Perhaps another renaissance is possible but not under the current conditions. First, there has to be an acceptance that 2023 is demonstrably better for black Americans than 1923 and that racism is far less of any issue now than it was then. Second, there has been a massive change in black family structure in that century and everyone knows it. This extends to education and how it is viewed today vs. yesterday. Third, govt programs have actively contributed to today's issues and there is almost no one saying that has to stop. Well, no one but perhaps Thomas Sowell.
It's interesting to read the list that John cites of things that black people did back then simply because they wanted to do them, like writing sonnets. No one stopped to think, "that's what white folks do." Today, we're bombarded with idiocy like math is racist or a Duke professor's claim that football violence somehow symbolizes America's aggression toward black men. What? When the culture is drowning in that sort of stuff, high-minded things like another Harlem are surreal by comparison and it's too bad. I had the good fortune of being a teen in the 70s when crossover artists were the thing. Millions of white kids were exposed to Motown artists; anyone remember Motown? There were black and white students in my Alabama high school - yes, that Alabama - dancing to the same tunes. It's been sad to watch society regress in the decades since.
A renaissance might be possible if a Glenn Loury is not attacked for his belief system. No one would dream of saying all white people should be in ideological lockstep on every single issue, yet that seems to be expected of minorities. Why? Do they have no agency? Are they not capable of having a range of sincerely-held beliefs? Of course, they are capable. But they are often treated as outliers. Larry Elder as a face of white supremacy sticks in my mind as a serious contender for Peak Stupid, as if he has committed some kind of heresy for plotting a certain course. Perhaps the largest issue ties back to a previous post in which Glenn noted that the same place that once held black people as slaves also ushered in emancipation. The latter seems oddly forgotten because it's apparently easier to marinate in a past that none of us were involved in and none of us can change. Those folks in the 1920s didn't waste time on that.
Zora Neale Hurston would probably be designated as a "Black White Supremacist" today, assuming any younger person even knows who she is.
Below is a perfect response to critics on her writings ( taken from Wikipedia):
In response to Black writers who criticized her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God because it did not explore racial themes, she stated: "I am not interested in the race problem, but I am interested in the problems of individuals, white ones and black ones".
Interestingly, Zora spent the last of her life in my parent's hometown of Fort Pierce, FL and is buried there. She spent the end of her life in relative obscurity.
Perhaps another renaissance is possible but not under the current conditions. First, there has to be an acceptance that 2023 is demonstrably better for black Americans than 1923 and that racism is far less of any issue now than it was then. Second, there has been a massive change in black family structure in that century and everyone knows it. This extends to education and how it is viewed today vs. yesterday. Third, govt programs have actively contributed to today's issues and there is almost no one saying that has to stop. Well, no one but perhaps Thomas Sowell.
It's interesting to read the list that John cites of things that black people did back then simply because they wanted to do them, like writing sonnets. No one stopped to think, "that's what white folks do." Today, we're bombarded with idiocy like math is racist or a Duke professor's claim that football violence somehow symbolizes America's aggression toward black men. What? When the culture is drowning in that sort of stuff, high-minded things like another Harlem are surreal by comparison and it's too bad. I had the good fortune of being a teen in the 70s when crossover artists were the thing. Millions of white kids were exposed to Motown artists; anyone remember Motown? There were black and white students in my Alabama high school - yes, that Alabama - dancing to the same tunes. It's been sad to watch society regress in the decades since.
A renaissance might be possible if a Glenn Loury is not attacked for his belief system. No one would dream of saying all white people should be in ideological lockstep on every single issue, yet that seems to be expected of minorities. Why? Do they have no agency? Are they not capable of having a range of sincerely-held beliefs? Of course, they are capable. But they are often treated as outliers. Larry Elder as a face of white supremacy sticks in my mind as a serious contender for Peak Stupid, as if he has committed some kind of heresy for plotting a certain course. Perhaps the largest issue ties back to a previous post in which Glenn noted that the same place that once held black people as slaves also ushered in emancipation. The latter seems oddly forgotten because it's apparently easier to marinate in a past that none of us were involved in and none of us can change. Those folks in the 1920s didn't waste time on that.
Zora Neale Hurston would probably be designated as a "Black White Supremacist" today, assuming any younger person even knows who she is.
Below is a perfect response to critics on her writings ( taken from Wikipedia):
In response to Black writers who criticized her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God because it did not explore racial themes, she stated: "I am not interested in the race problem, but I am interested in the problems of individuals, white ones and black ones".
Interestingly, Zora spent the last of her life in my parent's hometown of Fort Pierce, FL and is buried there. She spent the end of her life in relative obscurity.