The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

How far should multiculturalism go?

For much of the last century the burden of being "Black" or denoted by "Blackness" in America was the burden of a systematic denial of human and constitutional rights and economic mobility. In the wake of the 21st century, we are confronted with the brute fact that legal and economic inequalities between the races still define the boundaries of alienation between those on opposite sides of the racial binary namely that of Blackness and white.

In the 20th century, much of what America claimed as American culture - music, spirituality, dance, fashion, and humor was uniquely African American in origin. Today this trend continues not only in the adoption of what is "African American as American" but in the use of "Blackness" as a symbolic necessity of rebellion and political resistance.

Blackness and its cultural productions are being used by peoples of non-African descent to indicate a distance and aversion to mainstream American culture. Blackness represents resistance, especially with the present political regime in office, but at the same time cannot be utilized by its organic possessors in the same way.

The most notable candidate in this examination is of course Eminem, who has generated fame as a Black male impersonator. Eminem, the product of white America's romanticization with the African and their aesthetics, demonstrates quite convincingly that to be Black is unfortunate, but to possess Blackness is lucrative. Eminem possesses the ability tell the "Black" story without having to be the Black character. He can adopt the needed symbols of the culture without ever having to account for the contradiction between the ability to tell the Black story and the ineffability of the Black experience.

Carl Rux says it best, stating that "Race performance in America has suffered an uneven exchange. There are allowances made for some to a greater degree than others. From jazz to rock n' roll, white representation in black music forms is completely acceptable and rarely questioned, but some have questioned whether or not white representation in black music ultimately diminishes the sentiment of black music, or distracts a critical audience from narrowly perceiving black music innovations as black music. Whom does music or race belong to?"

Who possesses these standards? Is race transferable in the 21st century? Can a white man now authentically be "Black?"

The racial situation in the United States creates a paradox between the socio-cultural aspects of "Blackness" and its utilization by the non-Black and the socio-political encapsulation of "being Black." The latter is a reality that employs its aesthetics in service of self-determined goals in an effort to challenge and reverse the harmful effects of social stigmatization and historical marginalization. White culture, seeing this polemical tendency in hip hop--just as it did in jazz, seeks a cooptation of its symbols and the usurpation of the "Blackened identity." This cooptation rips the symbols from its cultural roots, which robs it of it revolutionary power, but brings praise and study from the academy once it is dislocated from "being Black." This practice of multiculturalism allows Americans and now the world to adopt various degrees of "Blackness," without ever having to rethink the historical imprisonment of "being Black."

At the end of the day, will we be able to identify the markers of Black culture, or will they fade to non-being? Are we dealing with a reality that permits those in possession of their agency to become the apotheosis of our being, capturing the totality of the "Black experience" in a shadow besides the illuminated culture of reason and the reminiscent sound of what once was our voice? How far are we willing to let multiculturalism go?

Tommy is a graduate student. My Nommo appears every Thursday. These views do not necessarily reflect those of the DAILY EGYPTIAN.

[Macro error: Can't include because the file is larger than 32767 characters.]

Today's News | Sports | Voices - Editorial | Letters
Newsbriefs | pulse - Arts & Entertainment | Calendar | Photo Staff
Apts & Rentals | Photo Personals | Live DE NewsCam | Classified Ads