Kiese Laymon came to speak a couple of months ago in a
dialogue with our very own Zandria Robinson. He had a lot to say about race and
growing up in the south which really interested me to look into his work
further. I began to read the book How to
Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, and it was one of the most
impactful books I have ever read. Especially the essay “Kanye West and HaLester
Myers are better at their jobs”. In this essay he speaks about how impactful
Kanye West has been on the music industry as well as the black community. He
has done things with sound and lyrics that are completely unprecedented; truly
revolutionizing the industry with which he works in. Not only that, but he has
used his fame to shed light on the African American struggle. He has proudly
announced that blacks in America deserve better. He has even called out
President Bush and said he needed to be there for the people of New Orleans and
should not have hung them out to dry. Kanye has done exactly what people want
you to do in a position of power, but at the same time he hasn’t. In spite of
how positively he has impacted America, he has also failed miserably.
Kanye had a chance to change the
way average men talk about women. We see how he talks about racial issues and know
that he above the typical mediocre message that everyone sends out because its
catchy. Yet, he still provides us, this prepackage message of misogyny that it
so destructive to our society. Professor Laymon makes a great point this in the
essay. How are we supposed to get this impactful message about the struggle of
African Americans without also simultaneously receiving this message about
degrading and objectifying women. He thus comes to conclusion that maybe Kanye
isn’t at great as everyone makes him out to be. Kiese Laymon initially feels
superior because he is not like Kanye and he is not a misogynist who doesn’t
think about women. He done all the things that would seem to make you
considerate of women and equality. He has protected women at abortion clinics.
He has read tons of books about feminism. He even goes on to say that he
lectured the young men in his class that they could be potential rapist. But
then he continues and this is really what struck a cord with me. he
acknowledges that doesn’t mean crap. He tells the reader that he hurt women
more than they could ever do to him. Not physically but emotionally. He may
have been considering women rights but he has never truly considered women. So
in the end he really can’t criticize Kanye that much because Kiese really isn’t
any better than Kanye when it comes to women at all.
This whole essay really spoke to me a lot because it put a lot of
questions about myself in regards to women and race in my head. I have
dedicated my time to caring about the study of African American culture and I
have taken time to read tons of pieces on feminism at college. At surface level
it looks like I’m really passionate about these issues. It looks like I’m
better than that kid who hung the monkey by the noose or some kid who rapes a
girl in her own dorm room, but the more I look at it the more I realize I have
done a terrible job of getting to actually know the people that were effected
by this racist act. I have done a terrible job of getting to understand women
who have been effected by sexual assault. I have done a great job understanding
the problems but I have don’t a terrible job of understanding the people. I
have not gone out of my way to truly make a difference on this campus and that
makes me just as bad as the rest of the bystanders who simply say its not my
problem. That I believe it what needs to be fixed more than anything else in
myself as well as the community at large. We really need to start caring about
people rather than problems. Stop
worrying about the numbers and start worrying about the pain of each and every individual.
It means nothing to talk about issues until you actually go out and do
something about it in your own life.
The Kiese Laymon talk a few months ago was an event I was also very moved by. He talked so candidly with our very own Dr. Robinson about the problems with race in our country and how unacceptable it is. He mentioned how scared he was of violence in his teens especially and how being black is filled with a lot of stereotypes but how he shouldn't have to accept those stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteLaymon has a unique story because he now teaches at Vassar College, a college similar to Rhodes, so listening to him and Dr. Robinson, both black professors, talk about their experiences in the context of also being a part of these majority white institutions was very interesting. It seemed that neither of them cared much what the majority white audience thought about the way they made jokes about white people, but that's what a place like Rhodes College or Vassar needs. In a place that boasts allies and acceptance, it doesn't seem that we always actually have a lot of that at Rhodes College. There are a select few that take classes like "African American History" or "Race and Ethnicity in American society," but what I've noticed in taking these classes is that they're scarce in the white male population which is why we continue to have so many of these issues we've seen lately at Rhodes.