The People's Professor?

Last year we debated the legacy of the Civil War statues, particularly those honoring Confederate soldiers. Now, it appears that we will debate the issues that caused the war, slavery and the expansion of the peculiar institution across the southern states and territories. 

Although the Civil War ended in 1865 and Reconstruction came to an end in 1876, Americans are still challenging their historical memory concerning the significance of enslavement, the details of slavery and the causes for the war. 

The most recent voice in what appears to be developing into a national conversation is Kanye West. Yet, it is unclear whether West is using this moment as a self-proclaimed "people's professor" to share actual knowledge or to create controversy to promote his latest projects. 

West has held the public spotlight since the release of the "College Dropout" in February 2004. Often described as a genius, West has made a career in fashion and music using that success as a platform to emerge as a public intellectual. His continuing desire to garner public attention and approval for his views has often harmed his career.  West's recent tweets, statements, and lyrics in support of President Trump have provided a new forum with the right to spout his views on a variety of subjects. 

Unfortunately, slavery should not be one of those topics. The historical community has already debated this subject and it has reached a consensus. The majority of American historians have already decided that enslavement was a dark chapter in America's past. The historiography of American slavery has evolved over the past 300 years, and the only remaining debate is if educators in our nation's elementary and secondary schools are correctly teaching the most recent and widely accepted interpretations. Our quest is to teach students about the past in an open manner that covers the wide spectrum of issues surrounding the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, enslavement and the Civil War. 

Neither I nor other members of the historical community can let Kayne West's statements go by without some level of comment. On May 1st, West, during an interview with TMZ, made some curious comments surrounding American history and enslavement. He said:

"When you hear about slavery for 400 years?  That sounds like a choice. Like, you were there for 400 years and it's all of you all? You know, it's like we're mentally in prison. I like the word prison 'cause slavery goes too - - to direct to the idea of blacks." 

He later added to that comment stating: "So prison is something that unites us as one race, blacks and whites being one race. We're the human race." 

As soon as West made these remarks, a furry of criticism followed.  (see https://www.cbsnews.com/news/history-professors-correct-kanye-west-after-controversial-slavery-comments/ and https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/kanye-west-s-ignorant-slavery-comments-play-right-hands-white-ncna870921) And West countered in a series of tweets and comments. One defensive tweet used a statement allegedly made by Harriet Tubman.  It stated: "I freed a thousand slaves I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves."  Another exclaimed: "My point is for us to have stayed in that position even though the numbers were on our side means that we were mentally enslaved." 

Sadly, West does not know his history. African Americans never outnumbered whites in the South. There were significant numbers of enslaved people who contested slavery.  It seems that West does not know that African Americans fought for their freedom before, during and after the Civil War.  Similarly, the statement attributed to Harriet Tubman to support West's comment is false. Tubman never uttered these words! She did not free thousands nor was she engaged in deprogramming enslaved minds.  

          The idea that slavery was a choice, and West's construction of "free thought" in comparing prison to slavery are not only inaccurate but clearly dangerous. These things go against everything that historians have been teaching for the last seventy years. In making such comments, West is re-opening the wounds that generations of historians, educators, and Civil Rights activists have tried to heal. He is directly aiding those who support the legacy of the statues and indirectly supporting the president’s statement following the incidents at Charlottesville.

No one is denying West's right to be a supporter of President Trump. No one is rejecting his right to voice his opinion. However, West should abandon the pretense that he is the intellectual consciousness of Black America.  As TMZ's Van Lathan stressed, for most African Americans, the comments were an "absence of thought." Or as Janelle Monae stated: "if your free-thinking is fueled by oppressors, it's bullsh*t."

Kayne's late mother, Donda West, was a college English professor at Chicago State University.  I cannot believe that she would have let him make the comments that he has made in the last few days without challenging him. I hope that the majority of Americans understand that his perceptions of "slavery being a choice" are without merit. It is unfortunate that anyone, but especially someone of significant influence and prestige, would make such uninformed statements.  And it is equally disappointing that the “people’s professor” did not do his homework before creating an unnecessary racial crisis during a time of heightened racial anxiety.

PS. Reaction to West's comments have come from the academic, sports, and entertainment worlds.  Most have been extremely critical. There are no signs of its conclusion. And, it is equally alarming that since West made those statements that the Crips have put a hit notice out on him and then dropped it, and that West's pro-Trump statements have caused the president's popularity among black males to rise by nearly ten percent. We are living in contested and confusing times!

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