Esi Edugyan’s second novel Half Blood Blues is outstanding. I got a copy as a gift and just finished reading it. After reading about the book after it won an Anisfield-Wolf award, I was looking forward to curling up with it, and I was not disappointed. It presents a haunting tale of a racially diverse group of musicians in Europe, particularly Berlin and Paris, as World War II begins. The flawed, thoughtful main character is nuanced and conflicted in a way that propels the novel forward and backward through time. The jazz references and presentation of race relations in Europe and America also added to the complexity. I strongly suggest going out and reading this book. Unfortunately, as with much modern fiction there is material here that make it a book I cannot teach to high school students although it would be a great way for them to look at literary art as well as the transatlantic currents of history.
(A side note, I had not read about the black Germans who were the result of relationships between French colonial soldiers occupying the Rhineland and German women, and now I feel inspired to look into that facet of history.)
Here is an excerpts from the blurb from the site Letsrun.com (one of the most popular running news sites) on the NCAA men’s championships today:
OSU was led by Girma Mecheso who was the top American in fifth … The top American born runner was Wisco’s Maverick Darling in 11th – some 59+ seconds behind the winner.
It annoys me no end to see that Letsrun distinguishes between American and American born in writing this blurb. In some ways it implies that Ethiopian born American Mecheso is less of an American. It also implies that darn it the American running community is falling down on the job in terms of developing talent and is just relying on imports. What is wrong with many of the top American runners (Bernard Lagat, Meb Kiflezghi, etc.) being born in Africa? I hope that this focus is not tied into some misguided belief that for distance running to become a bigger deal on the American sports scene we need to find a “great American born hope” a goal that is perilously close to finding a “great white hope.”
Girma Mecheso running for Oklahoma State University
I have been teaching a unit on the atrocities in King Leopold’s Belgian Congo and my mind is full of stories of amputated hands, forced servitude, rubber quotas, taxation, whippings, and mass depopulation. So it was rather jarring to hear behind me this morning on our phonograph a happy voice sing, “So bongo, bongo, bongo, he don’t wanna leave the Congo.” It turns out that my daughter was listening to an old “Songs from the Jungle Book” record and the song was “Civilization” by Bob Hilliard and Carl Sigman.
Curious as to what kind of indoctrination was involved here (and whether that record needed to mysteriously disappear), I looked up the lyrics. The song purports to present an indigenous Congolese perspective on civilization in which the speaker looks at the flaws of modern life and states that he would rather remain in the jungle with “my spears.”
On the one hand, it is not as bad as say Rudyard Kipling’s “White Man’s Burden” in that it is not singing an ode to the forced civilization of the indigenous peoples; instead, it is a critique of civilization at its flaws including in the end a reference to the atomic bomb. It also makes fun of the media images of Africa presented on the “newsreel.” On the other hand, it presents a picture of Africans as happy, innocent jungle dwellers while creating a false dichotomy between urban and suburban European/American life and unsophisticated jungle life. Meanwhile, on a larger, more problematic level, it is a song by non-African white people singing on behalf of Africans.
Given these facts I think the album will not be disappearing, but it will be properly deconstructed say ten years from now after an assigned reading of King Leopold’s Ghost.
Here is a clip of the song.
Here are the full lyrics.
Civilization Lyrics
by Bob Hilliard & Carl Sigman
Each morning, a missionary advertises neon sign
He tells the native population that civilization is fine
And three educated savages holler from a bamboo tree
That civilization is a thing for me to see
So bongo, bongo, bongo, I don’t wanna leave the Congo, oh no no no no no
Bingo, bangle, bungle, I’m so happy in the jungle, I refuse to go
Don’t want no bright lights, false teeth, doorbells, landlords, I make it clear
That no matter how they coax him, I’ll stay right here
I looked through a magazine the missionary’s wife concealed (Magazine? What happens?)
I see how people who are civilized bung you with automobile (You know you can get hurt that
way Daniel?)
At the movies they have got to pay many coconuts to see (What do they see, Darling?)
Uncivilized pictures that the newsreel takes of me
So bongo, bongo, bongo, he don’t wanna leave the Congo, oh no no no no no
Bingo, bangle, bungle, he’s so happy in the jungle, he refuse to go
Don’t want no penthouse, bathtub, streetcars, taxis, noise in my ear
So, no matter how they coax him, I’ll stay right here
They hurry like savages to get aboard an iron train
And though it’s smokey and it’s crowded, they’re too civilized to complain
When they’ve got two weeks vacation, they hurry to vacation ground (What do they do, Darling?)
They swim and they fish, but that’s what I do all year round
So bongo, bongo, bongo, I don’t wanna leave the Congo, oh no no no no no
Bingo, bangle, bungle, I’m so happy in the jungle, I refuse to go
Don’t want no jailhouse, shotgun, fish-hooks, golf clubs, I got my spears
So, no matter how they coax him, I’ll stay right here
They have things like the atom bomb, so I think I’ll stay where I “ahm”
Civilization, I’ll stay right here!
Supposedly a nod to the companies Sicilian roots and the Blackmoor tradition in Sicily, these earring loot to my unsophisticated eye as modified mammy figures and, hence, highly problematic. This blog piece from The Curatorial gives more photos and nicely counters the defense the company made concluding:
“The Dolce & Gabbana earrings specifically celebrate a “proud” Sicilian cultural tradition which is rooted in the slave trade and negative associations with blackness. As such, the arguments put forth by the Italian commenters on the articles detailing this controversy as well as the statement put out by Dolce & Gabbana don’t do their due diligence in understanding the historical legacy of a cultural tradition. As a result, Dolce & Gabbana has produced an accessory which does in fact play into racist stereotypes and a legacy of racism.”
Arkansas State Rep. Jon Hubbard published a book entitled, “Letters to the Editor: Confessions of a Frustrated Conservative” and various bloggers have been pointing out some strikingly problematic passages in that book:
“… the institution of slavery that the black race has long believed to be an abomination upon its people may actually have been a blessing in disguise. The blacks who could endure those conditions and circumstances would someday be rewarded with citizenship in the greatest nation ever established upon the face of the Earth.” (Pages 183-89)
“[African Americans must] understand that even while in the throes of slavery, their lives as Americans are likely much better than they ever would have enjoyed living in sub-Saharan Africa.”
“Knowing what we know today about life on the African continent, would an existence spent in slavery have been any crueler than a life spent in sub-Saharan Africa?” (Pages 93 and 189)
These are very troubling, inexcusable quotations and for an elected representative who is presumably educated and knowledgeable about the world. However, when I think of the way Africa is presented in the media, I understand how Americans might hold at least some of these views. Consider the average news coverage of Africa, coups, wars, starvation, violence, torture and other forms of mayhem and suffering. Except for one interview on the BBC, I do not recall any coverage of economic success, the urban middle class, or other forms of African success or progress recently. When I have talked with African exchange students they often complain of this perception gap.
Given this gap, I do not find it hard to believe that some Americans (hopefully not elected officials) have come to view Africa as a horrible place to which any alternative is preferable. Certainly it is a leap to considering the indescribable suffering of slavery as a fair price to pay to escape the supposed horrors of Africa, but I can see where this idea could come from if one only has a very limited view of Africa.
In some twisted way Barack Obama’s background could even support this interpretation. His father came from Africa, conceived a child in America who became president, a story that could be interpreted as showing the great superiority of American opportunities–such great superiority that any means of coming to America becomes worthwhile. I do not agree with that logic, but depending on what one knows and sees I can understand where it could come from.
Various commentators such as June Thomas on Slate are speculating that Caster Semenya somehow threw the Olympic 800, only finishing second because she knew winning would result in intense scrutiny of her gender identity yet again the same way her World Championships victory in 2009 did.
That is such a stretch. As a former distance runner, albeit much slower and less talented, I know there were a number of races where I messed up my strategy, or went to find that fast gear and just didn’t have it that day. To go into all the speculation is unnecessary, somewhat libelous, and ignores a lot of variables.
The commentators (although I know this would violate their job descriptions) should take Semeyna’s explanation, “The body was not really on fire today” and leave it there. For a distance runner that is a legitimate explanation. The armchair psychological analysis is worthless.
Michael Johnson: Survival of the Fittest is a British documentary in which the Olympic gold medalist looks at the fact the 100 meter men’s sprint has been dominated by the decendants of slaves. See this preview.
The documentary and articles on it then go on to investigate whether in some way the rigors of slavery meant that only the strongest and fastest survived with this selection leading to the current domination of international sprinting.
Johnson come to the following conclusion:
“All my life I believed I became an athlete through my own determination, but it’s impossible to think that being descended from slaves hasn’t left an imprint through the generations.
Difficult as it was to hear, slavery has benefited descendants like me – I believe there is a superior athletic gene in us” (Daily Mail).
Michael Johnson setting 200 meter world record
While I have observed the same phenomenon in terms of the racial identity of sprinters in 100 meter finals, I really find it hard to believe that natural selection works this way. Among other things, I cannot believe that skill at such a narrow, specific activity developed as a result of historical factors. Any people with a background in genetics reading this, please weigh in.
Also, the whole idea of any group of people being genetically good at something opens a whole can of worms that is quite problematic, not to mention the whole idea that there is a way something, anything, positive came from slavery.
I heard on the BBC that Senegal requires parties to run slates that are 50% female or as the Quota Project writes:
“The electoral law was amended in 2010, providing a mandatory requirement that all candidate lists for legislative, regional, municipal and rural elections be comprised of equal number of male and female candidates, presented on the list in an alternating manner. This new legal framework for gender parity in electoral lists will be first applied during the next parliamentary elections to be held in 2012. “
I am not perfectly clear on the system in Senegal but I wonder how this law is enforced and how it works. Another source said parties were scrambling to find women to run to balance their slates. I also wonder if this policy will lead to greater balance in government, or if the electorate will still elect a preponderance of men. I also wonder what about the history of gender relations in Senegal inspired this policy.
I cannot see this approach working in the US at least on a national level given many, many constitutional issues and our party system. I could only see it on a smaller level, say in state where parties were required to run equal numbers of men and women for school board elections, or where state funding depended on their being gender equality in the candidacies for local governing bodies. Still, there would be problems. The closest parallel I can think of in America when cities are investigated by the Department of Justice for issues of race and representation. (See for example the case of Euclid, Ohio.)
I am curious though if, regardless of practicalities, this mandated gender balance is a good idea. Would it lead to a more responsive, representative government? It reminds me of when I was in college and the student government had a gender balance rep position that was filled by appointment to balance out the governing board. I don’t recall anyone saying much one way or another.
Let me begin by saying I love Dora the Explorer and the spin off Go Diego Go. They are fun and teach lots of valuable lessons. However, today I realized one flaw of the latter show. Today I watched a show where Diego (Dora’s animal rescuing cousin) goes to Africa and has to rescue various lions. This episode reminds me of the conversations I have had with exchange students from Botswana who reported that American students tended to associate Africa with lions and thus one of the first things they asked Africans was about their experiences with lions. The exchange students often found themselves both in small conversations and in larger school presentations explaining that they lived in cities and that lions were not a part of their lives. I fear that somehow this Diego episode will reinforce this equation in the minds of preschoolers connecting Africa to lions and leading them to see the continent primarily as a wild animal park. Now I need to watch the show more closely to see if this problem also applies to other continents and to see if there are any counter balancing urban rescues showing that these continents have indeed developed beyond being a background for wild adventures.
Usain Bolt, is there a magic factor that makes him fast?
As I prepare to teach a unit on the Olympics and as we head towards the London Games, I have been reading a lot about sprinting. With some notable exceptions, the fastest sprinters in the world are black (African-American, West African, Caribbean). With some notable exceptions, the fastest distance runners are black (Kenyan, Ethiopian, generally East African). Why is that? My favorite recent discussion of the topic is from a great piece on Jamacian sprinters. I reprint some of the theorizing below:
“These are athletes of black ancestry,” Dr. Errol Morrison, an endocrinologist and the president of UTech, says ”They have long limbs; they have little subcutaneous fat, which gives you a lot of reduction in all the drag, you know, in the weight that you have to carry around.”
Then there’s the phenomenon of narrow hips. According to Morrison, Jamaicans are built to lift their knees high when they run.
“Now, in sprinting, the knee lift is the fundamental principle,” he says, “how you lift that knee, extend the leg and your stride length. So not only have you got the long limbs, but we have an angulation of the pelvis so the muscles there that lift the knee have a direct line of sight, as opposed to in the white or the [Asian pelvis] where you’re literally sliding up.”
But if Jamaican sprinters are so genetically well-endowed, does that mean there’s a speed gene, some inherited trait that distinguishes the elite runner from the broader population?
Both Morrison and Irving have collaborated with Yannis Pitsiladis at the University of Glasgow on just that question. Pitsiladis has studied a DNA bank of samples from hundreds of Jamaican and African-American sprinters, not to mention Kenyan middle-distance runners and Ethiopian marathoners. He says he started out hopeful of finding a speed gene.
“We were so convinced by arguments that had been put forward by other scientists, by the media, that these populations like the Jamaicans have the right genes, that we thought it’d be easy enough to just go to the island, collect DNA samples, analyze them, come up with those genes and there’s the end finding,” Pitsiladis says. “Four to five years later, I can tell you that we have been looking at the genes and, in one line, I have to say that we have found no genetic evidence for the phenomenon that we’re observing in Jamaica.”
It’s not that genes play no role; it’s that the genes of elite sprinters just aren’t that different.
The article then goes on to talk about environment and hard work, factors I prefer to stress because they get away from some sort of racial, genetic determinism. Besides, I know lots of slow black people. Still, it is interesting to see how people approach this topic, desperately trying to analyze a talent that seems to correlate with race, but without seeming racist.
Esi Edugyan’s second novel Half Blood Blues is outstanding. I got a copy as a gift and just finished reading it. After reading about the book after it won an Anisfield-Wolf award, I was looking forward to curling up with it, and I was not disappointed. It presents a haunting tale of a racially diverse group of musicians in Europe, particularly Berlin and Paris, as World War II begins. The flawed, thoughtful main character is nuanced and conflicted in a way that propels the novel forward and backward through time. The jazz references and presentation of race relations in Europe and America also added to the complexity. I strongly suggest going out and reading this book. Unfortunately, as with much modern fiction there is material here that make it a book I cannot teach to high school students although it would be a great way for them to look at literary art as well as the transatlantic currents of history.
