I found in Fredrick Douglas' introduction that "Douglas was accused in the black press of betraying his race by marrying his white former secretary Helen Pitts..." to be very interesting. He had been fighting for the rights of African American people to be equals. The black press saying that he betrayed his race though sets the two races still apart from each other. The whole point of being equal is that both races are treated the same and can interact with each other without problems. By frowning on his marriage to a white woman they were taking back what they were fighting for a bit, at least that is how I see it. Did you guys get the same feeling from that I did?
How about now, do you think that people still have this idea that you are betraying your own race to be in an relationship with someone of another race?
I have heard both the phrase "birds of a feather flock together," (from a white person) and "why are we letting our black men be taken away by these white women" (from a black person-though I'm paraphrasing this one) in the past few years. So, yes, I know that this idea is still out there. I think it just goes to show, as Tatum pointed out, it doesn't matter who you are, you can be racist, or sexist, or whatever. I think that's a vital thing to keep in mind, too. You have to know that a group of people, no matter their looks, culture, etc., is really just that: a group of people. There are good people, and there are bad people (and then there's mostly everyone, stuck somewhere in between). But that doesn't mean we should still try the level the playing field.
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By my calculations, Douglass would have been about 68 when he married Helen Pitts. From my experience, people getting married/remarried at that age is quite an achievement even today. As if we needed any more proof that Douglass was an extraordinary man!
That doesn't mean that we _shouldn't_ still try to level the playing field was what I meant to say...
ReplyDeleteFrom a modern perspective, I obviously do not believe that Douglass was betraying his race. I believe love is love and should not be hindered by race, age, religion, etc. Interestingly enough, I believe this incident illustrates human nature. By nature, we are fearful of change. While African Americans fought for integration, Douglass marrying a white woman was still too radical for them as well. Even though they wanted change, the marriage was almost too abrasive. I do believe similar issues occur today. An ex-boyfriend of mine had a mixed (black and white) mother and a white father. Both him and his sister showed very little of their black heritage. For his sister, when her mother would come to school events and meetings, the other people did not believe she was her real mother. We all have expectations. A white child with a black mother or vice versa still strikes us. The multiracial/ multiethnic parent child combination receives significantly more attention than a homogenous pair. Racism is still alive in many ways its just not as obvious and abrasive as lynchings or legal segregation. However, for that daughter of a different skin tone than her mother, the segregation is apparent, the expectations still alive.
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