I just read an article on the idea of respectability politics. I’d like to speak on it for a minute. Respectability politics is, according to Damon Young in a recent article for theroot.com, “generally defined as what happens when minority and/or marginalized groups are told (or teach themselves) that in order to receive better treatment from the group in power, they must behave better.” This would include things like pulling up the saggy pants or even putting on a suit and tie in hopes of being seen as more respectable to majority culture. Many scholars, writers, and thinkers reject this idea as a form of acculturation, or adapting to majority culture in order to fit in. They suggest (accurately so) that this idea of making yourself more "respectable" to the majority culture as a means of making you safe from racism and harm is a fallacy. They are right. Being more respectable won't suddenly make you immune to the persecution that comes with wearing this skin. Here's my problem. That's an extremely incomplete thought. So incomplete, in fact, that it borders on dangerous. Suggesting that being "respectable" is somehow the antithesis of being authentically Black inadvertently sends the message to young Black folks that in order to be real and true, they shouldn't be any of the things that one might call "respectable." As Young states, "I love being black too much to be less me to gain some safety." He sets up, here, a dangerous dichotomy. As he and others imply, one can be Black, or one can be respectable. One cannot be both. And the fact is, that is not only far from true. It is foolishness.
See, I was raised to be all the things these cats would categorize as "respectable." I don't wear saggy pants. I look folks in the eye. I give firm hand shakes. I speak the Kings English when outside the company of close friend. (I am, in fact, bilingual, but not many will ever see that.) When interacting with law enforcement or criminal justice personnel, I show a degree of reverence for their position. (In all fairness, I show that same reverence to any position of authority, be it my boss at work or simply an elder on the street.) I don't like to be loud in public. I don't like unnecessary attention. I attempt to be humble. I was raised this way. I don't call any of the aforementioned behavior "acting respectable." I was taught to believe this is the way a gentleman acts.
More importantly, I've been a dark-skin Black male living in ultra white spaces for 40 years. I have come to learn that many many people are threatened by my very presence. I work hard to make people feel comfortable around me, because I have found this to be an adaptive tool. I have been able to sidestep many (not all) of the hurdles and pitfalls that my peers have fallen into by adapting to my environment. Does that mean I have avoided racism? No. Does it mean I believe I have had a smoother sail than many because of my adaptability? Absolutely.
Suggesting that some degree of adaptability and recognition of the situation we are in is somehow watering down your Blackness is a potentially deadly idea. Human beings adapt by nature. Recognizing that police may very well pick on the Black kid with the baggy jeans and the hoodie is just being perceptive. Choosing, then, to not wear that outfit is relatively logical. Is it the only right choice? No. But suggesting that it is a bad choice is to ignore some degree of common sense. When walking down the street past police officers, greeting the officers with a kind, "Good afternoon, officer" won't save you from all possible run ins with police. Will it, perhaps, decrease the likelihood that those particular officers choose you as their fun for the day? It just might. And at the end of the day, I just like better odds better. None of this stuff makes your survival odds 100%. However, an increase in your chances can't really be called a bad idea. Not when life is on the line. And life is often on the line.
I get that this position will be very unpopular with my peers. Black scholars, feminists, all types of educated folk will be yelling, "No! Don't sell-out!" "Don't let them change who you are. It won't make you safe anyway." Eh. I'm cool with being unpopular. I'll take my increased odds and go home. What's worse is that this position will be very popular with white people. They'll say, "Yes! See. We like that Dr. Brock. He's a good negro." I'm cool with that too. To be honest, I wasn't talking to them, so some of them not truly getting it is not my concern. What I'm not cool with is sending the message to young Black boys that putting on a pair of khakis and a button down shirt, annunciating their words, and treating every stranger the way they probably already treat their grandmother is somehow gonna make them less Black. I'm not buying that, and I refuse to sell that mess to anyone.
This was written as a reaction to an article by Damon Young, who’s work I respect and admire. Below is a link to that article. Dig it. You might like where he is coming from. I offer, here, a counterpoint. Take it for what it’s worth.
http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2016/03/the_definition_danger_and_disease_of_respectability_politics_explained/
