Say Amen, Somebody

At the very bottom of this post is  by far my favorite part of the Inauguration.  Rev. Joseph Lowery is a man of good will and good cheer.  His faith in a God whose existence I at times doubt has borne him well for 87 years.  It's so wondrous to behold I am sometimes taken with envy.  He has withstood offenses I cannot imagine, yet came to that day as days beforehand, with an open heart and mind.  A staunch supporter of LGBT issues as well as one of the first to endorse then Sen. Obama, he has made it clear that he stands for what was always taught to me as being right and fair, with a chuckle and a grin.

A brouhaha broke out over at TNC's blog over one of the last lines of his prayer, taken from a saying older than I am but one I'm certainly familiar with.  It is particular to the black community.  It went something to the effect of "If you're white, you're right; if your brown, stick around; if you're black, get way back."  KevDog, whom I have cited here, posted on his blog:

Reverend Lowery ended things on a bit of a downer for me. On this, of all days, to lament the fact that White has yet to embrace right was uncalled for. A little petty too, I think. Up until that last line, he had me in the palm of his hand.

Look, everyone knows that we fucked things up in the past. We also know that we can do better. But for crying out loud, all we want is credit for trying. Would that have been too much to ask? This was our day too. This was the country’s day.

I saw this and posted something on his blog letting him know about the adage (which is actually based on a song) and that it wasn't something Rev. Lowery was bitching him out wholeheartedly about.  Yet even in my explanation to KevDog, I was torn.

KevDog, by his comments and his blog, seems to be thoughtful and aware of the privilege born him by dint of his color.  That is to say, he thinks of things deeper than what is presented, and that's a good thing.  Also, I wouldn't want him to stifle his feelings.  Talking about race in any form is hard frakking work and I applaud him his foray into the realm.

Here's the part that got me, though.  This feeling of his, this what I think is a misunderstanding of the purpose of Rev. Lowery's words, are because KevDog and indeed a whole slew of white folks, have no idea what goes on in black culture.  In my mind, that's 9/10ths of what the whole mess was with Rev. Wright.  They don't know that black folks sit in church and listen to our preacher say a bunch of ridiculous stuff...FOR YEARS...and spend that time figuring out what we're going to fix for dinner and then attention comes back on point when the preacher says something meaningful to us.  No idea about so much of what is rich there.  What our sayings are.  What our feelings are.  How we express ourselves.  It is, however, taken from us piecemeal to emulate or sell without regard to the whole.

I know so much about white culture because it's been the status quo.  Rikyrah, a commenter on TNC's blog and contributor at Jack and Jill Politics, (and one I can count on to tell it like it t.i.s.), said:

So, Black folk and others are talking like they've always been, but it's like, suddenly, for the first time, White folks are listening. They're listening in mid-conversation and have no idea what came before in said conversation.

I also agree with the above poster who said Black folk don't have a choice but to have a Bachelors in White folk. It's requisite for you to be able to to function in America. And the higher you move in 'American (i.e. WHITE) society, you best be getting a PhD in White folk to survive'. The successful Black Professional has a skillset that is unparalleled, IMO.

White folk, on the other hand, can be grown, married, with children, and still be asking stupid questions like, ' Why is Malia's hair braided like that', or ' Why didn't Michelle comb Malia's hair on the first day of school'.

Ding ding ding.  This is on the money, and probably what bugged me about KevDog's reaction, not that he didn't have a right to feel this way.  But he didn't know because he didn't have to know in order to live and prosper.  And then the racial paranoia in me pipes up with "That's what hurts your feelings?  You're going to have to go harder than that to hang, son."  But that's counter-productive and I really want discussions of race to be productive.

I also think that KevDog, who has professed great admiration of Rev. Lowery, was shocked and caught off guard that perhaps the Rev. may look at KevDog as one of the blue-eyed devils who subjugated him, which is a bracing thought to contemplate.

KevDog has since written something more substantive on his feelings.  TNC put up another post admonishing that one doesn't deserve credit for doing what you're supposed to do.  Comments went wacko again.

And Rev. Lowery's benediction still makes me say "Amen!!"

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UPDATE:  I have watched this at least 5 times this morning.  I have to figure a way to post this permanently on my blog.