This is not my favorite type of post. I much prefer going after Republicans, but when I see something like this happen, I can't let it slip by. Friday night at the Collins-Steele Dinner in Tallahassee Congressman Allen Boyd gave a speech in which he referred to Barack Obama as "smart" and "articulate." That was the whole of his description. Here we go again...
Okay, I want all my white friends to come in and have a seat with me. Let's have a talk. Now, before I start, let me tell you that I've grown up in neighborhoods that were nearly 50% black (such as on the south side of Tally and the Green Street area near Raa Middle School, on the edge of historically-black Frenchtown), I've gone to schools with high black populations my whole life, I've been interested in black culture since I was a child -- I've been listening to hip hop since 1979, literally, I've studied black history, I've taught black history at the college level, two of my sons are named after my heroes Jackie Robinson and Richard Pryor, and, get this, I've actually talked to black people my whole life.
Now, I say that to lead you into this -- it really isn't that hard to figure out how to talk to and about black people. I understand why the Bill O'Reilly's and Glen Beck's of the world find it hard to talk to black people -- they're racist. But for people like Boyd, and Joe Biden, it shouldn't be this hard. We are members of the Democratic Party, the party of the people -- all the people. It is our job to talk to our friends and allies in a way that not only doesn't offend them, but in a way that inspires them to continue to be our friends and allies.
Why is it wrong for a white man to call a black man smart and articulate? As with all things, context matters. Let's start off with the fact that Obama technically holds a higher rank than Boyd. And that he's running for president. And that he graduated Harvard. And was president of the Harvard Law Review. And lived in Kenya, Hawaii and Indonesia. Of course he's smart and articulate. When someone is this well accomplished, referring to them as smart and articulate is on par with referring to them as a man who has hair. Stating the obvious as if it is high praise is ignorant at best. Chris Rock said it best when he talked about this very subject a few years ago:
Whenever Colin Powell is on the news, white people give him the same compliments: 'How do you feel about Colin Powell?', 'He speaks so well! He's so well spoken. I mean he really speaks so well!' Like that's a compliment, sh*t. 'He speaks so well' is not a compliment, okay? 'He speaks so well' is some sh*t you say about retarded people that can talk. What do you mean he speaks so well? He's a fuc*ing educated man! How the fu*k you expect him to sound, you dirty motherfuc*er?
But then you have to actually add the racial element. I'm sure that Boyd can come up with more to say about Chris Dodd or Joe Biden to say than that they are articulate and smart. Maybe Boyd could've come up with something as inspiring to say as what he said for Chelsea Hamati, who serves as his sponsored page this year:
Chelsea has excelled in academics and demonstrated outstanding leadership ability at Arnold High School and in the community.
Or he could've said something as complimentary as what he said about the military academy applicants he recommended this year (you know, the students he wrote letters for that he doesn't really know):
These young people certainly are the cream of the crop. They have demonstrated both excellence in academics and exemplary character.
So there seems to be a double standard operating here. Boyd didn't take the time to come up with something to say that avoided the scars of the racist past the South is still dealing with today. And that's really the key, when you say things like this without understanding the use of these terms in the past, you show a lack of respect not only for history, but of the people who still have to deal with the effects of that history.
Now the key question is why would Boyd do it? Why would he say these things about Obama?
- Is he racist? I don't think so. Despite his lackluster record on civil rights and his status as a Bush Dog, I don't think he is racist in the classical "white robes in the closet" sense. Maybe in the passive, low-expectations sense, but the evidence is scarce to support even that.
- Is he is ignorant of the history of the word and its racist usage? Maybe, but not likely. I've grown up in the exact same area as Boyd and I knew not to refer to an accomplished black man as "articulate." Boyd lived here during the civil rights era, so he should know it even better than I do. Heck, he was speaking at a dinner in honor of former governor LeRoy Collins and C.K. Steele, Tallahassee's anti-segregation crusader, he should've thought about it. Or at least done some homework. Like using Google, which would lead you to this entry on the "List of Offensive Words That Should be Avoided":
Articulate: Can be considered offensive when referring to a minority, particularly a black person, and his or her ability to handle the English language. The usage suggests the "those people" are not considered well-educated, articulate, and the like.
If nothing else, Boyd should at least be paying attention to the news. Serving as a U.S. representative, maybe he should be paying attention to the presidential race, such as when Joe Biden got in trouble for saying the exact same thing. Or, if he's not a blog reader, maybe he should read the Chicago Tribune, New York Times or Washington Post. One or more of they may include relevant things to performing his duties as a member of the U.S. Congress.
- Is Boyd lazy? Maybe. At least when it comes to things like this. This isn't the first time recently that I've seen Boyd give a speech in Tallahassee that seemed unprepared and off-the-cuff. That other speech included bad remarks as well -- Boyd seemed to take credit for protecting Social Security, a program he co-sponsored a bill to privatize (which means he co-sponsored a bill to destroy the program and then took credit for protecting it). Maybe Boyd should spend a little bit more time preparing his remarks. When sitting down to think of what to say, start with the thought: "Okay, in this speech, what could I possibly say that will offend some portion of the audience?" Whatever he thinks of, he should probably discard that part of the speech.
And, before you tell me to lighten up or stop being politically correct, let me tell it to you simply. History exists. We can't ignore it or act like it doesn't. And history influences the present. We can't ignore that either. We don't now get to decide what connotations or negative associations are placed upon what words. These things exist and they don't go away because we don't think they should exist or because they don't offend us, personally. Also, and this is a key, white people don't get to tell nonwhite people what they should or should not be offended by. We don't have the right. Not only have we not earned that right, our history makes it pretty clear that we shouldn't even try.
Don't just take my word for it. I'm not the one saying these terms are offensive. I'm just pointing out their negative use in this context. Let's hear the words of some actual black people in response to Biden's use of the word 'articulate' (the same word Boyd used).
Michael Eric Dyson, professor of humanities at the University of Pennsylvania:
You hear it and you just think, ‘Damn, this again?’...Historically, it was meant to signal the exceptional Negro. The implication is that most black people do not have the capacity to engage in articulate speech, when white people are automatically assumed to be articulate.
Melissa Harris-Lacewell, professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University:
Said her first notable encounter with the word was back in high school in Chester, Va., when she was dating the school’s star football player. In post-game interviews and news stories she started to notice that he was always referred to as articulate. "They never said that about the white quarterback," she said, "yet they couldn’t help but say it about my boyfriend."
Comedian D.L. Hughley:
Everyone was up in arms about Michael Richards using the N-word, but subtle words like this are more insidious. It’s like weight loss. The last few pounds are the hardest to get rid of. It’s the last vestiges of racism that are hard to get rid of.
Reginald Hudlin, president of entertainment for Black Entertainment Television
It makes me weary, literally tired, like, ‘Do I really want to spend my time right now educating this person?’... It’s like an educated black person is a rare sighting, like seeing a spotted egret. We’re viewed as a fluke. How many flukes simply constitute reality?
Anna Perez, former communications counselor for Condoleezza Rice:
You just stand and wonder, ‘When will this foolishness end?’...The word perfectly conveys, to quote George Bush, the soft bigotry of low expectations. It literally comes down to that. When people say it, what they are really saying is that someone is articulate ... for a black person.
William E. Kennard, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
Recalled that in his days as partner at a Washington law firm in the early 1990s written reviews of prospective black hires almost always included the words, "articulate and poised." The characterization was so consistent and in such stark contrast to the notes taken on white job applicants that he mentioned it to his fellow partners. "It was a law firm; all of the people interviewing for jobs were articulate," said Mr. Kennard, 50, who is also on the board of The New York Times Company. "And yet my colleagues seemed struck by that quality in black applicants."
Columnist Lynette Clemetson:
There are not enough column inches on this page to parse interpretations of each of Mr. Biden’s chosen adjectives. But among his string of loaded words, one is so pervasive — and is generally used and viewed so differently by blacks and whites — that it calls out for a national chat, perhaps a national therapy session.
It is amazing that this still requires clarification, but here it is. Black people get a little testy when white people call them "articulate."
...
That is the core of the issue. When whites use the word in reference to blacks, it often carries a subtext of amazement, even bewilderment. It is similar to praising a female executive or politician by calling her "tough" or "a rational decision-maker."
Columnist Eugene Robinson
For my part, I never made it past "articulate," a word that's like fingernails on a blackboard to my ear. As it happens, President Bush used that same word Wednesday to describe Obama. "He's an attractive guy. He's articulate," Bush told Fox News.
Will wonders never cease? Here we have a man who graduated from Columbia University, who was president of the Harvard Law Review, who serves in the U.S. Senate and is the author of two best-selling books, who's a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, and what do you know, he turns out to be articulate. Stop the presses.
...
The word articulate is being used to encompass not just speech but a whole range of cultural cues -- dress, bearing, education, golf handicap. It's being used to describe a black person around whom white people can be comfortable, a black person who not only speaks white America's language but is fluent in its body language as well.
And the word is often pronounced with an air of surprise, as if it's an improbable and wondrous thing that a black person has somehow cracked the code. I can't help but think of the famous quote from Samuel Johnson: "Sir, a woman preaching is like a dog's walking on his hind legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all."
Articulate is really a shorthand way of describing a black person who isn't too black -- or, rather, who comports with white America's notion of how a black person should come across.
Whatever the intention, expressing one's astonishment that such individuals exist is no compliment. Just come out and say it: Gee, he doesn't sound black at all.
That last one alone should give Boyd, Biden and anyone else thinking of using the word articulate pause... that's how George W. Bush described Obama. Should we, as Democrats, ever echo the rhetoric of Bush? Of anyone named Bush?
So, here are the basic rules for talking to anyone that will help you avoid offending the audience, even if you are a Congressman:
- Treat people as individuals
- Know something about the history of the area you live in
- Know something about the history of
- Pay attention to people who get in trouble for saying stupid things, remember what they say
- Don't say anything to or about a black person, or Hispanic person, or a woman or a gay person, you wouldn't say to or about your white male friends
If you wouldn't say that your white male friend is "articulate," then why would you say your black male friend is articulate? It really isn't that hard. If you want an example of white people talking to a black person without any problems, go check out the last two episodes of the Big Show on Florida Progressive Radio. We managed to do it for a combined time of almost two full hours combined with no problems. And we never felt uncomfortable or like we were going to say anything offensive the entire time.
So do your homework and use your basic common sense. Your friends of different races, ethnicities, gender and sexuality will appreciate the fact that you put some effort into it and will recognize, maybe, that you actual are someone who lives up to Democratic values.