While researching and writing my midterm, I found myself wondering where and from whom did Cleaver get this idea of black maleness from? Did it have to relate to the perception of black male slaves during the antebellum? and after the Civil War? Was black maleness completely defined by blacks? or did white America also have an influence in creating this image? From movies we've watched and the clips we've seen in class of movies from the 20s and 30s, the portrayal of black males is usually sex-driven, barbaric, and uneducated.
For my final paper I want to analyze how the black male image was constructed post-slavery. Who construct it? What is "black maleness"? How was this ideal internalized by prominent black figures, such as Eldridge Cleaver. I have no clue what the answer are to any of these questions but I am excited about what I may discover on how American black maleness was constructed from the nothingness of slavery.
Primary Resources:
Wells-Barnett, Ida B, Ida B. Wells-Barnett Exposes the Myth of the Black Rapist, 1892.
Clarke, Lewis, Fugitive Slave Lewis Clarke Explains Why "A Slave Can't Be a Man," 1842.
Lindsay, J. W., J.W. Lindsay Describes Sexual and Family Relations Under Slavery, 1863.
Secondary Resources
Richardson, Riché, Black Masculinity and the U.S. South: From Uncle Tom to Gangsta. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2007.
Wallace, Maurice O. Constructing the Black Masculine: Identity and Ideality In African American Men's Literature and Culture, 1775-1995. Durham [N.C.]: Duke University Press, 2002.
Dear Chelsey,
ReplyDeleteThese themes are fascinating, but I worry that you are considering a topic that might be too broad and too ambitious for a 12-15 page paper.
Your primary sources point to ways that you could refine and narrow this topic. You could write about the creation of the black male rapist stereotype after the Civil War by drawing on the work of Ida B. Wells (if you decide to focus on this topic, there's an excellent chapter in Glenda Gilmore's book, Gender and Jim Crow that would be helpful). Or you could elaborate on the relationship between manhood and slavery as discussed in the excerpt from "Why A Slave Can't Be a Man." Or you could find an aspect of family relations under slavery to examine. If you decide to focus on black manhood during the Civil War, you could discuss the role of black soldiers in the war. Or, you could focus on the image of black manhood in the films of the 1920s and 1930s. Any of these topics would be viable and would allow you to explore the larger question that interests you.
You identified a fascinating topic -- the challenge is to narrow it in a way that will allow you to craft a strong argument and focus on a specific set of sources.
Please email me and let's make an appointment to discuss your topic in office hours.
Very best,
Prof H