How do we combat this?
I'm at a fucking loss, seriously. Denzel, Ed Bradley, and Morgan Freeman certainly didn't help matters. Google just handed me this article:
AMERICAN PARADOX: YOUNG BLACK MEN
Renford Reese
CHAPTER 4: SYMBOLS OF DEFIANCE
The cross is a symbol of redemption and the most sacred symbol of the Christian faith. Once upon a time crosses were worn only by priests, ministers, and the very religious. Today, many young black men wear crosses. They wear them because they have embraced the cross as a symbol of defiance. Many would consider it blasphemy to use profanity while wearing a cross. However, it is the shock effect of wearing a cross while simultaneously being a gangsta-thug that is appealing to many young black men. For example, when reading an article in USA Today titled “50 Cent Rules Year in Radio,” I noticed that the accompanying photo of the artist featured him wearing a long gold necklace connected to a miniature book that had “Holy Bible” engraved on it (Barnes 2003, 14D). I immediately wondered how an artist whose album boasts of violence, sex, and drugs with song titles such as “P.I.M.P.” and “High All the Time”--as in, “I get high all the time”--could sport a necklace with the Holy Bible on it. Religious symbols such as this have strangely become symbols of defiance. Many young black men who have embraced the gangsta-thug persona wear the cross because they are not supposed to. Indeed, these individuals have embraced other symbols of defiance.
In Cool Pose: The Dilemmas of Black Manhood in America, Richard Majors and Janet Mancini Billson state that being “cool” is the black man’s way of dealing with racism and discrimination without losing his sanity.
Being cool invigorates a life that would otherwise be degrading and empty. It helps the black male make sense out his life and get what he wants from others. Cool pose brings a dynamic vitality into the black male’s everyday encounters, transforming the mundane into the sublime and making the routine spectacular. (Majors and Billson 1992, 2)
I agree with Majors and Billson. However, I would add that coolness is also a symbol of defiance for the African American male.
EARRINGS AND TATTOOS
Over the past decade, the earring has become increasingly popular among young black men. Why?
There is so much pressure put on black men to conform to one model of black masculinity. Some 45 percent of 744 respondents to the survey of young black males I conducted in 2002 stated that they wore earrings. These respondents were from thirteen to nineteen years of age.
When I entered college in 1985, I was shocked to see that my African American roommate wore an earring. He was unique because at that time earrings had not become accepted. Now it is difficult to find a young black man who does not have one or two earrings. What do these earrings symbolize? I once heard an African American athlete comment that wearing earrings was an African tradition. I have been to Africa three times and the only men I saw wearing earrings were the ones who were trying to emulate African Americans. Young black men began wearing earrings as a symbol of defiance against the conservative white system.
At one point in our recent history, earrings were worn only by women, some homosexual men, and a few hippies. So how did this mostly feminine ornament become transformed into a widely embraced symbol of black masculinity? Donning an earring met one of the fundamental criteria for black masculinity: challenging the system. Earrings remain a taboo in conservative white America. In golf, for instance--a sport that represents the power structure--you will rarely see a player wearing an earring.
I contend that the earring as a symbol of defiance tells the white power structure, “You can’t control me.” When black men wear their hats backwards or to the side, they are making the statement, “I’m not like you and you can’t control me.” As various symbols of defiance have become tolerated, young black men have constantly pushed the envelope. For example, as the stud earring became tolerated by the power structure, the symbol of defiance became more visible. Black men moved from the stud to the hoop earring and from the hoops to two earrings. Michael Jordan’s sporting of the “Genie Hoop” earring is his subtle symbol of defiance and one affirmation of his black maleness. It would be hard to fathom Joe Montana, John Elway, or Wayne Gretsky adorning themselves with such symbols of defiance.
What statement did the reporter Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes make when he started wearing an earring in the mid 1980s? At the time, his wearing an earring on the air was a radical and controversial statement. The earring was Bradley’s way of telling the conservative operation at 60 Minutes: “I may work for you but you can’t control me.”
My mom was disappointed that Denzel Washington continued to sport the earring he wore in the film Training Day. She asked me, "What are these middle-aged and old black men doing wearing earrings? I saw Morgan Freeman with two hoop earrings. What are they doing?"
Although 11.23% of those surveyed stated that they have tattoos, this is substantial since tattoos are outlawed for those under the age of 18. Tattoos have replaced the earring as a symbol of defiance and authenticity for young black men.
As the earring has become surprisingly tolerated by the power structure, young black men have moved to tattoos. A significant majority of NBA players have tattoos. Tattoos were once seen as a representation of defiance only sported by whites in motorcycle clubs, veterans, and backwoods residents. While growing up in McDonough, Georgia, I cannot recall ever seeing a black person with a tattoo. So why have so many young black men appropriated a cultural phenomenon that was foreign to them just a decade ago?
The fact is that young black men need new symbols of defiance to affirm their black maleness. When one tattoo is not enough of a symbol, then young black men will move to multiple tattoos. Some already have. Allen Iverson of the NBA is a representation of this defiance.
What is Iverson attempting to prove with his multiple tattoos? Because he has so many tattoos, his statement must be that he is the ultimate “Bad guy” who cannot be controlled by the system. Perhaps these symbols of defiance are today’s versions of the black-gloved fists of Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics. Nevertheless, these visual representations of black masculinity can be counterproductive. Although Iverson can get away with wearing multiple tattoos because he is a multimillionaire, the average young black man limits his vertical mobility when he embraces such symbols of defiance. In order for him to get a job and begin a career as a teacher, police officer, salesperson, marketing representative, accountant, or stockbroker, he will invariably have to prove to his employer that he is the anti-thug. In other words, he has to prove that he is the polar opposite of the gangsta-thug. Whether it is the baggy pants, the bandana, the braids in the hair, the earring, or the tattoo, black men must realize that in certain arenas, there are negative consequences to embracing defiant symbols of black masculinity.
