A Third Way

This course took me on a personal journey of re-examining all the things I took for granted- social conventions, political systems, language, expression, and so on. The spirit of the black radical tradition lies in the ability of the leaders and thinkers to be able to pin down and express the experience of blackness. They are able to put into words the reality of their blackness through a language that inherently disadvantages them. The last half of our course was particularly eye opening in this context because we were supposed to not only question the concept of knowledge, but also be aware of and critique the sources of knowledge that create certain mindsets. The essence of the Black Radical Tradition is to challenge these mindsets of Western superiority that we assume are a given and set out on a course of redemption which critiques the models that the world is currently functioning on. That black thinkers and writers were able to get their voices across in a system that was built on racism is a commendable feat, and has done much to change the course of history. 

The decolonization of knowledge played a huge role in the success of this tradition. When these radicals realised that the West isn’t the only source of knowledge, nor is it the only yardstick measure of success, they were able to create a consciousness that moved beyond that. Personally, this resonated with me more than I had expected it to- perhaps because after graduating this May (hopefully), I am going to be teaching history. We’ve been taught a very distilled version of history all our lives, a version that never quite sat right with me. I want to change the way that we not only perceive, but also teach history. I want to teach my students that even though we are learning about Greek and Roman antiquity, the American and French Revolutions, it doesn’t mean that the history of the East is any less important than the history of the West- that the Mughals were as great as Louis XIV. I want to teach them that there are infinite ways of experiencing the world, and that we must never compare our success to the triumphs of others- we are all inherently different, and in that difference we must celebrate ourselves and what we stand for. In essence, no longer should we find ourselves in the back rooms of history, always having to compete with the West- instead, we should build our own way, a third way.

The nucleus of the Black Radical Tradition lies in the realisation of a “third way”, or the creation of a separate space. A space where one is allowed to be black- whatever it may mean to them- in the fullest. More often than not, we are uncomfortable with the space that we occupy in the world. Striving to be “modern” like the West but never really fitting in, we are suspended in a limbo, never really inhabiting or accepting our true selves. Writers such as Audre Lorde and Bell Hooks were able to create a sense of the self- the self that is divorced from all its previous consciousness and is able to live authentically. This self cannot be found within the guidelines that the West has bestowed upon us, and can only be found when one is ready to give up all pretenses and truly accept oneself for what they are, scars and all. This means accepting our culture, our past, and our present for what it is; accepting that our skin will never be as white as those who conquered us, and more importantly, that we are not in any way less beautiful for it. It means not forcing ideals and norms that are foreign to our way of being, and accepting that we are not inferior for existing the way that we exist, or experiencing the world in the way that we experience it. We must create an inclusive space that is ours to claim, and we can only do so if we are able to free ourselves of the shackles of Western modernity and knowledge. The generation of tomorrow must know that there is a third option, and that we must all work together tirelessly to see this way come into fruition.

Lastly, if I am able to teach my students even the ghost of an inkling of what I have learnt in this course, I will be fulfilled.