Black Empire

First off it pisses me off that the title of each chapter completely gives away the main concept discussed within the section. Kind of spoils what is going to happen next.

Schuyler convey's Dr. Belsidus as a highly intellectual African American male who wants to gain control over the white Supremecy through this strong "Black Internationale" that contains a large amount of African American's around the world. The piece within the novel that I wanted to focus on was Dr. Belsidus's speech on page 110. Throughout his speech Dr. Belsidus encourages his people that they deserve the ability to achieve equality to the white man being that they have encountared in various machinary tasks that the white man claim to hold above them. Dr. Belsidus presents this uplift when he states, "Today you have the power of the white man in your hands. Great Kings! No longer must you bear oppression and fear the floggers. For you are the brothers and comrades of one who is greater than the white man. White man makes guns, I make guns..." (110). At this point Belsidus allows for his audience to gain ground with the opportunities that they should be entitled to as they are equally capable of producing the same products as the white. I find it interesting that the pride in HIM being the one to make the guns, bullets, being rich as well as countless other aspects is not fully his work. He is the master mind behind the whole Black Empire and provides the finances and intellect to devise such an incredible plan but it is the people within that actually aid him to achieve the greatness of plane's, buildings, temples, farms, etc.

Schuyler seems to parallel the position of Dr. Belsidus to Garveyism being a nationalist and a strong part of the black national movement. Throughout the book Dr. Belsidus makes a point to make his race and the struggles they have forgoed a prominate goal to become superior above the white man.
"We shall not fight, kill and enslave black man. We shall free black men and make them great" (111). Just like Garvey, Belsidus' intent in redeeming this African Continet in hopes to bring his people to freedom. The method of nationhood is strong within this book because it is with the assistance of countless African Americans that have allowed him to go forth with his plan.


Do you think that Schuyler is suggesting that race is a problem? Is Miss Grivens portrayed as a step towards equality between man and women? Find supporting detail within the text to support your answer.

Is Schuyler trying to convey a larger message as the issue aside from race? Why do you think he parallel's Dr. Belsidus's plan extrememly close to Garvey's?

Of One Blood

In Of One Blood by Pauline Hopkins we eventually find out that Reuel is of mixed blood being white and black, using his lighter skin to his advantage in order to obtain a higher status within society passing as a white male. This ultimately displays that Reuel is disconnected from his African American roots due to his persistence to identify himself as an Anglo-Saxon. Reuel's relation to his love Dianthe, is quite similar being more so allowed to project her identity as a white due to her remarkable beauty in sake of her class and eventually for their marriage. Reuel's disguising of his black origin soon becomes of existence when his friend Aubrey brings question to Reuel about the changes that would occur if his identity is revealed, "This infernal prejudice is something horrible. It closes the door of hope and opportunity in many a good man's face" (58). Aubrey then goes forth to manipulate Reuel to seek a higher fortune and head to African in order to aid with the medical support they need. Although Aubrey is coming off as looking out for Briggs, his awareness of identity plays as a uncovered threat to gain his desire of Dianthe and loses her power, "In vain the girl sought to throw off the numbing influence of the man's presence. In desperation she tried to defy him, but she knew that she had lost her will-power and was but a puppet in the hands of this false friend" (69). With Aubrey's control over knowing her containing African American blood, he uses this to his advantage resulting in her being like mentioned, a puppet without desire to free from him.
 It seems that Hopkins is trying to convey the message of not forgetting where you came from and how easy one can reject one side of their race as an advantage to society. Hopkin's also poses that people of mixed races often get caught up in assimilating with the dominate race in order to gain societal normality. Hopkins seems to try and promote a healthy image of taking pride in being apart of the black race rather than denoting it's existence however, chooses to depict Dianthe and Reuel as a symbol of maybe confusion between races and not being fully accepted by either race if they presented their racial origin.  The title Of One Blood seems to destruct from obtaining equality between races in that maybe one day everyone will be Of One Blood with the characters Dianthe and Reuel being a prime representation of the future.

 

 I find this reoccurring concept of the mulatto being interesting as some of these ideas seem to be carried over even today. Being a mulatto myself, I do not consider myself one race over the other and when asked ethnicity I say that I am black AND white. I find that it would be degrading to my parents if I chose one over the other because that would denote one of my parents from being part of the creating of who I am. 

If you were in a situation where you could pass as a Anglo-Saxon in times of slavery would you? 

What do you think was Hopkin's intent to title this sci-fi novel Of One Blood ? Where do you see concrete detail within the text that suggest her reasoning for doing so?

Nation within a Nation

"But the real controlling power of the race that was shaping its life and thought and preparing the race for action, was unnoticed and in face unseen by them" (66).

This implies an over-arching implication of a nation within a nation where you can view the Nation within in two different perspectives. One common way is the view the inner Nation as the African Americans in that they are surrounded by a bigger Nation of White Americans leaving them to have less control over impact to society and rights. The inner circle does not necessarily mean the least controlled, however in this time period African Americans were overpowered by White Americans where they don't have enough bodies to stand up fully to the White Americans. Another way you can see it is reverse in the proposal the African Americans are the outside Nation because of their gradual persistence in becoming powerful and posing as a threat to White Americans. This would then put the White American's in the inner circle because they have this lingering fear that their race will become less powerful in controlling other races.

“Unseen” in a sense that they (White Americans) are trying to ignore the change that is gradually transforming.

"The element most briefly antagonistic to the whites avoided them, through intense hatred; and the whites never dreamed of this powerful inner circle that was gradually but persistently working its way in every direction, solidifying the race for the momentous conflict of securing all the rights due them according to the will of their heavenly Father" (66).

The reference to the powerful inner circle seems to symbolize the negro race rising above their potential in hopes for a better future. Within this passage it appeared that the white race may view the blacks as a threat in that they have this intellect that allows them to partake in post-secondary education just as the whites do. The transformation in allowing colored people into society delegates as a way to inflict power upon their race. Or another method to think of is giving way to some equality within both races. The power that some “whites never dreamed of” seems to be growing in existence with colored people being granted more opportunities for success. Although some African American's go forth to obtain college degrees (as some equality has been granted), once they go out into the real world it is as if their intellect serves as no purpose. Ultimately suggesting that they result to lower labor employment opportunities that do not require the higher education in which they achieved.

          
          The authority that seems to conjugate in every direction is not just the uplift in African Americans but also the percentage of White Americans who do not discriminate or have any racism towards African Americans therefore become part of the power that lies within the inner circle. This direction seems to justify that majority of racist white people fearing the thought of their own kind becoming one with another race. Thus increases the potential of African Americans having justice within society and reduces the chances of Whites alone upholding the majority.




What is Griggs trying to inflict in this novel when it comes to Belton achieving higher education, however being restricted from obtaining structured job emphasizing the degree in which he has earned? Why does he propose that obtaining a college degree will be of significance in Belton's life (with the clear distinction being a student of color) when in reality the color of this skin restricts him from acquiring a job to his intellect capability?


This notion of a Nation within a Nation seems to be brought up in various sections of the text and not just in one overall instance. What are some nations within a nation that Griggs informally discusses throughout the text? Do you think that Bernard and Belton although they are both of African decent have different experiences of nations? 

Blog Post #1

1)   GREG TATE: "One of the things that I've been trying to say all along is that the condition of alienation that comes from being a black subject in American society parallels the kind of alientation that science fiction writers try to explore through various genre devices-- transporting someone from the past into the future, thrusting someone into an alien culture, on another planet, where he has to confront alien ways of being" (212)

      SAMUEL R. DELANY: "No Immigrant group-- neither Irish, Italians, Germans, Jews, nor Scandinavians-- for all the prejudices that all of them met when they got here, and which they all had to overcome, endured such MASSIVE CULTURAL DESTRUCTION." (191)

2)
           The passages that I have chosen from Dery's piece goes further to confirm the relation between alienation and African American history as the two go hand in hand with various similarities proposed throughout the articles we are discussing this week in class. In Smith's article "The Pretend" we can conclude that the black culture has been completely whipped out and replaced by the usage of android (A1) robot's who represent the "now" black culture. The significance in comparing the thoughts of alienation stands when one is permitted from knowing about their heritage/culture because there is none left in existence aside from these robots. The writing did not have to formally state that these robot's are black but we are given stereotypical assumptions throughout the beginning of reading that if you are aware of the cultural dialect, you could begin to reason that the robot's are black ( aside from knowing this is an Afrofuturism literature course :)) , "Aw, you aint even right," Diva Eva said, scandalized. "I seen you windin it up last night when we got on." "I aint do nothin. Jes winded it, that's all. Maybe I jes wanna her sumthin" (358). This language allows the reader to gain a better since of the differences in cultures that are being depicted throughout the reading. Since the African American culture was washed away completely, the use of robot's seems to represent a lost culture that is indeed alienated from society living in an environment that parallels historical encounters that go along with slavery with the use of traveling in boxcars to a land that is unfamiliar to them.

"For such knowledge was prohibited to robots and therefore extremely hard to come by. This withholding by laws was the slang origin of the now-ubiquitous social term "forgettoized" applied to all robots of their inner cities" (363). This relates back to Dery's article as it represents being stripped from one's culture and thrown a knowledge that is foreign and challenging to understand.


This presumption of being a black robot and not real derives from how they were treated by society. In parallel to the African American history, they were not accepted and were seen as if they were aliens being separated not only from society but their cultural history. Being forced out of your culture and placed in an area where you are not familiar yet have to abide by the societal expectations is a strong form that relates the alienation distinction between past and sci-fi. The discouragement inflicted upon the robot's were installed into their brains that they weren't people and that is how the classification of "robot's" came to existence in Shaw's article (362). The title "The Pretended" seems to represent how the African American race was constructed in the past, in that they did not sustain equal rights and were treated as if they had no purpose and did not matter.

3)
          What is the distinction that Shaw is trying to get across about they way society constructs it's views on people that are alienated? What is her significance of identifying how African American's were a pretended race? Explain in detail, with examples what she is inferring.

          Is Shaw's efforts literally putting the past encounters of African American history into the future perspectives that seemingly correlate side by side with various similarities of slavery/alienation and cultural destruction? What is she suggesting about change for African Americans in the future? Is it the same or different from the experiences of African American's in the past?

A Saucer of Loneliness

How does Sturgeon portray the media and its influence on/relationship to society? How does it (the media) relate to the theme of loneliness in the story? In our world today?

The impact of the media plays a significant role in the societal views that the young lady encounters when trying to live her life as any everyday human being. She is mistreated/harassed  by management, society, landlords as well as set up multiple times on dates to try and get her to reveal the secret told by the saucer. Sturgeon seems to use the media to display how one's image can be misinterpreted based on how the media presents it. This is shown in the article multiple times as the young lady gets fired from her job merely based on her reputation and the thought of her being a spy (88). This portrayal of the media expands into the theme of loneliness as it allows for viewers to formally relate in some manner to the story being expressed or results to ISOLATING those individuals shown through the media from society. Also media relates to the theme of loneliness as both are easy to acquire in that the media influences society to view individuals differently based upon their depiction/story. Loneliness is easy to acquire in relation to how society may choose to view one and set them apart based on their story. The media all in all is an easily attainable resource that can make or break various situations as it has a heavily influence even today, in the effects upon it's viewers and those negatively represented.