InterpretingtheBlackHorrific:AStudyofCollectiveMemoryandIdentityintheFaceof Anti-BlackViolence
TheblackhorrifichasbeenatouchstoneofAmericanmedia,suchasfilm,visualart, writtenwork,socialmedia,andnewsbroadcastingstations.Describedas“visualsofanti-Black violenceandthephotographicdenialofBlackhumanity,”theblackhorrificisandhasbeen utilizedtoterrorizeblackAmericans.1 Suchdegradingandpainfulvisualssendathreatening messageofsubordinatestatustoblackviewers.Themodernlynchingvideo,gainingtraction throughTwitterandnewscirculation,presentsauniqueculturalandhistoricalmomentfor media.Mostpopularizedduring2020withthereportedandrecordedkillingsofGeorgeFloyd andAhmaudArbery,videorecordingsofthemurderswentviralonsocialmedia.Casesthatmay haveneverreceivedpublicpressureorlegalattentionwerethankfullybroughttothepubliceye.
However,themasspropagationofthesevideosnormalizedblacktraumainthepubliceye.Its appearancesweremade,evenifthefootagewasnotsoughtoutbyviewers.Violenceagainst blackbodiesisnowmoreaccessibleandcirculatablethanever—butatwhosecost?Whatare theramificationsoftheblackhorrificfortheblackviewer?
FormorethanfourcenturiesblackAmericanshavebeenterrorizedbywhiteviolenceand whitesupremacy.Assuchthemodernlynchingisatestamenttothehauntingafterlifeof Americanchattelslavery.Recordingsofblackindividualsbeatenbypoliceofficersorchasedby whitemobsgreatlyreflectsthewhitedominationestablishedduringenslavement,andis reminiscentofanunchangedsocialorder.Thesevisualsthatgraphicallyportraythe
1 SamB.Ngyuen,“TheBlackCorpse:TheConsumptionandRhetoricalUsageofContemporaryLynchingVisuals” (SanDiegoStateUniversity,2023),19
dehumanizationandexecutionofblacklifereinforcethepositionoftheblackAmericaninthe whiteworld.Theblackviewer,constantlyexposedtomediacirculationoftheblackhorrific, couldinterpretandinternalizethesetraumatizingvisualsasanextensionofthemself.
Theblackhorrific,fortheblackviewer,isapossibilityofthefuture.Ontheonehand,it evokesthefearthatviolentdeathatthehandsofawhitesupremacistispossibleandcoming.On theotherhand,theblackhorrific“inspiresopportunitiestodreamofwhatapro-Blackfuture couldbe”.2 Thispaperexploresthefunction,past,andpresentoftheblackhorrific,specifically modern-daylynchingvideos.Inthisexploration,thisresearchaimstounderstandhowblack viewersinteractwithsuchpainfulandtraumatizingvideos.Ifwechangeourapproachto viewingandhandlingtheblackhorrific,howwillitchangeourinterpretationofthismedia?Can weviewtheblackhorrificinawaythathonorsthevictimwithoutterrorizingtheviewer?
Lynching,apredominantlyAmericanphenomenon,wasmostprevalentduringtheperiod ofBlackenslavementandcontinuedsignificantlyintotheCivilRightsera.WhiteAmericans usedlynchingasameanstoterrorizeanddominateblackAmericans.Inhistoricalinstancesof lynchingintheUnitedStates,oftenamereaccusationfromawhiteindividualagainstaBlack civilianwassufficienttoinciteviolence.Thiswouldtypicallyleadtotherapidformationofa whitemob,whichwouldthensurroundtheaccusedBlackindividual.Themobwouldabductand frequentlyexecutetheperson,oftenthroughhangingorotherformsofbodilymutilation.3
Sometimesbodieswereleftondisplay,sometimescapturedforpostcards.4 Lynchingswerelike whitecommunions.Theywerepicnics,theywereattractionswhere“‘thousandsofpeople [would]getontrains’”solelytospectate.5 Allablackboyormanneededtodowasinteractwith
2 Ngyuen,“TheBlackCorpse,”36.
3 Brown,DeNeenL,“ViolentdeathsofGeorgeFloyd,BreonnaTaylorreflectabrutalAmericanlegacy”(National Geographic,2020).
4 Brown,“ViolentDeathsofGeorgeFloyd,BreonnaTaylor,”2020.
5 Ibid,2020
awhitepersonoutsideofsocialconduct—likemakingeyecontact,and,popularly,alleged flirtingwithwhitewomen.6
Blackmenwerefrequentlyandunjustlyaccusedofrapingorbehavinginappropriately towardswhitewomen.Often,theseaccusationstragicallyledtolynching.Thesexualpredator tropepre-dates The Birth of a Nation andfallsunderwhatManoniandFanoncallthe“Prospero complex.”Fanonarticulatesthisphenomenonas“thesumofthoseunconsciousneurotic tendenciesthatdelineateatthesametimethe‘picture’ofthepaternalistcolonialandtheportrait of‘theracialistwhosedaughterhassufferedanimaginaryattemptedrapeatthehandsofan inferiorbeing”.7 ManyAmericansperpetuatedandadoptedthiscomplexforcenturies, weaponizingitforlynchingjustificationandwhitesupremacy—likethecaseofEmmetTill, theseaccusationsrootedtruthinthe“imaginary.”Prosperoandwhitesupremacistsoptforthe imaginedworldinsteadofaccepting“aworldinwhichOthershavetoberespected.Thisisthe worldfromwhichthecolonialhasfledbecausehecannotacceptmenastheyare”.8 Lynching wasalmostalwaysthecauseoftheblackbodytransgressingimaginarysocialconduct.The crime?:existingwhileblack,“‘breathingwhileblack’”.9
Today,themodernlynchingisdocumentedthroughpolice‘body-cam’footageor recordedbybystanders/perpetrators.Manyhavearguedfortheparallelsbetweenhistoricversus modernlynching,includingthenatureandspectatorshipofthesevideos.Asaforementioned, lynchingswerespectaclesforwhiteAmericans.Lifelessblackbodieswereogledatfor entertainment,commodifiedforwhitecapital.Theinternetpushesthisrolenow,regurgitating “‘murderpornography’”where“‘youjustsitthereandwatchsomebodykilledinrealtime’”.10
6 Thisisnottosaythatwomenwerenotvictimsofthisantiblackpractice,asmanywere Ireferspecificallytoblack menandboysherenotforerasure,butbecauseofsexualpredoratorystereotypesthatledtolynchings
7 Fanon,Frantz, Black Skin, White Masks,(PlutoPress,2008),80
8 Ibid,80
9 Brown,“ViolentDeathsofGeorgeFloyd,BreonnaTaylor,”2020.
10 Brown,“ViolentDeathsofGeorgeFloyd,BreonnaTaylor,”2020
Thedifferencebetween1923and2023seemsnonexistent.Inhisdissertation“TheBlackCorpse:
TheConsumptionandRhetoricalUsageofContemporaryLynching”SamB.Ngyuenaffirms how
the Black body is stripped of ontological agency through White visual histories, which emphasize and aestheticize violence against the Black subject and commodify it for consumption. Not only does this recognize the rhetorical function of violent anti-Black visuals, it also illuminates the pornographic function found when anti-Black violence is seen and visually consumed through the White gaze. Just as lynching photographs were made fetish objects of White supremacy, the modern Black horrific may act in the stead ofimmediatethreatsofviolenceinordertoterrorizeBlackAmericans.11
Lynchingsbecameanartofblacksubjugation—howtheywerecaptured,howtheyweretreated, howtheywereattended.Now,socialmediaandmodernvisualmediacontributeanentirelynew dimensiontodocumentinglynchings.
11 Ngyuen,“TheBlackCorpse,”19
12 Ibid,20
TheconsistentthroughlineistheterrorizationofblackAmericansandtheaestheticization oftheircorpse.Thesevideosofthe“Blackhorrific”borderlinepornographic,perhapsmostwith whiteaudiences.Intheblackhorrific’shyper-circulation,individualsderive“shock”and “delight”fromtheblackbody’senduringviolenceandvandalization.12 Ngyuendescribesthese viewingsas“avoyeurismandobjectificationofvisualsubjects,evenifviewersdonotintend to”.13 Onemaynotpurposefullyderiveaneroticsenseofthrillfromexposuretotheblack horrific.WithNguyen’slensofvoyeurism,wecanseetheencroachmentintoaprivatesphere. Eachinstanceisnotprivate,butbetweenmurderandvictimisanintimateviolence.Violence’s 13 Ngyuen,“TheBlackCorpse,”20
shock-valueandvoyeuristicintrigueseeminglycontributetodifficultywithlookingaway.
Furthermore,lynchingscouldalsobeunderstoodasanactofracistaudacityandwhitecapability. Leavingamaimed,blackbodydanglinglifelessfromatreedemonstratesaprofoundlevelof audacityandcruelty Thesightofanabandonedcorpsespeakstothecapabilityofwhitebrutality againstblackindividuals.Thisviolentanddisturbingdisplayreflectsaperverseformof voyeurism.Suchvoyeurismrevealstheinsidioushungertowitnessblacksufferingandits connectiontothemechanicsofwhitesupremacy.
Lynchingasananti-blackhistoricalpracticehas,contemporarily,onlyalteredinits presentmediumsanditsmethodofconduct.Thestill-movingimagesofpostcardsbecomevideo clipsregurgitatedbythealgorithm.Thethousandsofspectatorsbecomemillionsofviewers, manywhodonotactivelyconsenttospectatorship.Forthewhite,liberalaudience,witnessing blacksufferingcanbearevealinganduncomfortableinsightintothedarkeraspectsoftheirown white,racialhistorythattheymayhaveunacknowledgedordenied.Forblackviewers,these videosholdheavierweightthanforwhite.Theystandasatestamenttoaperpetual, centuries-longwhiteberatementanddegradationoftheblackbody.Inaliteraturereviewof ElizabethAlexander’s1994essay“CanyoubeBLACKandLookatThis?:ReadingtheRodney KingVideo(s)”EmilyGilbertandIshanChatterjeeexploretheramificationsofdistressingblack visualsforblackaudiences—whatitmeanstobe“blackandlookatthat”.14 Aracialized collectivewithtraumaembeddedinitshistorypossessesa“collectivememory”:ashared understandingandrecollectionofeventsandcircumstances.
Excerpts from Frederick Douglass’ journal, as briefly aforementioned, discuss a brutal scene in which Douglass witnesses the whipping of another slave for the first time.
14 Gilbert,Emily,andIshaanChatterjee,““CanyoubeBLACKandLookatThis?”:ReadingtheRodneyKing Video(s)”(AfterlivesofSlavery,2017)
Douglass is led to believe that he willapproachthesamefate,andAlexanderusesthisto exemplify how such an experience ‘can be taken into the body via witnessing and recordedinmemoryasknowledge’…Inallofthesepastaccounts,thenarratortalksabout his or her viewing of beatings against other African Americansandtheabsorptionofthe pain as if it was his or her own, which sets readers up to understand the deep history behind collective trauma, especially when analyzing more moderncasessuchasthoseof EmmettTillandRodneyKing.15
LikethecaseofFrederickDouglass,Alexandercitessimilarinstanceswhereanother’sinstance ofviolencestoodasapotentialinsightintoaslave’sownfuture.Ablackslavewatchesoneof theirkinendureabusefromtheirwhitemaster.Inviewing,theycouldinterpretthisscenarioasa possibilityforthemself.Becauseofasharedstatus,theenslavedspectatorseesthemselfinthe enslavedvictim; what happens to them is capable of happening to me.Again,thelynchingin causeandeffectprovesanissueofcapability.Modern-daylynchingrecordingsemulateasimilar collectivememoryandcircumstance.
Collectivememoryandcollectivetraumadeeplyinfluenceshowblackviewersinteract withthesepainfulvisuals.WhenconsideringthedocumentationofGeorgeFloyd’smurder,for example,theblackviewer’sperspectiveismultifaceted.Ontheonehandthereisthepersonal viewpointoftheblackindividual.Theyarepositionedwatchingtheviolenceunfold.Onthe otherhand,theblackindividualseesthemselfreflectedinMr.Floyd.Theyfearasimilarfate giventhisblackaffinity Thesubjectinternalizesthescene,understandingtheirbroaderposition withinaracialized,Americansociety Thecollectiveperspectiveechoeshistoricalnarrativesof slavery.Inthisview,theblackviewermightfeel“responsibleatthesametimefor[their]body,
15 Gilbert&Chatterjee,“CanyoubeBLACKandLookatThis?,”2017
for[their]race,for[their]ancestors”.16 HencetheblackindividualidentifieswithMr.Floydnot justasanindividual,butasarepresentationofblackpeople'ssharedhistoryandexperiences.
Thesepositionalitiesinspirenumerousviewpointsofconsciousnessthroughperceiving theinteraction,projectingontothevictim,andinternalizingtheviolence—thebroaderracial sentimentsitspeaksto.FrantzFanon’stripleconsciousnessprovidesascaffoldingfor comprehendingblackviewpointsofthemodernlynchingvideo.
In the white world the man of color encounters difficulties in the development of his bodily schema…A slow composition of my self as a body in the middle of a spatialand temporal world—such seems to be the schema. It does not impose itself on me; it is, rather, a definitive structuringoftheselfandoftheworld—definitivebecauseitcreatesa realdialecticbetweenmybodyandtheworld.
17
Fanontheorizesthreelevelstothisconsciousness:1)theself,2)howtheselfisperceived(due tocompoundingsocialfactors),and3)theinternalizedinterpretationofone’ssocial/racial/ethnic standing(or,1) I,2) me,3) internalized idea).Tripleconsciousnesscentersaroundthebody,its interactions,anditsdevelopment.ForFanon,raceandethnicity—withinthewhiteworld—act asdeterminantsofaslowlydevelopingidentity. Racismimpactsthedevelopmentofthebodily schemaintermsofhowtheselfinteractswithitselfandtheworld.Inawhiteworldthatupholds racism,theblackbodyisperpetuallyplaguedbyanti-blackness.However,thedevelopmentofa bodilyschemainthis“spatialandtemporalworld”isaself-drivenventure,not“imposed”.
Space,environment,time,andhistoryaidinshapingidentity.Assuch,theworldandbodyare constantlyevolving,soidentityisneverfixed.Ingainingtripleconsciousness,theblacksubject makesaconsciousandself-directedefforttoformulatetheirsenseofself.There,theyparse
16 Fanon, Black Skin, White Masks,84.
17 Ibid,83
themselfoutofthewhiteworld’sdistortion,tryingtounderstandthemselfwithoutthelensofthe other.
Tripleconsciousnesscentersontheindividual’sidentitydevelopment.Thisprocessis moldedbyinteractionswiththewhiteworld.Blackviewerengagementwiththeblackhorrific complicatesthetripleconsciousness.Livinginadigitalagearguablyaltersthetriple consciousness’formation.Fanon’sworldhasdifferedasmuchasithasstayedconsistent.Online identity,onlinesub-communities/cultures,socialmedia,etc.greatlyinformsthedevelopmentof blackidentity.Withsocialmedia/onlineculture,mysubconsciousgoalistointeractwith preexistingmediaandtheninternalizetheinteraction.Intermsoflynchingmedia,theblack viewerengageswiththefamiliarnarrativeoftheblackvictimandwhiteperpetrator This understandingprecedestheactualviewingofthecontent.Asaforementioned,the I whoobserves themodernlynchingvideoderivesthe me throughtheexperienceofanother.Forinstance,ifa blackmanwatchesthevideoofGeorgeFloyd’smurder,hisownsocietalperceptionisshaped throughtwofactors.FirstheseeshimselfinMr.Floyd’sposition,identifyingwithhisblack manhood.Second,hewitnessesthefinal,violentinteractionbetweenMr.FloydandDerek Chauvin,whichfurtherinformshisunderstandingofhisownpositionandvulnerabilityin society Collectivememory,moreover,hasastakeinthisinterpretation.Intergenerationaltrauma interplayswithcollectivememory.Theindividualbodyholdsthecollectivetruthofourenslaved ancestors.Consumingtheblackhorrific,myownbodyoffersasomaticresponse.Itistriggered byamemoryIhavenotexperienced.Myownbodyandmyinterpretationofmyworldis impactedbycollectiveexperiences.
Further,thecollectivesimultaneouslygainsthisconsciousnesstogether,andalsohelps shapetheidentityandperceptionoftheblackhorrific.BlackTwitterhascontinuedenormously
aidinginpropagatingtheblackhorrific,aswellasitsreinventionandreclamation.Thissubsect ofTwitter(nowX)hasexistedsince2009.18 Itisdescribedas“anonlinegatheringinwhichits membersidentifyasBlack,createculturallyrelevantcontent,shareinformation,andutilizethe affordancesofTwittertoengageinBlackdiscourse,growsocialaffinities,andshare commonalitiesofBlackculture”(Klassen,8).19 BlackTwitter’scommunityoperateslikea neighborhoodinitsengagementandcirculationofculturalgossipandcommunity/nationalnews. Theonlinecommunity’sinvolvementwithlynchingvideocontentraisesinterestingpointsabout whoownstheblackhorrific.Coulditbereclaimedbytheblackcommunity?
Blackviewersparticipatinginwatchingandsharingmodernlynchingsexemplifies connectionandwhatblackculturaltheoristandscholarTinaCamptcalls“kinship”.20 Kinship is definedasa“bloodrelationship;asharingofcharacteristicsororigins”.21 This kinship interms oftheblackhorrificfosterssolidarityinthesharedrealityofslavery’safterlife.Weseeourselves inthevictim,butwealsoholdpowerasaviewer.22 Theblackcollective,bywatching,hasthe abilitytomaintaintwotruths:thetruthofitstragedy,butalsothetruthofthefuture. Kinship and hapticity makeaconsciousefforttoalterourunderstandingofthismedia.Further,byaltering ourunderstanding,wechangeourinternalizationofit:
Social media, [Ibrahim] argues, becomes the ‘burial ground ofthelivingandthevirulent dead,’ allowing not only the hyper-circulation of the Black horrific, but also its reclamation by Black communities (Ibrahim, 2022). By many measures, Floyd’s killing video is one such instance of reclamation…Though for some viewers, the incredible
18 Parham,Jason,“APeople’sHistoryofBlackTwitter,PartI”(WIRED,2021)
19 Klassen,Shamika,“MorethanaModernDayGreenBook:ExploringtheOnlineCommunityofBlackTwitter” (2021),8
20 Campt,Tina,“TheVisualFrequencyofBlackLife,Love,andLabor”(Duke,2019),42
21 Definitionaccordingtothe New Oxford American Dictionary.
22 Ngyuen,SamB,“TheBlackCorpse,”58
23
violence portrayed by the killing video inspires opportunities to dream of what a pro-Blackfuturecouldbe,itisnolessanaffirmationoftheanti-Blackpresent.
Inthethickofanti-blackatrocity,kinshipofferstheopportunityofreclaimingandreinterpreting.
By‘reinterpret’Idonotsuggestthatwemustderivejoyfromtheblackhorrific.Iamalsonot advocatingforignorancetowardstherealitiesofouranti-blackpresent.Iinsteadarguethatthe collective,inkinshipandinsolidarity,helpsredefinehowtheblackviewerengageswiththis media.Thisideaof"lookingdifferently"attheserepresentationsdoesn'tjustalterthewayBlack viewersidentifywiththemedia.Italsoinfluenceshowthismediaaffectstheirpersonalidentity Thisapproachfostersadifferentperspective,onethatpotentiallyempowersratherthan diminishestheviewer.Thetripleconsciousnessindicatesacceptance.Iacceptthattheworld understandsmethisway;Iinternalizethisideaofmyself,andnowitalterstheperceptionof myself.
Inreinterpretation,thecollectivecommitstowhatCamptcalls“thepracticeofrefusal”.
24 Thispracticeisacollectivepracticeofrefusingtheestablished,oppressive“socialorder”.
25 In refusal,thecollectiveusesthis“negation,”asshecallsit,tomovetowardsapositively reconfiguredwayoflife.
26 Sheexplainsthat“thepracticeofrefusalisastrivingtocreate possibilityinthefaceofnegation”27 Intermsoftheblackhorrific,refusalcouldtakeshapeinthe chosenreactiontosuchmedia.Thesevideosexistbecauseofthe“socialorder,”theanti-black interplaysbetweenwhiteandblackAmericans.Whenhandlinganddigestingthesevideos, turninginjusticeintoademandforjusticerepresentsrefusal.Onecouldseemodernlynching videosandacceptthewhiteberatementoftheblackbodyasanormal,withstanding
23 Ngyuen,“TheBlackCorpse,”36
24 Campt,Tina,“TheVisualFrequencyofBlackLife,”25
25 Ibid,25
26 Ibid,25
27 Ibid,25
phenomenon.RefusallookslikeBlackTwitter’srejectionofthesevideosasalivablepresentand futurenegatestheviabilityofourcurrentsocialorder.
Thesubversionofthesevideosdoesnotmitigatetheirthreateningnatureandthefear theyimpose.Rather,refusingtheseimagesofwhiteviolenceupontheblackbodycanonly repossessandreclaimit.Theblackbodynolongerbelongstoitswhiteassassin.Insteadit belongsinthecareofitscollective.Inworkingwiththismedia,theblackcollectiveredefinesthe toneandexpressionofitscontent.Insteadofdenyingthegraphicnature,blackviewersoptto “embracethelaborrequiredtoengagetheprecarityofblacklifeintheongoingafterlifeof slavery”.28 Tendingtomediaarchivesofviolencecommittedagainsttheblackbodyhealsand honorsitthroughtheacknowledgmentofitshumanity
Blackengagementwiththeblackhorrificcanbeanactof hapticity 29 Camptdefines hapticity,throughthelensofblackdigitalmediaengagement,asthelaborand“theeffortof feelingimplicatedoraffectedinwaysthatcreaterestorativeintimacy”.30 Hapticinteractions revolvearoundhumanconnectionsthatfosteradeeperlevelofemotionalunderstandingand interpersonalintimacy.Inchoosingtoemotionallyengagewiththeblackhorrific,Iforman intimateconnectiontothevideoandsubject.Iarriveatadeeperinterpretationofblacktrauma throughmetaphysicaltouch.Thevisceralexperienceofhapticengagementattestsagainto collectivememoryandthetemporalworldFanonspeaksof.Itisvisceralbecauseofcollective memory—historicalexperiencehasshapedmyidentityandhowIrespondtotraumaticimagery.
The“restorativeintimacy”Camptdiscussesimplieshealingasaresultofconnection.31 Usingtraumaticimageryasamethodofhealingproveshapticityisapracticeofrefusal.In
28 Campt,“VisualsofBlackLife,”27
29 Ibid,42
30 Ibid,42.
31 Campt,Tina,“VisualsofBlackLife,”42
hapticallyengagingwiththeblackhorrific,Irestorehumanityandemotiontotheplacesfrom whichithasbeentaken.Hapticengagementwiththeblackhorrificrejectsapatheticand intellectualizedanalysisofblacktrauma.Inadvocatingforanapproachthatembodies connectionandfeeling,hapticityunveilsthesensoryexperienceoftraumathatisoften overlooked.Empathybringsamulti-dimensionalperspectivetotheblackhorrificthat,without, furtherrationalizesblackpainandgrief.Byofferinganapproachtoviewingtheselynching videosthatcentersonemotion,Ioffermyselfandmy(collective)traumaempathy.
Throughcollectiverefusal,blackviewerssubvertvisualsofblacksufferinginorderto createaholisticapproachtoaddressingcollectivememoryandtrauma.Lookingbackattheidea oftripleconsciousness,howIunderstandtheworldtoseemeaffectshowIseeandinterpret myself.Inofferingkindnessandhumanitytothesevisuals,Ican,inturn,alterhowIapproach andperceivemyself.Lynchingvisualsareatestamentto(white)America’sfraughtandabusive relationshipwiththeblackbody.Victimsofthesehatecrimesaretreatedassub-human;ifI understoodthosewholookedlikemetobesought-aftersubjectsofexecution,Imay,too,view myselfasless-than.Butbyinterpretingthesevisualsholisticallyandhapticaly,Ihumanizethe victimandreckonwithmycollectivememoryandcollectivetrauma.Indoingso,Itherefore humanizemyselfandunderstandmyselfasapersonandnotjustasapotentialvictim.
Discussingblackvisualhistory,especiallyvisualsofblacksuffering,necessitates mentioningthesensationalismofblacktrauma.Thepsuedo-racial-awakeningof2020sawwhite AmericansattemptingtosynthesizefourhundredyearsofAmerican,anti-blackracism.Videos ofblacksufferingatthehandsofpoliceofferedjustlyanoutpourofsympathyfromwhite Americans,helpingleadtotheirwhitereckoningwithblackhumanity.Why,however,does sympathyandunderstandingsurfaceonlywiththeblackhorrific?Theblackhorrificandits
pedestaling“attesttothemodernpresenceofsensationalismthatsurroundsimagesofblack bodiesinpain…‘…inordertosurvive,blackpeoplehaveparadoxicallyhadtowitnesstheirown murderanddefilementandthenpassalongtheepictaleofviolation’”.
32 Arguably,death becomesasurvivaltactic.Tobeseenashuman,wemustsubjectotherstoourdeath.White Americansseldomeverneedto“‘passalongtheepictaleofviolation’”inordertohavetheir sufferingandexistencetogarnersympathyand/orbetakenseriously.
33
TheblackAmericanexperience,asmanufacturedandassumedbywhiteAmericans,is shroudedinpain,suffering,andendurance.AnyblackpersoninAmericaknowstheinaccuracy ofthesestatements.OtherAmericansdonot,however,asaconsequenceofpredicatingblack humanityonblacksuffering.Howisittoonlybeseenwhenyouaresuffering?Elizabeth Alexanderurgesthesevideosas“‘warnings’”forblackAmericans:
The presence of collective memory or identity among African Americans changes the way that they perceive these acts of violence. Whether it be police brutality or slave beatings, these paralyzing events become signals to blacks; they make an attempt to prove that black bodiesare“outofplace”inAmericansociety,andAlexanderrecognizes that African Americans must listen to these signs to survive. With her use of both historical and modern examples, Alexander implies that this collective memory still affects the way African Americans comprehend these incidents. The presence of media now makes it extremely easytoturntheseincidentsintospectaclesandincreasethescale on which suchawarningtoblacksisconveyed.Manyblackswillunderstandablywantto
32 Gilbert&Chatterjee,“CanyoubeBLACKandLookatThis?,”2017.
33 Ibid,2017
ignore these cases, but Alexander insists thattheyneedremembertheaggressiveimages, videos,andmediafortheirownsake.34
As this paperdiscusses,thesevideosareevidenceofaperilousblackexperienceinAmerica,and proof to the present, haunting afterlife of slavery. Arguably, Alexander calls for endurance, something that black Americans have been exercising for centuries. Endurance, while not a uselesspractice,impliesacontinualexposuretotheblackhorrific.
Similarly, enduring continual, purposeful exposure also implies implementing fear as a motivator for survival. Returning back to Campt, we can recall her vision of “looking differently”attheblackhorrific.35 Itispossibleandcriticaltoreconsiderthewaysinwhichblack viewers interact with the black horrific. This decision rejects victimhood that exclusively concentrates on the pain and subjugation undergone by black individuals and the black collective. Additionally, using this perspective to engage with these visuals contributes to highlightingblackhumanitythathasbeenstrippedanddenied.
“Looking differently” at modern lynching media becomes a crucial tool in our efforts to envision what “a pro-Black future could be”.36 This conscious and deliberate practice does not insinuate diminishing or disregarding the profound impact of black trauma. Instead of downplaying the discomfort and distress expressed by the black horrific, “looking differently” requires an engagement that directly confronts the blackhorrificandcomfortsinthepresenceof distress. It calls for a nuanced understanding thattranscendssuperficialandintellectualanalyses of an intricate black trauma and black experience. “Looking differently” does not solely acknowledge the complexity of blackness, but also seeks to embrace and grapple with it.
34 Gilbert&Chatterjee,“CanyoubeBLACKandLookatThis?,”2017
35 Campt,“TheVisualFrequencyofBlackLife,”27.
36
Fostering fuller,moreempatheticexplorationsoftheblackexperiencegivesitthemultitudesand humanityitdeserves.
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