In part II of our discussion of the Unconscious Discourse I’ll be going over the manifestations of the discourse within the African American community and how it relates to the separation of community as wells as the creation of an absentee and outcast Vanguard within the community. In the last blog, I stated that man has the inclination to categorize things, put things in order. Another inclination of the human being to this sense of belonging.  Humans are very social beings, that being the case order and categorization can arise peacefully when there is a society or community in which to organize. In the case of African Americans the community is stalled and broken at an integral level of development due to the fact of this Unconscious Discourse. 

     The Unconscious Discourse, in which African Americans and those people affected by the African Diaspora ask themselves the internal questions  of :

who am I?

What Shapes my identity?

and get a void answer with a premature pause, the pause being slavery or colonization, establishes a community of people with no past, or at least not impartial and truthful past. Specifically for African Americans it is a very arduous task to trace back one’s lineage even to the times slavery. Coupled with further oppression in the sense of  today’s African American societies or state of the African American community in the mid 20th century definately contributes to the search within an abyss of tell tales about “home” or Africa to the African American psyche. It is my personal opinion, that for all groups affected by the African Diaspora, whether it be African American descendants of slaves, or post- colonized Africans, the Latin and Caribbean populations of  Central and South America, there is a stop within the past of our culture and history at the time of slavery. The wall (stop) is so embedded into our minds, that even if we know, for example, Africans built the pyramids of Egypt and controlled the Universities of Timbuktu, or even defeated the Portuguese and several other European colonialists on their first breaches of the African continent in a glorious and powerful way, there is sense of  “that’s not us” feeling within these communities. Rather, that was us but it’s different, as if we could never reach such heights again. The manifestation of this unconsious discourse is seen within two interactions. African intellectual engagement with their Caucasian counterparts, and African intellectual engagement with their community. 

 Disclaimer: When I say African, I mean people of affected by the African Diaspora.

Interaction amongst African Intellectuals and their Caucasian Counterparts

     African Intellectuals seek education and prosperity within the realms of which in modern society, and especially in African communities are controlled and have been controlled by Caucasians.  Fanon and W.E.B. Dubois speak of this in several books of African American community. Fanon goes on to speak about how, in Senegalese communities, Africans seek to go to France and master the French language in order to become something other than themselves. The same can be seen within the African American community in which African intellecutals seek to go to College to escape their own communities ,”get out the hood” and live the “white picket fence lifestyle”, they master a craft or the sciences and move in a white suburban neighborhood – Priveleged black folk. Unfortunately, in reaching for these goals they come to find it is not possible to be accepted as French or as an intellectual if you’re African. Comments such as ” oh you’re so articulate” or ” well-mannered”, so on and so forth, let intellectuals know, you’re an exception to the rule and if ever you step out place, well you have a desired place of “nigger” to fit into. 

Disclaimer: I am explaining the Unconscious Discourse. I would not say that All people descended from the African Diaspora who are intellectual go through this our have this discourse but this is…. the Unconscious Discourse.

At the end of the day, failure is the result for intellectuals because they’ll be white or rather never be accepted as ” true intellectuals”, well at least not by everyone and for many of our previous leaders, not until their dead.

Interaction amongst African Intellectuals and their African Community

     When our African Intellectuals go back to their communities, they are ultimately outcasts as if their growth in education has taken away their blackness. So the standard holds true …. you can’t be black and smart. Intellectuals get comments from their community companions such as: ” You talk so white” ” You walk funny” “You’re the whitest person I know” etc. Fanon expresses this with his Senegalese character in the story of when he returns from France to his Farmer family, he is depressed. All of his community seek him out to hear his stories and critique is actions. The first mistake he makes, it is pointed out and scrutinized. In the African American community, this is seen in two ways, one by pointing out the intellectual mistakes, or by the intellectual him or herself being perceived to the community has “holier than thou” or ” you think you better” lol.

All in all, the intellectual of the black community is in a box where he or she is not accepted by their community or their counterpart caucasians, leaving them in a void of where do I stand? Ineteresting indeed, when one asks themselves the question of where did all of the intellectuals go when drugs were being put into African American communities in the 60s,70s and 80s. This leads us to the intellectual role of Vanguard within the community.

The intellectual, because of the experience of unacceptance,is placed in the role of superhero or Uncle Tom, depending on their actions. Oh, you moved out of the hood, don’t give me 5 dollars, the man got his foot on my neck, Uncle Tom ass nigger! or I’m going to spend my entire life waking up a sleeping people – yes you the living dead.  Listen to ” Wake up Niggers” by the Last Poets. Interesting and vaguely comes together with what is being expressed in this paragraph. Such things cause intellectuals to just accept their position or straddle the fence in which in both cases the Vanguard is absent from our communities. Truthfully I don’t think we should rely on our intellectuals. All of us, us being the descendants of those caught up in the African Diaspora or any type of colonization or subjugation of oppression, should individually focues on the betterment of ourselves and our people without relying on one group of people but rather working together strengthening everyone in the community.

This is the state of our communities today, to some extent. In any event, the communities are broken down and there is a heavy sense of belonging for members of our community and such unconscious discourse may being preventing proper communication and unification of the African community.

Disclaimer: All of this I don’t agree with, but much of if is seen. Whether the reasons and factors are the same, the actions are clear. Next is how we fix it.

 I pray I did a proper job in explaining the Unconscious Discourse further. Please if you have any comments or so feel free. I haven’t been on in a while.