The Black Radical Tradition
What I find most compelling about the Black Radical Tradition is its ability to formulate an expression unfettered by the unending structures of domination imposed on it. Whether it is Ali in his defiance to White America, or Hartman in her unapologetic tracing of her identity, the essence of the tradition is an unabashed, unchecked, unbothered expression of identity.The boldness, almost arrogance that is at the root of the tradition is unmatched; it is an unrestrained expression of agency, where it is possible to speak back, and say that we, too, have an identity. That was the point after all, wasn't it? to push back against the force that seeks to reduce the black peoples to bare life.
The tradition preaches a way of being. For me, the tradition has meant that it is possible to live unashamedly. That one must not be compelled by the structures that be, by those who seek to dominate and repress, to reduce one's identity. In fact, the best way to challenge these structures is to challenge this function of reduction. Challenging the modes of domination that force your identity to conform is the essence of resistance. Once these powers are forced to back off, identity can be expressed unchallenged, and it is this unbothered expression of identity that pushes these structures of domination back.
I am inspired by Ali, by Hartman and Cessaire and Fanon, and by all those who adopt a way of living that is aloof of all the different structures that seek to repress their way of existence. This is a universal inspiration; it is a message for all those who are forced to check their identity in the face of power. It is for the man who must conform to gender roles, the woman who must check her behaviour to see whether it abides by the standards of society. It is for the artist and the poet; the tradition yells at us to be, be in the way that we are most comfortable with, be, with no regard whatsoever for anyone who seeks to reduce this being.
I too, am often produced by structures of domination. I speak in a certain way, think in a certain way, and act in a certain way, because I am compelled by the structures of reward and punishment that seek to fetter my behaviour. Speak in English, and you will be rewarded; stand on the wrong side of the political spectrum, and you will be punished; dress a certain way, or you will be looked down upon. And the Black Radical Tradition says that I should not care. That to push back against these structures I must speak the way I want to, be political the way I want to, dress the way I want to. That my expression of self should not even consider anything that forces conformity. That in this world of I, only I matter.
The tradition preaches a way of being. For me, the tradition has meant that it is possible to live unashamedly. That one must not be compelled by the structures that be, by those who seek to dominate and repress, to reduce one's identity. In fact, the best way to challenge these structures is to challenge this function of reduction. Challenging the modes of domination that force your identity to conform is the essence of resistance. Once these powers are forced to back off, identity can be expressed unchallenged, and it is this unbothered expression of identity that pushes these structures of domination back.
I am inspired by Ali, by Hartman and Cessaire and Fanon, and by all those who adopt a way of living that is aloof of all the different structures that seek to repress their way of existence. This is a universal inspiration; it is a message for all those who are forced to check their identity in the face of power. It is for the man who must conform to gender roles, the woman who must check her behaviour to see whether it abides by the standards of society. It is for the artist and the poet; the tradition yells at us to be, be in the way that we are most comfortable with, be, with no regard whatsoever for anyone who seeks to reduce this being.
I too, am often produced by structures of domination. I speak in a certain way, think in a certain way, and act in a certain way, because I am compelled by the structures of reward and punishment that seek to fetter my behaviour. Speak in English, and you will be rewarded; stand on the wrong side of the political spectrum, and you will be punished; dress a certain way, or you will be looked down upon. And the Black Radical Tradition says that I should not care. That to push back against these structures I must speak the way I want to, be political the way I want to, dress the way I want to. That my expression of self should not even consider anything that forces conformity. That in this world of I, only I matter.
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