It can be agreed that each African-American, no matter their educational level, job status, class, religion, economic situation, and gender, lives a life of duality. The way we communicate, behave, relax, live amongst ourselves, versus the way we are around those of the majority race, is a stark contrast. Since slavery, we have been told how to act, where to live, where and how to work, and are rightfully so expected to follow all laws that govern the United States of America. In assimilating into the majority culture, there are many ways in which we “cope” in order to survive, thrive, and advance. The language that is spoken in Black households during relaxed everyday conversation would never be accepted in an all-white board room or class setting. Proper English is required as one of the first steps needed in order to show that one, in fact, has some intelligence and is able to both convey an intellectual thought as well as understand one. This is done while we suppress our true heritage and culture, ignoring our ancestors who suffered in order to get us to where we are today. The majority race is NEVER ashamed to tell their heritage. However, it is a fact that this way of living and thinking, is all a part of acclimating ourselves to a culture in which we may never fully be accepted one hundred percent.
Paul Laurence Dunbar, one of the first major Black poets in America and an important figure in the Harlem renaissance wrote the poem “We Wear the Mask”. This short poem gives a detailed peek into the African American experience. He tells of how we as Blacks, will hide our true selves, our true feelings, behind the mask of social assimilation. He writes, “We wear the mask that grins and lies/It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes- “(Mask). African Americans are reluctant to express any type of angst while in the company of our white counterparts.
We do not want to let them know that we know about white privilege, nor do we want them to know how we feel about it. This is not trickery, it is done in order to show that we are a strong people who have and will continue to overcome and advance. Unfortunately, there are times when the “masks” must be removed and our voices and frustration heard, in such cases like Trayvon Martin or what took place in Ferguson MO with the murder of Michael Brown. The Black Lives Matter movement was prevalent in these cases, however, there doesn’t seem to be one solid leader for this movement. Oprah Winfrey caught hell after making this assessment in a public forum.
W. E. B. DuBois, scholar, author,and Pan-African activist wrote on the damage African Americans suffer as a result of the white system and its demand that African Americans assimilate while accepting that being treated equally is not a given. He agrees that the system in place that continues to segregate while holding back advancement through lack of adequate education, living conditions, employment, creates the need for a unified race/movement complete with a leader. He agrees in his book “The Souls of Black Folk” with the concept of "double consciousness”. His argument is that we as Blacks, in order to be pseudo accepted into the white community, may adopt a concept of double consciousness... one where we are afforded the ability to “focus from a white terrain to an autonomous black one” (Black Folk).
What is needed is obvious. We need to unite, and we need to unite under a leader who will fight for each and every single African American, no matter the gender, sexuality, skin tone, education, etc., etc. With a unified race, there will be more of an acceptance of the way we walk, talk, eat, dress, etc. We will no longer be judged based on these things, and equality, REAL equality, will be within reach. It is very important to understand that despite the fact that we have a Black president, we have a long way to go before we truly reach the promised land Dr. Martin Luther King so eloquently spoke of.
