importance of, perhaps, callin’ it what it is. Recurring words in each of these pieces were: race, violence, injustice, and blackness. Below, I present a tally of the recurrence of these words in each essay.
“Notes of a Native Son”
Race-IIIIIIII-8
Violence-IIII-4
Injustice-IIIIIII-7
Blackness-IIIII-5
“Class and Race: The New Black Elite”
Race-IIIIIIIIIIIIIII-15
Violence-IIIIII- 6
Injustice-IIIIII-6
Blackness- IIIIII-6
Along with the construction of the sentence in which they are held, the power that each of these words hold when read allows for the reader to connect and gain a deeper understanding of the problem/injustice that is being confronted. When faced with these terms that detail the black experience, the reader is able to gain an in-depth understanding of what is being addressed.
Message
The message that each reader discusses is similar due to the congruities of being a black body in the United States. Each of the essays I read detailed a message of the black experience, reflecting each other, though situational and differing in theme and time frame. Recurring messages I saw in both Baldwin and hooks’ essays reflected three themes: that of the estrangement of blackness, disparity within the black community, and the universal black rage that exists within all black bodies. Below, I display the similarity in the message they were presenting, based within each theme.
The Estrangement of Blackness:
“All black people know that no matter your class you will suffer wounds inflicted by racism, however relative”( hooks, 98).
“… and with the fact that he knew that he was black but did not know that he was beautiful. He claimed to be proud of his blackness but it had also been the cause of much humiliation and it had fixed bleak boundaries to his life”(Baldwin, 89).
Disparity Within the Black Community:
“These conservative black elites…not only take charge of interrupting and shaping public policy that will affect the lives of underprivileged black folk, they police black folks who do not agree with them or support their agendas”(hooks, 95).
“He spent great energy and achieved, to our chagrin, no small amount of success in keeping us from the people who surrounded us…he could not understand why, if they had so much energy to spare, they could not use it to make their lives better”(Baldwin, 92).
Black Rage:
“While all our rage at racism is justifiable…”(hooks, 95)
“I wanted to do something to crush these white faces, which were crushing me”(Baldwin, 97).
Each theme presented by both authors serves a critical purpose; detailing the reality of blackness and the need for it to be acknowledged, confronted, and addressed. Black Rage, The estrangement of blackness, and the disparities within our community are common themes reflected in the work of black nonfiction essayists. To address these dilemmas that surface in and around the black community is to shed light on the injustice that is incessantly around us; to bring these to light is to acknowledge that something must be done both from within and without the black community to change the systems that have fallen into place, serving the interests and well being of the white majority.
Conclusion
With similarities apparent in their development, syntax/rhetoric, and message, these black authors convey the black experience through the nonfiction genre. Through this they, as well as other authors within the field, bring to light the reality of black Americans, a circumstance that is both subjective and objective for those who experience it. Therefore, black nonfiction essayist forge a genre that is necessary within the college experience, within the human experience, to understand the struggle of black bodies in this country and utilize their words, connect to their words, in an attempt to dismantle the systems that have been set in place to subjugate black folk.
Works Cited
Baldwin, James. “Notes of a Native Son” in Notes of a Native Son. Beacon Press, 1984. 87-115. Print.
hooks, bell. “Class and Race: The New Black Elite” Where We Stand: Class Matters. Routledge, 2009. 89-100. Print.
Process Note:
Within this piece I attempt to bring to light the importance of black nonfiction essayists and the complexities of the genre that allow readers to attempt to understand race, confront it, and drive them to dismantle the systems that keep racism and prejudice in place. I chose this genre because as a young black woman, within my first year of college, I discovered how these essayists influenced me and my black peers, but also my white ones. I believe through the techniques mentioned, they make their essays accessible to all people of all races. I utilized “development”, “Syntax/Rhetoric” and “message” because I was able to see distinct commonalities within the two authors’ essays and I thought that these devices would serve the largest purpose of conveying the technique of black nonfiction essayists. Through this project, I strengthened my connection to black nonfiction essayists and grew a deeper understanding of the influence that they have on not only myself, but my peers who interface with them. In regards to writing, I have learned the power of “development”, “rhetoric and syntax” and “message” within a piece; through this project I was able to look at the importance of the construction of a piece rather than just the message it conveys.