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WHO ARE YOU WHEN THE COPS SHOW UP? By Abeke Teyibo
D
ick Gregory once said, “This isn’t a revolution of black against white; this is a revolution of right against wrong. And right has never lost.”
speaking depending on the context of the conversation or situation. “There are times when I slip up [around white friends] and talk like I would in the MSSC, and what I say would get latched onto and then everyone would latch on and respond to me like ‘Grrrl.,’” said GW senior Jade Graver. “Code switching can be protective, at least for me, because I don’t want to have to deal with that.”
In a nation that provides education, laws, health care, and other aspects that position our country as a world leader, the most important values that shape the development of new ideas, new technologies and peace in our society tend to be forgotten: equality and diversity. To start off the annual Black Heritage Celebration at GW, on Thursday, February 5, the Black Student Union and ACE Magazine collaborated on a presentation of why being a unique individual in society is more beneficial than having a society where all of its citizens think and are alike.
When will it become that being yourself is not mimicked and embraced as a way of describing a culture through humor? At home, parents of color may teach their children to code-switch so that their children can be seen as smart and well-spoken individuals. It is taught in class that the Queen’s English is proper English, but who decides on what should be deemed as proper and articulate, and when?
The event discussed how, as black individuals in society, sometimes we are socialized to speak, act, dress and behave in a way that would not bring negative attention to ourselves, especially around police or in professional, predominantly Caucasian settings. At the same time, those influences must be leveraged against accurately representing who we are and the culture we come from.
TED presenter Jamila Lyiscott, a self-described “tri-tongued orator;” used a spoken-word essay entitled “Broken English” to celebrate the three distinct types of English that she speaks with her friends, at school and at home. With her “Broken English” essay, she described the constant issues of cultural identity through language that was constructed in the past and still lives in this generation. She challenges what articulate means, and although she speaks differently in three types of English, she shows that being “articulate” does not mean speaking like a Caucasian.
Students and attendees discussed how they define black culture and ways they show their culture through their own ways of thinking, sense of style, actions and more. “Internally, I see myself as just being a role model and embodying ideals that break the stereotype,” said GW senior Bryson Thomas.
She says in the piece, “Yes, I have decided to treat all three of my languages as equals. Because I’m ‘articulate.’ But who controls articulation? Because the English language is a multifaceted oration. Subject to indefinite transformation. Now you may think that it is ignorant to speak broken English But I’m here to tell you that even ‘articulate’ Americans sound foolish to the British.”
Many students made it apparent that although they are role models and work hard, they have been judged by the color of their skin, not by their accomplishments, and therefore not recognized to their fullest capabilities. In one of the multimedia presentation’s clips, TED presenter Mellody Hobson, a board member of The Estee Lauder Companies, Inc. and chairman of the board at DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc., described her similar struggles of being treated unequally due to the fact of the color of her skin. She recalled going to an editorial board lunch and being mistaken for kitchen help because of the color of her skin. When will society change—when will skin color no longer misinform others about who you are as an individual?
There is no form that is properly seen as articulate speaking. To every individual in any part in the world, the way that everyone speaks would seem strange to that of another person. Therefore, a unique “articulate” language does not exist and all language should be respected. Cultural diversities are not limits to a society but benefits. Racism is an issue that many people feel uncomfortable with and flee from the conversation, but only when racism—implicit and explicit—is attacked head on, will progress be made. Embrace differences to get different viewpoints of the world, create new technologies and develop a better society. That is the only option from changing a society that is based on racial and economic inequality to a world providing liberty and justice for all.
Another aspect the event discussed was language and what greater society considers proper and appropriate. By the looks of it, every student of color in the room had some experience with “code switching.” Code switching is when someone uses different ways of
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