Deliberate and Afraid of Nothing - Lessons From The Black Radical Tradition

The Black Radical Tradition has over the years, profoundly impacted the cultural norms and ideas it had historically set out to resist/change. This tradition of resistance is without a doubt too heavily loaded for me to highlight all the lessons derived from it, but perhaps I can start by discussing the aspect(s) that resonated most with me. Looking back at history, it is truly remarkable how societal relations/structures can change over the years. Especially structures, that were considered to be so axiomlike in nature that most never really even questioned them in the past. From Martin Luther King having a dream to Barack Obama becoming the first Black president of the United States, the world truly has seen profound changes over the years in the way societies can operate. That brings us to the question: were these structures really axioms to begin with?

Of course, we know the answer now. No, they were not axioms. The history (and success) of the Black Radical Tradition has proven this to us multiple times. But one must bear in mind that, not so long ago, social hierarchies that, for example placed people of color inferior to white people, or women inferior to men, really were considered to be axioms by many. Even (some) people who were suffering at the hands of these social hierarchies had internalized its ideas to let the cycle of oppression continue. This made me realize that although these societal orders are dethatched from objective reality, they can seem every bit as real as nature when they are the dominant order. But more importantly, it also made me realize just how open things are to change; more than we realize. We know this because history has proven this to us repeatedly. 

“Take no one’s word for it, including mine – but trust your experience. Know whence you came, there is really no limit to where you can go. The details and symbols of your life have been deliberately constructed to make you believe what white people say about you.”    (Baldwin)

The above quote is by James Baldwin from a letter he wrote to his nephew. Here, not only does Baldwin recognize that the racial structure of America at that time was based on merely imagined ideas, he also implies how the structure prevails by giving everyone signs about its values from a very early age. This includes the collective behavior of everyone, assumptions of people about the other group, portrayal in media, laws that systematically allow segregation or discrimination, differing economic states, and so on. 

“You were born into a society spelled out with brutal clarity, and in as many ways as possible, that you were a worthless human being.”   (Baldwin) 

It is then of no surprise that with these constant reminders, one may be tempted to internalize the ideas a system represents and prefer peaceful silence over the noisy rattling of chains.

“The very time I thought I was lost, My dungeon shook and my chains fell off.” (quoted by Baldwin)

But this is why the Black Radical Tradition was so important. It showed that rattling chains could bring about very real change. It showed the importance of defining your own self rather than being at the mercy of a structure of relations that may or may not benefit you or approve of you. After all, that structure might as well be dethatched from objective reality and cease to exist as soon as everyone stops believing in it. Audre Lorde also cited the importance of self-definition by saying:

“As a Black lesbian mother in an interracial marriage, there was usually some part of me guaranteed to offend everybody’s comfortable prejudices of who I should be. That is how I learned that if I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.” 

That is one lesson that stayed with me the most while studying The Black Radical Tradition. The lesson of self-definition. The Tradition also showed how nonpermanent societal structures and norms can really be, no matter how axiomlike they may seem in the moment. Considering this, self-definition not only becomes a need in the face of resistance, it also becomes the most logical thing to do. Lorde’s point then, does make sense. Society will always have all sorts of ideas about what you ought to do or how you ought to be and will be more than willing to offer you these ideas as soon as you’re out of your own. But this is where the importance of self-definition comes in. To reiterate Lorde: “…if I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive”. To conclude what I have tried to say in this blog: The Black Radical Tradition taught me to not be afraid of defining myself for myself and why it was so important (as well as logical) to do so. 

“I am deliberate and afraid of nothing” (Audre Lorde)