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"We" Societies Among Black Americans |
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The "We" aspects of African tradition were characterized by a "group mind" (commonalities in thoughts and feelings) and a "group spirit" (commonalities in good character from a God-centered foundational base).
The individuality benefiting everyone was encouraged but not the immature features of individualists or individualism. When these "We" and "I" aspects were carried by African slaves to the Americas, they were forced to go through the prism of slavery. As a result, they came out on the American side as innumerable rays, each representing a slave subculture. If each ray marked a place on a "society scale" -- with a destructive "I" group on one end and a constructive "We" society on the other end -- there would be a slave subculture to occupy every marked place.
Descendants of each slave subculture have continued to the present to occupy their ancestors same marked place. The subcultures of this discussion are located around the center -- both on the destructive side and on the constructive side. However, originating in slavery, any given subculture may be at odds with one or more other subculture -- whether on the constructive or destructive side of the scale.
First, examples of the constructive subgroups of Black Americans near the center of the scale would include those in organizations where there are some "We members, some mature individualists and a few immature individualists ("I'll do it my way"). Although the individualists form alliances or liaisons, the contributions all members "place on the table" are reasonably balanced and harmonized to benefit each other as individuals and as a group.
Second, some Americanized "We" subcultures are Neutral in that they neither create benefits or destruction. They live in neighborhoods where there are few businesses and where people tend to treat each other like family in the sense of seeming to know one's another's business. In addition, they form vast networks of "aunties," "baby mamas," and "play" sisters. Their "group mind" type closeness displays by the treating of their neighborhoods as "big living rooms" -- some carting their furniture outside to sit and others walking around in pajamas and slippers.
They tend to be "inside the box" thinkers whereby there is a sameness in cultural transmissions. The customs formerly present with their slave ancestors are likely to be the same today. Their prevailing attitude is: "This is the way we have always done it and so don't disturb things by trying to change them." In other words, new ideas are not readily accepted, and particularly from outsiders. Outsiders would be cordially welcomed but would rarely be accepted as "one of us" anywhere short of ten years of living in the same neighborhood.
Third, Gangs represent a destructive form of an Americanized "We." They are made up of varying combinations of "group spirit" individuals and individuals with liaison and alliances desires.
Yet, they develop a secret language, believe they have no chance at a future as individuals, and exhibit "crabs-in-a-barrel" behaviors -- meaning they try to pull anyone back who is trying to rise out of that lifestyle. Complex kinships ties help generate group manifestations of individualism, separatism, and a focus on differences directed toward non-clan people.
The result is gang rivalry with destruction coming from the old-fashioned conflicts. An example is the: "somebody-done-somebody-wrong" killings -- perhaps over drugs, a girl, or disrespect. Any rival who violates the gang's unwritten rules has to be made an "example of" by punishing with such cruelty as to attempt to intimidate any would-be rule violators. However, evil actions only make for outrage in the kin of the member "taken down" and in this way a feud continues indefinitely.
The aspects of disrespect and "make an example of" are direct transfers from how slaveowners dealt with the slaves, both are a sign that Euro-Americans racist have set up an effective self-generating model whereby they can still control a segment of Black people without being physically present.
website: jablifeskills.com
Joseph A. Bailey, II, M.D.
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