People of Colour
People of Colour, now what does that mean?...
Shortly after launching the unheardwords online writing group, Anne Kaye - one of the earliest New Writers to contribute - asked this question. So began a dialogue. Here's a round-up of what's been said so far...
"When I think 'black community', I must confess on first reading I can personally identify, but the problem seems to be that the term doesn't stand up to much scrutiny. It's a bit like the use of Africa, when applied broadly to the distinct Nations of that continent or wondering if 'black' refers to colour - does it just mean non-white?"
"What's in a name?"
"Everything & nothing [is in a name]."
"Me back again. Re-reading this very brief exchange I'm reminded of some remarks attributed to Luke Sutherland in an interview piece I read recently. He is a black writer, what ever that means, and he was describing the way people had tried to paint him into particular BLACK corners. He said something like someone accused him of being white middle-class the other day but he rejected the accusation saying, something like, there is no one authentic black condition. I can see what he means."
Related ref: Luke Sutherland, 2004, Venus As A Boy, Published by Bloomsbury
"Ge'in all deep on me now girl..."
"It’s about identity man this people-of-colour thing. It’s about belonging and at the same time feeling as though you don’t belong. Like I am a member of the black community but I am not someone who you can stereotype as that black guy. The thing is that whilst it feels good to belong to a community, there aren’t enough creative or positive depictions of black people to necessarily feel good about simply being labelled black. She’s that black author. He’s that black actor. The black comedian. In these examples the black part doesn’t mean anything and may even have negative connotations depending on who’s using the phrase. What’s a black comedian, someone who tells black jokes? To belong is like having a connection to something that makes you feel whole. People-of-colour are like all those people that can’t simply feel connected to the majority populous, and therefore they feel a need somewhere, perhaps subconsciously to attach themselves to a distinct subgroup - even if the value of so doing is pretty intangible or only of gentle and passing reassurance.
So, I’d like to change the term people-of-colour to something that better sums up the large group of nationals and migrants who find themselves reaching out to find a connection. Hey, you out there, do you have any suggestions?"
"I like these thoughts and I think I agree. Hope your words will touch others because I’d be truly fascinated to hear what they think."
"I’m there with you G.Williams (May 2004). I’d say the act of being disconnected in the ‘majority populous’ as you put it, adds significantly to all this noise. You can adapt if you find yourself around, working with people-that-aren’t-your-color, and whose color is predominant. And, in this adaptation you can become some sort of hybrid. A shape changer. And, then you can feel as though your neither in nor out. Like you don’t quite fit. What about people-of-no-color or people-without-color to describe this?"
“It is time for me to correct the mis-education that is rooted in racism, ignorance and the enslavement of … people. Your race has nothing to do with the colour of your skin…race in this country is backwards [seeking] to divide humanity based on colour of skin. [In fact, we] are either [descended] from Japheth, Shem or Ham (the sons of Noah). [Descendents of] Japheth became known as the…Europeans; [Descendents of] Ham (Hamitic) became known as Egyptians and Ethiopians, etc.; [Descendents of] Shem (Shemetic) are other Africans (thus most African – Americans are Shemetic)…people are destroyed by lack of knowledge.”
"I am not learned enough to properly explore this or claim to understand the
weight of argument that biblical scholars have entered into over the
implications that the ‘table of nations’ (from the book of Genesis) has for
contemporary societies.
One Christian church Elder speaking about those who do not subscribe to the biblical accounts wrote of ‘the fables of the modern archaeologists and historians’. But if we were to give voice to these fables we might hear the view that the mother of all mankind, ‘Eve’ as she might be called, was an African – with the oldest human remains said to have been discovered in Africa. Where these, the biblical and the pre-historic views do come together on the subject ‘writers of colour’, is that they attribute meaning to an human identity that goes beyond colour. So I guess we might usefully ask, if we could see colour as irrelevant to the way that people are perceived, chose to see themselves or chose to gather together – would the concept of ‘writers of colour’ remain valid at all?"
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