Author Heidi Durrow Talks Race and Identity On NPR

Hear an interview with Heidi Durrow from NPR's All Things Considered. She was discussing her book The Girl Who Fell From The Sky, winner of the Bellwether Prize for Fiction. It's a story about human tragedy and the struggles related to race and racial identity (something that I wrestle with and can therefore relate to). Durrow creatively uses fiction to address serious social issues. She was able to highlight & challenge false ideas about what it means to be Black and what it means to be White in American society, even though the point of the story was to paint a picture of life for a mixed girl.
She doesn't accept the label of Tragic Mulatto for this story because it has so much more to say than that. In fact, it could be seen as the opposite of the Tragic Mulatto, because in the end..... well.. to find out what happens you will have to buy the book.

The book has subtle (maybe not so subtle) reflections of Durrow's own life interwoven throughout the plot, although she once vehemently stated that it's not really about her. However, if you have been listening to Durrow over the years (via her radio program) or have been following her blogs, you can pick up the similarities.

Reviews and Commentaries on the book:

Abagond Blog

Blogcritics

Washington Post

Miami Herald

Christian Science Monitor

Book Named a Top 10 Debut Release for 2010 by Publishers Weekly.

“[An] insightful family saga of the toxicity of racism and the forging of the self . . . Durrow brings piercing authenticity to this provocative tale, winner of the Bellwether Prize for Fiction.”
—Booklist [starred review]

“[A] breathless telling of a tale we’ve never heard before. Haunting and lovely, pitch-perfect.”
—Barbara Kingsolver, author and founder of the Bellwether Prize

“The Girl Who Fell from the Sky can actually fly ... Its energy comes from its vividly realized characters, from how they perceive one another. Durrow has a terrific ear for dialogue, an ability to summon a wealth of hopes and fears in a single line.”
—New York Times Book Review

“Rachel’s voice resonated . . . in much the same way as did that of the young protagonist of The House on Mango Street. There’s an achingly honest quality to it; both wise and naive.”
—Shannon Rhodes, NPR

“Echoes of the early Toni Morrison, resonances with Langston Hughes. . . . A stunning debut.”
—George Hutchinson, author of In Search of Nella Larson

“That rare thing: a post-postmodern novel with heart that weaves a circle of stories about race and self-discovery into a tense and sometimes terrifying whole.”
—Ms. Magazine

“Taut prose, a controversial conclusion and the thoughtful reflection on racism and racial identity resonate . . . as the story succeeds as both a modern coming-of-age and relevant social commentary. ”
-Publishers Weekly

You can read more about Heidi Durrow and the book by visiting one of her many blogs or websites. Her main websites are HeidiDurrow.com, and Lightskinnededgirl.typepad.com. You can also find her on a weekly internet radio program called Mixed Chicks Chat (see links on our sidebar).

Why I Hate Being A Black Man #950

I'm usually reminded of why at least 3 or 4 times a day.... the latest reminder is courtesy of a guest article from Carmen Van Kerckhove's Racialicious. A Nigerian woman describes her worst daily experiences (surprise surprise) with Black men.

While I don't engage in any of the behaviors that she describes (I've never even approached a woman in my adult life.... i've discussed that before....and these stereotypes may have something to do with why) as a Black guy, I still have to deal with the mess (the collateral social damage) that they leave.

Racial Prejudice and the 2008 Election

NPR has just completed the first segment of a series of programs that focus on how race will influence voters in the upcoming election.

In the first program (in two parts) the hosts talk with voters in York Pennsylvania.

This is a must listen....

Hear Part I

Hear Part II

It helps confirm many of the problems that I have been pointing out regarding the aptitude of the American voter, and the impact identity politics may play in this election. This is why Democrats should have cause for concern.

This election, in my view, may likely come down to Race for many voters.

Obama and Race: Echoes of W.E.B. Dubois

One of the things that struck me about Obama's speech last week was how much it echoed or reflected the struggle that W.E.B. Dubois described more than a Century ago. Obama provided a modern touch to an age old discussion. Dubois offers a prophetic view of the enduring issue of race in America.


*********************
Between me and the other world there is ever an unasked question: unasked by some through feelings of delicacy; by others through the difficulty of rightly framing it. All, nevertheless, flutter round it. They approach me in a half-hesitant sort of way, eye me curiously or compassionately, and then, instead of saying directly, How does it feel to be a problem? they say, I know an excellent colored man in my town; or, I fought at Mechanicsville; or, Do not these Southern outrages make your blood boil? At these I smile, or am interested, or reduce the boiling to a simmer, as the occasion may require. To the real question, How does it feel to be a problem? I answer seldom a word.

And yet, being a problem is a strange experience,—peculiar even for one who has never been anything else, save perhaps in babyhood and in Europe. It is in the early days of rollicking boyhood that the revelation first bursts upon one, all in a day, as it were. I remember well when the shadow swept across me. I was a little thing, away up in the hills of New England, where the dark Housatonic winds between Hoosac and Taghkanic to the sea. In a wee wooden schoolhouse, something put it into the boys’ and girls’ heads to buy gorgeous visiting-cards—ten cents a package—and exchange. The exchange was merry, till one girl, a tall newcomer, refused my card,—refused it peremptorily, with a glance. Then it dawned upon me with a certain suddenness that I was different from the others; or like, mayhap, in heart and life and longing, but shut out from their world by a vast veil. I had thereafter no desire to tear down that veil, to creep through; I held all beyond it in common contempt, and lived above it in a region of blue sky and great wandering shadows. That sky was bluest when I could beat my mates at examination-time, or beat them at a foot-race, or even beat their stringy heads. Alas, with the years all this fine contempt began to fade; for the worlds I longed for, and all their dazzling opportunities, were theirs, not mine. But they should not keep these prizes, I said; some, all, I would wrest from them. Just how I would do it I could never decide: by reading law, by healing the sick, by telling the wonderful tales that swam in my head,—some way. With other black boys the strife was not so fiercely sunny: their youth shrunk into tasteless sycophancy, or into silent hatred of the pale world about them and mocking distrust of everything white; or wasted itself in a bitter cry, Why did God make me an outcast and a stranger in mine own house? The shades of the prison-house closed round about us all: walls strait and stubborn to the whitest, but relentlessly narrow, tall, and unscalable to sons of night who must plod darkly on in resignation, or beat unavailing palms against the stone, or steadily, half hopelessly, watch the streak of blue above.

After the Egyptian and Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and Mongolian, the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world,—a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.

The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife,—this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He would not Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa. He would not bleach his Negro soul in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that Negro blood has a message for the world. He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly in his face.


--W.E.B. Dubois from "The Souls of Black Folk"

The Mixed Chicks

If you are not familiar with the Mixed Chicks, you are missing out.

The Mixed Chicks = Actress, Producer, Comedienne, & Educator Fanshen Cox, and Author, Attorney, & Blogger Heidi Durrow. These were the girls who finished #1 in everything in your High School... (& perhaps college too) they were the really gifted, extraordinary students.

They co-host their own weekly podcast on TalkShoe.com. Shows usually run for approximately half an hour. They usually get together to have interesting discussions about issues that impact mixed raced individuals and families.... sometimes focusing on racism and the social awkwardness that comes with being mixed or that comes with being in interracial relationships. They cover everything from racial identity, the use (or misuse) of words, to the absurdities that mixed raced people often face. Sometimes their discussions get deep and uncomfortable (metaphorically, they really strip themselves down sometimes for these discussions)...almost like intellectual/emotional S&M. (That's what makes the show work). But usually the show is a balance between humor and the uncomfortable. Some of their discussions can be a little edgy or controversial. They leave no doubt that the issue of race in America is still very real.

For a taste of a Mixed Chicks discussion, take a listen to one of their podcasts from earlier this month. This episode was a slightly different format from their usual show, because this installment was part of the Story Corps program.

You can find 3 links on my sidebar for the Mixed Chicks...yes, they have a lot of websites. But on my sidebar, you will find: 1. Lightskinned-ed girl (Heidi Durrow), 2. Mixed Chicks Blog, and 3. Mixed Chicks Podcast (scroll down to the bottom of their site for archived shows).

Juan Williams Discusses Growing Divide in "Black America"

Juan Williams examined the Black intra-racial divide on NPR's News and Notes program yesterday (Thursday). This has been evident for the last several years.... but Bill Cosby helped to really get a discussion going on the issue. It seems that before Cosby so boldly raised the issue, Black Americans were treating it like the Elephant in the room.

Well Juan acknowledges the Elephant. He discusses data from a recent NPR/Pew Research report on the issue of racial identity. The report seems to support what I have felt for a long time- that there is no such thing as a "Black America" per se. That is such a monolithic term and I have never favored the way that it has been used. This society is always attempting to place Black people in a box. In fact, Blacks seem to be the most "Boxed in" of all the major ethnic groups.

However, since the Civil Rights struggle of half a century ago, Blacks have become much more diverse, socially, culturally, economically, and politically. This is especially true in terms of cultures and values. The truth is, there is no overriding issue, such as unmitigated racism, that requires the kind of oneness or unity that was seen 50 years ago. Blacks have chosen many different paths. Unfortunately the media has not caught on to that fact. We are still referred to in monolithic terms....and it annoys the hell out of me. Ironically, this media ignorance has been one of the reasons for my push back against the Rap Culture, BET and the like, because there is this track record on the part of the media to lump Black folks together in one big pot.

The results of this study are not new to Black Americans, since many have known this for years. But it may be news for the news reporters and the TV producers. Will they do something constructive with this information, such as change the way they refer to Black people or change the way they report events? Somehow I doubt it.

The report is similar to Dubois's two Souls analogy, although it is now manifesting in different ways.

This Black cultural split is real and "the community" is becoming more divergent everyday. This is why I also don't like the term "Black Community" because it suggests a oneness that does not really exist and has not existed since the Black Pride movement of the 70's thru parts of the 80's. Black people are clearly choosing different value systems and lifestyles. In addition, the Black intra-racial gap is also growing in terms of economics and education.

There is a permanent underclass that is emerging, and Black Americans will disproportionally be a large part of that group.... and this time it will not be because of an oppressive White Man holding them back, it will be because of the choices that they have made and the value systems that they embrace.

So how will Black people identify in the future since the skin color paradigm is being shattered? A more important question might be... would society (esp. the Media) finally recognize our diversity?

It is amazing to me that in 2007, people like Dog Chapman, Michael Richards, Don Imus, etc feel that they can run to ONE MAN whom they feel represents all Black people. It's insulting. When Dog Chapman ran to Al Sharpton, it was just as insulting to me as the racist tirade itself... perhaps even more insulting.

But as long as we share Brown skin, I think we will always be treated as a monolith. This, in a way, is turning into a new form of racism. White Americans are seldom required to deal with these racial identity issues. But as a Black American I constantly feel under attack... as if I must constantly answer for the wrongs, the lifestyle choices and the values embraced by the wider group.