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| Cauleen Smith, Play Your Part Series. 2012, ink on graph paper. Image via art.newcity.com. |
Chicago-based artist makes a statement on how
racial injustice and white privilege and supremacy gets processed in America
and in the art world.
Text |
Cauleen Smith for NewCity, December 25, 2014
This year
ends with a whole lot of heartache, rage and the palpable desire for action.
But I
suspect that there is a silent contingent of Chicago’s contemporary art
community who do not feel emotionally wounded by the injustices we’ve been
served; who feel as if offering “the other side” of the argument has no place
in this scene. And so perhaps these folks are riding this thing out—waiting for
the outrage and hand-wringing to blow over like Ken Johnson’s New York Times
review of “Now Dig This” blew over, like Donelle Woolford blew over, like
Exhibit B at the Barbican blew over, like Bjarne Melgaard’s remaking of Allen
Jones’ bondage chairs blew over, so that they can get back to the business of
pure art free from all this tired-ass identity politics stuff. I mean that is
so nineties, right? Well guess what. This is not going anywhere.
I’ve
recently had a few encounters that have me thinking about ways to structure
conversations that don’t put people of color in the position of educating white
folk rather than expanding our own consciousness and developing a weaponized
vocabulary that can slay white supremacy. There is no benefit to leaving one’s
allies hanging. So in that respect, the urgency for this vocabulary is
amplified. My standard response to individuals who come to me for “help” in
understanding racism is to direct them to the library. Then they ask for a
reading list. And then they read a chapter or two, become very uncomfortable
and want to process their estrangement with me. That’s about the time when the
friendship ends. How can a person who lives the inescapable stresses of white
supremacy buttress a person who has the option of accessing that consciousness
by picking up a book—and can then choose to just put the book down? The spirit
of Trayvon, Eric, Big Mike and the more-and-more has ignited a storm that need
not settle. Creative consciousness is rising like Hong Kong umbrellas and
Ferguson banners. And so, in the interest of friendship, some terms for civil
discourse may be needed.
1) White
Privilege: Cultural affirmations of one’s own worth; presumed greater social
status; and freedom to move, buy, work, play and speak freely. The effects can
be seen in professional, educational and personal contexts. The concept of
white privilege also implies the right to assume the universality of one’s own
experiences, marking others as different or exceptional while perceiving
oneself as normal. (from the Wiki)
2) White
Supremacy: The belief that white people are superior to those of all other
races and should therefore dominate society. (from the Wiki)
3) Racism:
The practice of enforcing white supremacy through institutions and mechanisms
of power both public and intimate.
4) Race: A
completely fictitious construction devised to rationalize modern capitalism,
deployed and performed with a force as real as the air that we breathe.
5) Value:
a) relative worth, merit or importance. b) to consider with respect to worth,
excellence, usefulness or importance. (dictionary.com)
Guess
what? Just like you don’t have to be a man to practice chauvinism, or a woman
to be a feminist, you don’t have to be white to be a white supremacist. This
term, white supremacy, as harsh as it is, eliminates the ambiguity of intention
invoked by notions of racism. A person can say, “I didn’t mean to be racist. I
am sorry.” But can that same person honestly say that they do not believe that
whiteness is inherently more valuable and more legitimate? If this is denied,
what would their actions say? What would their bookshelves say? What would
their hiring practices say? What would a sampling of their friends, associates,
co-workers and colleagues reveal? And so, what can be known when we apply these
questions to our own communities and the arenas in which we make, exhibit and
discuss art-work? How do we begin in the journey toward the society that more
closely resembles our ideals? Some individuals who benefit from the privileges
of dominant culture struggle with the experience of no longer being central to
critical narratives. Sometimes, friends, listening is the most powerful gesture
one can make. A receptivity to the black-centric narratives we see activated by
our stalwart protesters in the streets can be extended (and expanded) to the
classroom, the faculty meeting, the workplace, the playground, the museum, the
commercial art gallery.
Some
friends tell me that my idealism is misplaced—a better understanding of the
system in which we live would make it clear to me that the way to win this game
is to play the game, not break the game and build a better one. (I gots mine.)
This cynicism has gotten us exactly nowhere and yet, I feel it, I hear it, and
understand it among people I care about. So I’m joining forces with artists to
work on our own minds so that we can build the tools of liberation we need to
amplify our capacity for love. This is all I can offer my cynical friends. This
is the best offer my estranged friends are gonna get. Maybe they’ll join us. I
mean, I just can’t see changing anything unless we all imagine ourselves to be
a part of a cosmic continuum of love. And who wouldn’t do anything for love?
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