Black History Month: a season of introspection and reflection

With each passing Black History Month celebration, African-American writers continue to expand their horizons, enriching their own -- and their readers' -- understanding of history. Like many literary communities, black writers have turned their attentions inward, taking stock of their national status as Americans, especially in the wake of the September 11th tragedies. Publishers large and small are releasing a greater number of books that depict this subtle shift in the reflective mood of authors and readers around the nation. Now more than ever, every aspect of African-American culture seems precious to the chroniclers of tradition.

REVIEWS BY ROBERT FLEMING

"The first black president"

Part of this introspective trend can be seen in the release of newspaper columnist Dewayne Wickham's Bill Clinton and Black America, an engaging examination of black America's enduring infatuation with the former president. Opening the book with a series of acerbic chapter introductions, Wickham doesn't linger on Clinton's imperfections; instead the author lets his stellar cast of black elite from the political, religious and media realms sing the praises of the wily Arkansas politician.

Among those offering their recollections are NAACP president Kweisi Mfume, columnist Betty Baye, civil rights activist Mary Frances Berry, attorney Johnnie Cochran, United Negro College Fund president William H. Gray and author Alice Randall. To a person, they recall Clinton's charisma, his love of soul food, his intellectual quickness and his "common touch." While there is much talk about Clinton's grasp of the lyrics of the beloved Lift Every Voice and Sing, few supporters discuss Clinton's support of a no-holds-barred crime bill, the Lani Guinier debacle, the welfare bill debate or any of the more serious issues. Some of the witnesses do question this so-called "first black president's" moral choices and the depth of his commitment to blacks, but most laud his attentiveness to minority causes, stressing a kinship that at times seemed deeper than blood.


Folklore with soul

If as some historians believe, folklore conveys the soul and spirit of a people, then From My People: 400 Years of African American Folklore offers ample evidence of the soul of black America. Edited by Daryl Cumber Dance, a professor at the University of Richmond, this anthology is filled with yarns, sayings, sermons, speeches, riddles, poems, songs, proverbs and even a glorious chapter on folk art. Dance provides an enlightening introduction to guide the reader through the maze of entries, putting the lengthy assembly of folk forms in a logical historical and social context. The genius of this anthology is in the selection and editing of the contents and the sheer number of items in every category.

The snippets of various black spirituals explain the comfort and religious sustenance they offered; the brief excerpts concerning "the style of soul" detail the African-American preoccupation with originality and individuality; and the personal memories of slaves and survivors of Jim Crow reveal how hard times and suffering altered their perceptions of love, life and hope. For those with an interest in things culinary, a selection of recipes covers more than the usual staples of soul food, including spoonbread, greens, potato salad, deviled eggs, sweet potato pie and wine jelly. Many major black songwriters, performers and musicians are also represented here in a section on the poetry of the blues.

Of particular interest are the last two chapters, on rumors and techlore, which bring the collection full circle in their use of contemporary language, terms and culture. What Dance hints at, in this follow-up to her notable Honey, Hush!: An Anthology of African American's Humor, is that there may be specific elements in these tales and songs that are particularly black and American, but there is also a deep bond to "the kinship of humanity across oceans and time." Overall, this volume is an incredible salute to black life, creativity, culture and perseverance, as well as a recognition of a people's artistic contribution to the world.


A word with explosive power

No word in African-American culture engages or alienates like the subject of Randall Kennedy's new book, Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word. Tracing the history of the explosive social insult, Kennedy, a professor at Harvard Law School, attempts to define and demystify the term's ironies and force in American culture. To start, he looks at its literal definition in the most widely used dictionary, going back to its first use by European colonists and tracking its later appearances in American legal documents and even in children's songs. As Kennedy notes, "Nigger has seeped into practically every aspect of American culture, from literature to political debates, from cartoons to songs." He succinctly explains how the impact of the word changes when it is used by whites in reference to blacks, rather than among blacks themselves. For example, he examines white writer Carl Van Vechten's controversial insertion of the word into his book's title, Nigger Heaven, compared to its use in the spicy comic monologues of black funnymen Richard Pryor and Chris Rock.

In his chapter "Pitfalls in Fighting Nigger: Perils of Deception, Censoriousness and Excessive Anger," Kennedy asserts that the common aversion among African Americans to the inflammatory word and their feverish reaction to its use often does little to strike at the bigotry behind it. Ultimately, he seeks not to just understand the origins and significance of the term, but to find ways to neutralize its destructive clout, something that makes this book an important read for anyone who wants to comprehend the lasting presence of prejudice in our society.


Living under Jim Crow

Lastly, from the publisher of the critically acclaimed Remembering Slavery comes a sequel, Remembering Jim Crow: African Americans Tell About Life in the Segregated South, edited by William Chafe, Raymond Gavins, Robert Korstad and the staff of the Behind the Veil Project. Through the book and companion CD, we hear from blacks who endured the rigid social and cultural laws of racial segregation. This is one of the most detailed chronicles of the African-American experience under the demeaning system that denied basic freedoms to many by virtue of their color. As the authors note, Jim Crow was more than a set of laws and statutes designed to separate blacks and whites; it was a doctrine that legalized the oppression and dehumanization of a race, falsely justifying rapes, beatings, murder and mob rule.

In the interviews assembled in the book, those who experienced its steely grip on their daily lives speak of how the apartheid-like restrictions affected them at home, in school and in the workplace. While their testimonies are particularly damning, they also serve to illuminate the amount of courage and fortitude needed to survive decade upon decade in this murderous atmosphere. In the section "Heritage and Memory," many of the subjects interviewed expressed concern for their children and their future, choosing to emphasize the lessons learned in their interactions with whites and their optimism that segregation could not last forever. The authors' decision to employ unedited recollections of blacks from every social class only serves to make this essential oral history more unforgettable and crucial. A book such as Remembering Jim Crow will leave no reader untouched and cannot be ignored.

    Remembering Jim Crow: African Americans Tell About Life in the Segregated South
    Edited by William Chafe, Raymond Gavins, Robert Korstad and the staff of the Behind the Veil Project
    New Press, $55
    ISBN 1565846974

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Robert Fleming is a writer in New York and the author of The African American Writer's Handbook.

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