a justice driven, bookish newsletter by Austin Channing Brown
Footnotes
Whiteness at work
Exploring the Klein + Coates conversation (part one)
Image is a screenshot from video captured during the Klein/Coates recording
I finally had a chance to listen to the conversation between Ezra Klein and Ta-Nehisi Coates, as they hashed out their differences on how to understand this political moment. How did they arrive at this table? Klein boldly declared in a NYT opinions piece that even if we disagreed with Charlie Kirk's message, he was "practicing politics the right way". Coates directly challenged that notion in a Vanity Fair piece by questioning why white liberals in particular are so willing to overlook hate mongering just because its wrapped in the trappings of socially acceptable behavior (ie sitting in a tent quietly challenging students under the guise of "debate" vs standing with a bullhorn in the middle of campus plainly shouting ones ideology).
I am neither a fan nor an opponent of Ezra Klein. I've never listened to his podcast before this week, and my preferred opinion writers are Roxane Gay and Tressie McMillan Cottom. So I came to this conversation with no particular opinion of Klein. I state this openly because I want to be clear that this is not a take down of Ezra Klein. I dont know his work. I listened to one conversation. But I think there are some things to note about the function of whiteness as I listened. That's what this post is about- whiteness.
In response to Kleins questions, Coates tells Klein that his understanding of this political moment is informed by his worldview as a Black person in America. He goes on to explain that his understanding of current political realities are rooted in an understanding of American history and our (black people's) wins and losses over time as we push the country to embody its own stated value of equality and justice for all.
When Coates finishes, Klein replies (in summary) that he finds Coates framework to be "fatalistic", and therefore cant embrace it as a way of determining how to move forward as a political party (democrats or the left).
And this naming felt significant.
Klein asks an important question, wanting a framework from which to work, to move forward our political agenda for justice. When Coates offers a clear response, not one dreamed up by some romantic notion of genius, but one universally understood by the vast majority of Black Americans over generations, Klein cannot take it in. Instead he diagnosis and dismisses the framework.
Whiteness regularly diagnosis and dismisses the framework of Black intellectual prowess. And we have to talk about that.
Because in 2020, the calls for listening to us (and more specifically Black women) were everywhere. Trust Black Women. Listen to Black Women. Hire Black Women. Read Black Women. Follow Black Women.
But it seems there was an unspoken clause that came after all those statements: for only this year and only this topic as they openly discuss the specific forms of racism that lead to the police being called on Black folks.
The fact of the matter is, we (Black people) are not trusted, listened to, or followed when we speak about frameworks, worldviews, moral clarity, interconnected systems of injustice, history or political theory.
Klein uses the diagnosis "fatalistic". He determines that Coates long view of history equates to acquiescence of political power. And though Coates refutes that characterization multiple times over the course of the discussion, it appears that Klein is unmoved. (Perhaps he was upon reflection; I dont know this man. But it feels important to say that Klein does not explicitly say that Coates is "practicing politics the right way" by the end of the conversation).
I talk about this phenomenon in my book Full of Myself. There is a chapter where I lament how often Black women are not taken seriously. Our intellect is not considered. Our opinions are not weighty. Our ideas are not ideal. Our frameworks are too something- too fatalistic, too unrealistic, too pessimistic. Always too something. We are given a diagnosis that we do not ascribe to. Coates says he actually believes his framework to be hopeful (a word he never uses lightly).
This is important because for most Black people, our opinions are not being offered behind closed doors, recorded on a podcast, in which both parties will walk away free to engage with one another if and only if they choose. Many Black people are offering their ideas within systems in which power is held over us- employee/employer, congregant/pastor, student/professor, constituent/politician. And because of this power imbalance, the diagnosis isnt just of our ideas- the diagnosis follows us. It isnt that our idea is too cynical; its that we are too cynical. And because we are too cynical, we can be dismissed from any meeting, any conversation, any budget, any leadership role... Diagnose and dismiss.
How often have you seen Black people, queer people, disabled people, marginalized people diagnosed and dismissed by whiteness? How many times have you watched white leadership agonize over how to understand the present moment (whatever it may be) and when offered a framework, cooly decide what's wrong with it and move on? It's stunning to me how often "well-meaning" white folks long for things to make sense and then brush aside a comprehensive analysis because they dont like it.
Let's try for just a little while, to actually trust Black women and our intellect.
Stay tuned for part two.
New here? Consider Joining Banned.
*PLEASE BE AWARE, THIS NEWSLETTER CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS TO BOOKSHOP.ORG, WHICH MEANS I RECEIVE A SMALL COMMISSION IF YOU CHOOSE TO MAKE A PURCHASE USING THE BOOK LINKS. I WILL BE USING SAID COMMISSION TO FEED MY BOOK ADDICTION, OFFER YOU MORE REVIEWS, AND AROUND AND AROUND WE GO. THE COMMISSION DOES NOT COST YOU ANYTHING, AND I WILL ALWAYS LET YOU KNOW IF I RECEIVED ANY OF THE BOOKS FOR FREE99.
Book List
Race and Reunion is a history of how the unity of white America was purchased through the increasing segregation of black and white memory of the Civil War. Blight delves deeply into the shifting meanings of death and sacrifice, Reconstruction, the romanticized South of literature, soldiers' reminiscences of battle, the idea of the Lost Cause, and the ritual of Memorial Day. He resurrects the variety of African-American voices and memories of the war and the efforts to preserve the emancipationist legacy in the midst of a culture built on its denial.
Ronald Takaki's "brilliant revisionist history of America" (Publishers Weekly) is a landmark work of American history retells American history from the bottom up, through the lives of many minorities -- Native Americans, African Americans, Jewish Americans, Irish Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans, and others -- who helped create this country's mighty economy and rich mosaic culture.
A Different Mirror brilliantly illuminates our country's defining strengths as it reveals America as a nation peopled by the world.
In Black AF History, Michael Harriot presents a more accurate version of American history. Combining unapologetically provocative storytelling with meticulous research based on primary sources as well as the work of pioneering Black historians, scholars, and journalists, Harriot removes the white sugarcoating from the American story, placing Black people squarely at the center. With incisive wit, Harriot speaks hilarious truth to oppressive power, subverting conventional historical narratives with little-known stories about the experiences of Black Americans.
Next week is my birthday. At this time last year I was planning a big party in my favorite city, Chicago. My bestie and I were both turning 40, and we decided we needed a DJ and a friends reunion to bring in our new year. Im so glad I did. Because this year is very different. This year I would like to skip any and all celebrations. Because this year will be the first time I am not going to receive a birthday message from my daddy who passed away earlier this year. Since I was kid, there is a special song that he sings to all of us, and we join in, not so much singing, as annoyingly shouting the words as if we will force you to participate in our joy. But not this year. And so I have a deep desire to enter this new year of mine quietly. No shouts, no dancing, no dj, no drinks. Just me and a heart full of joyful memories and profound sadness.
Austin Channing Brown is the author of NYT Bestseller and Reese Book Club pick, Im Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness. Her next book, Full of Myself will release this fall.