Path and Journeys

I was just in France visiting distant family and my cousin Audezio said something that stuck with me, “Blood recognizes blood.”  Which I totally agree with.

And my time in Paris got me thinking about things in the U.S. and ideas that I have been thinking about for a few years.   If I am being honest, I think African Americans (I am not consciously using the term ‘Black” for a number of reasons I will discuss at another time) have really one of three paths to follow while living in the United States.  To simplify things I will call them; Washington, DuBois and Garvey. I also find it interesting that there is some discussion about Washington vs. Dubois and their interactions, but I have found very little discussions about Washington, Dubois and Garvey, which I think is a shame.   Part of me wants to think that I am the first to make these arguments, but I know I am not that smart.   

This will be an oversimplification because all three names have changed and evolved during their lifetimes, but I think that they are three good avatars for paths to take.   There has always (OK, not always but in my lifetime at least) been the Martin vs. Malcolm debate.  This debate has a ton of nuance and I feel like the debate between the two men doesn’t do either justice. 

I will also say that Washington, Dubois and Garvey are all products of their places and times and are a continuation of stories and narratives that go back well before any of them were alive.  You can easily think back to the Amistad, Paul Cuffee; House vs. Field, etc…  And this will not be discussing Colonialization, the Windrush Generation, The Black Loyalists or Liberia.

I’ve come to these ideas over 51+ years of living in the United States; and traveling and living in the Caribbean, North and South America, Europe and Africa. 

So let’s start at the beginning, Booker T. Washington.   He was born into slavery into slavery in Virginia, which I am sure had an impact on his life, that I cannot even imagine.  I believe that being born into slavery and living in the post Civil War south also impacted him and his views. This all culminated in his (in)famous Atlanta Compromise speech of 1895, which was a mere 20 years after the end of the Civil War and after Reconstruction had ended. I have seen debate over whether Washington genuinely believed in his words at the Atlanta Compromise, or if he was just looking for a compromise.  I guess even if you were to ask him, he may not have been able to articulate an honest response, but that’s another story for another time.   To summarize Washington was advocating that the descendants of slaves should simply learn a marketable trade, not advocate for rights or freedoms, not challenge Jim Crow laws and simply get a job that would earn them an income and some semblance of peace and tranquility.

You can hear this idea echoed in President Trump’s “Black Jobs” comments.   You can also hear this idea when some people talk about not wanting to rock the boat and just survive.   I would even go so far as to say that those that have political beliefs different from mine or echoing these words; “go along to get along.” I can honestly say that while I do not agree with this mentality, I understand it.  I would also say that this mindset is like living in a gilded cage.   It is nice and safe and pleasant, but it comes at a cost and is difficult to give up and escape. 

Second, we have W.E.B DuBois.   Mr. DuBois was born in Massachusetts after the Civil War.   Two facts that I am sure influenced his life and the way he saw his surroundings.   He advocated for the freedoms and equality enshrined in the Constitution and the 13^th 14^thand 15^th Amendments. As part of the Niagara Movement, DuBois advocated for pursuing policies that would culminate in the 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement.   Advocating for rights and freedoms had resulted in many changes and improvements to society.  In my estimation, these changes can be temporary and can be reversed.  It seems to be that the “wins” of the Civil Rights Movement are being undone and reversed.  Pursuing the DuBois path also comes with its costs. Fighting for freedoms for others, while a noble pursuit can be exhausting.

 If we look at Malcolm and Medgar and Martin, and Fred it can also be deadly.    This is not to say, again that it is not a path worth pursuing, just like Washington, it comes with associated costs and risks.

You can hear the echoes of this path in the words of Barack Obama, Thurgood Marshall, Ketanji Jackson Brown and others.   Again, fighting for the rights of others is a just and noble pursuit, but it can be a lifelong calling and changes and success may not occur or may prove temporary. This is not to say that this is not a worthwhile calling.   

Lastly, you have Marcus Garvey.   Marcus Garvey was born in Jamaica while it was still a British colony.   After traveling throughout Central America, South America and Europe, his world view began to change and he started advocating a future where all African descendent people (from the Americas; including British America, Spanish America and I imagine Brazil and Europe) unite and return to Africa and create a future independent of non-Africans.  Garvey was not the first to articulate the Back to Africa Movement. One could argue that that idea goes back to the first colonists from England to Sierra Leone in 1787. While the British founded Sierra Leone, the idea of Blacks being sent back to Africa spread to the United States as seen through the works of Paul Cuffe; and the American Colonization Society.   

One could also argue that the idea of “Going back home” goes back to the first enslaved who arrived in the New World in either Brazil, the Caribbean or British and French North America. The pull of “home” where one is loved and accepted is not a new concept.

One can hear the echoes of Marcus Garvey in Public Enemy, Black Panther, The Right of Return from Ghana.  

Choosing this path, like the others is not without its challenges. It has been argued that African Americans of financial means had no desire to return to Africa because they were no longer African, but America, which I cannot disagree with. It has also been well documented that most of the former American slaves who settled in Liberia died within 20 years of arriving and that is not to mention to larger history of Liberia and its brutal Civil War.

One could argue that leaving the country of your birth and settling in a country that you have no ties to, you do not know the language or customs is not a smart or realistic future. In addition, the only connection you have to the population is the fact that your ancestors left the same continent over 200 years ago.  Again, I understand those who choose this path.   

So as far as I can see African descendents in the United States have one of three paths to take; or more likely, paths have already taken; Washington, DuBois or Garvey.  Neither is without risks and challenges.