Black Nationalism and Its Influence - Literature review Example

Black Nationalism in the Play “Dutchman” by Baraka Black Nationalism in the Play “Dutchman” by Baraka Art has always played an important role in bringing the issues of various sections of society to the attention of the public. The claim is more so in a land of so many immigrant groups like the U.S. The play “Dutchman” by Amiri Baraka is a perfect example of this. The play, written in 1964, is a mirror to the conflict between African-Americans and Whites in the U.S society. A close analysis of the play reveals the themes of Black Nationalism, Black liberation, and confused identity. However, the most important theme is Black Nationalism. In the play, Lula, the White woman, appears as the representative of the White society and Clay, a black young man, is the representative of the African-American community. The former seduces the latter, at the same time mocking at his racial identity, and succeeds largely in the effort. However, Clay realises how futile it is to shed his African-American identity. He stands against her racist comments and declares how proud he is to be a Black. In simple terms, one can say that the play is a racist response made by a Black Nationalist playwright to the racist White society of the U.S in the second half of the twentieth century. In the play, both the sides appear to possess prejudices about the other, and the gap seems unbridgeable. The Playwright and the Context Amiri Baraka was born in Newark in the year 1934, and his name was Everett Leroy Jones. Later, he accepted Islamism and changed his name to Amiri Baraka. In fact, being a Black, Baraka faced a lot of issues due to his identity. Though he attended Rutgers, Howard University, Columbia, and New School, he could not get a degree from any of them. Later, he joined Air Force but was removed for keeping communist literature. By this time, he had developed ideas of identity politics and the same is reflected in his 1963 book “Blues People: Negro Music in White America”. In this book, he puts forward the theory that jazz as a music form had its elements absorbed entirely from the African-American culture. After a year, he came up with the play “Dutchman”, and this again contains prejudices and hatred (Watts 1-25). Thus, the play is filled with symbolism, tone, and setting which provide the viewer with an insight into the relation between Blacks and Whites in the twentieth century American society. Analysis of the Play- The Effort to Fight Western Essentialism with Neo-African Essentialism As already seen, Baraka was an avid Black Nationalist. This affiliation makes him resort to extremism in the fight against the White supremacy. As Woodard points out, traditionally, the term “Black” is associated with evil, death and darkness. However, being a Black nationalist, Baraka tries to adorn the White society with such qualities as sickness, death and peevishness (51-52). To illustrate, the White woman Lula is presented by the playwright as flirtatious, manipulative and provocative. She eats apples relentlessly and offers the same to Clay. In addition, she is red-haired. The moment the women enters the train, she starts seducing him. She asks him, “Would you like to get involved with me, Mister Man?” (Baraka 3), and Clay is easily taken away by the enchanting beauty of the woman. He replies, “Why not? A beautiful woman like you. Huh, I’d be a fool not to” (Baraka 3). Evidently, the man is attracted by the beauty, and he even starts responding to her invitation in a positive manner. Admittedly, it is this attraction which makes the African-Americans try to integrate into the White society, and the result is darksome. They receive racist treatments at the hands of the White. Their tradition and their effort to be a part of the mainstream society are being mocked at (Trautmann 5). To illustrate, Lula asks Clay; What’ve you got that jacket and tie on in all this heat for? And why’re you wearing a jacket and tie like that? Did your people ever burn witches or start revolutions over the price of tea? Boy, those narrow-shoulder clothes come from a tradition you ought to feel oppressed by. A three-button suit. What right do you have to be wearing a three-button suit and striped tie? Your grandfather was a slave, he didn’t go to Harvard (Baraka 5). Admittedly, Clay appears in the play as an educated and thinking Black young man. He spends time reading, and prefers to be silent. In addition, he is wearing a jacket and tie to look civilized. However, this effort to be a part of the mainstream society is again met with criticism and cynicism. This is so because the White society is so adamant in claiming that it is the only game in town, and the representative, Lula, continues insisting that she knows what “type” Clay is. According to her, Black people like Clay have certain specific features. She is too arrogant in her behavior, and claims, “Your grandfather was a slave” (Baraka 6), “you went to a colored college where everybody thought they were Averell Harriman” (Baraka 7), and so on. In addition, she reminds him that he can never get rid of his history. She says, “And we’ll pretend that people cannot see you. That is, the citizens. And that you are free of your own history” (Baraka 5). The underlying meaning is that as far as he has his own history, his union with White Lula is impossible. In addition, there is the claim that “you’re an escaped nigger” (Baraka 8) and that “you crawled through the wire and made tracks to my side” (Baraka 8). It is necessary to analyze these two claims more closely to understand the contradiction between the White and Black sides of the story. The woman is claiming that the man is trying to seduce her, or trying to make “tracks to her side” while, in fact, it is she who is forcing him to get involved with her though he gets attracted. Similarly, while the White society claims that the Blacks are absorbing good things from the White society, the Black (Black Nationalist) view is that “Plantations were big open whitewashed places like heaven, and everybody on ‘em was grooved to be there. Just strummin’ and hummin’ all day” (Baraka 8) and “that’s how the blues was born” (8). At this point, it is highly necessary to recall the racist theory on the origin of jazz as put forward by the playwright in his earlier work. However, it is rather comic to note that while Clay considers “blues” as an important element of his culture and something to be proud about, the image of “blues” in the mind of Lula is rather “nasty”. Finally, after listening to all the racist slurs from Lula, the real Black Nationalist in Clay comes out. Responding to the relentless attack of the White on his looks and lifestyle, Clay says, “Let me be who I feel like being. Uncle Tom. Thomas. Whoever. It’s none of your business” (Baraka 9). Clay reveals that the Whites have failed to understand the “pumping black heart” and that being a “liberated whore”, Lula only knows about the sexuality of the black. I addition, Clay explains that all the black art including the “blues” is singing “curses at whites in code and see their filth as simple lack of style. In addition, there is the warning that teaching the blacks too much of Western rationalism will have adverse effect because the blacks will murder them and will give rational explanations using the same philosophy. Admittedly, the playwright is mocking at Christian charity and Western rationalism which fail to take blacks “into your fold” (Baraka 10). Evidently, one can see various elements of Black Nationalism in this agitated response of Clay. Clay points out that only violence can make the Whites be sane. In fact, it is the suppressed feeling of oppression and hatred towards the Whites which make the foundation of black art. He says, “If Bessie Smith had killed some white people she wouldn’t have needed that music” (Baraka 9). In other words, the playwright is indicating the fact that the foundation of black art is to be found in the hatred for the Whites. Historians have pointed out that for the African-Americans, music was a way of defiance, protesting the inequality while remaining linked to their African history (Watts 18). According to the playwright, the whites are “liberated whores” (Baraka 9) who find justification for every atrocity in the Western rationalism. This rationalism is hollow and baseless because it justifies evidently irrational and inhuman activities. While Lula is laughing at the looks and culture of Clay, he is indicating that the “great intellectual legacy” (Baraka 9) of the West is more apt to be laughed at. This is so because while the blacks prefer to see the White “filth” as jut a “lack of style” and not resort to “murder”, the whites find justification for their filth in their great intellectual legacy. Finally, the play ends when Clay is stabbed and thrown out of the train by Lula with the help of other passengers. A look into Black Nationalism and its Influence The second half of the twentieth century witnessed the birth of the Nation of Islam and the Black Power movement, both promoting Black Nationalism. Fighting against the prejudice, Black Nationalism advocated race pride for African Americans, black separatism, and economic self-sufficiency. Admittedly, this radical movement did not support the nonviolent interracial activism that was considered the remedy till that time. Instead, the Black Nationalist movement was filled with hatred and despair and it considered the existing gap unbridgeable through peaceful means. These Black Nationalists considered the American society as irrevocably corrupt and unjust and found violence as a preferable means to equality (Woodard 47). In fact, the nation of Islam and its leaders like Elijah Muhammad played a crucial role in promoting racial separatism as an ideology. Elijah Muhammad proclaimed that the white’s days are over and that the whites are worried about the revenge of black men. Another leader Malcolm X notoriously said that “bullets will” achieve what “ballots” cannot, and the theme spread like wildfire among black youth (Watts 39). It is in this context that Baraka grew up and developed his political ideology. Like many other black youths, he adopted Islamism and supported separatist ideology. As already seen, his works reflected black nationalism and “Dutchman” is no exception. Admittedly, the Western white society has been under the influence of essentialism since time immemorial and this has considerably affected other racial and ethnic groups. While leaders like Martin Luther King attempted to fight the same through nonviolent interracial activism, Black Nationalists lost the patience and found remedy in violence and separatism. Amiri Baraka was one among those people who promoted Black Nationalism during 1960s. When one looks into the play “Dutchman” with this realization, one can find various elements of Black Nationalist ideology in the play. In fact, it is possible for one to doubt why the hero, who is against the whites, is made to wear a coat and tie by the playwright. One can find the reason from within the play. Clay says, “I sit here in this buttoned-up suit to keep myself from cutting all your throats” (Baraka 9). The underlying meaning is that Clay is intentionally trying to integrate into the mainstream white society to avoid conflicts despite his dislike for the “white”. Secondly, the playwright reminds the society that black art is mocking at the foolishness of the white society through metaphors, and that when the whites praise black art not knowing what they really feel and mean, the “feeble-minded” whites are “kissing” “my black ass” (Baraka 9). Moreover, one can find the warning about possible violence, when “Crazy niggers turning their backs on sanity” (Baraka 9). The playwright tells that it is sanity which keeps blacks from resorting to violence though it is clear that only violence can make the whites listen to them. However, pure sanity and patience help blacks look at white “filth” as “lack of style” and sing “curses” at them “in code” instead of murdering them. Conclusion In total, “Dutchman” by Baraka is a play that reveals the hatred and separatism associated with Black Nationalism. It provides the viewers with an insight into how Black Nationalism in America tried to fight Western essentialism with violence and separatism. Admittedly, the work has nothing to do with nonviolence, offering the viewer a realistic picture of prejudices from both the sides. To sum up, the play is a separatist creation by a Black Nationalist, revealing a real picture of thoughts. Works Cited Baraka, Amiri. Dutchman. 11 May 2014. PDF File. Trautmann, Ireen. The Success of Amiri Baraka’s Play Dutchman. London: GRIN Verlag, 2007. Print. Watts, Jerry G. Amiri Baraka: The Politics and Art of a Black Intellectual. New York: NYU Press, 2001. Print. Woodard, Komozi. A Nation within a Nation: Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) & Black Power Politics. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 1999. Print. Read More