Josephine Baker, More Than Just a Hot Commodity?

Josephine Baker was a world wide sensation during the 1920s; however, every star must start somewhere. Baker's upbringing in East St. Louis taught her that if she wanted to make it big, she had to give people what they wanted to see. She had to find out how to market herself in order to gain attention and she did exactly that. Starting out as a street performer, Baker knew that entertainment was her passion. She used comedy to draw attention and use stereotypes that people had of the Black community to entertain her predominantly White audiences, often portraying herself as a "pickaninny" (Lecture 8/25). However, she soon realized that her performances in the United States were limited to comedy and ugliness and she wanted something more out of her career. If she wanted to change people's perception of her, she needed to first change her audience. Baker moved to France in order to gain more attention because the people of France had a different mindset and a different set of discourses and racism. Her performances embraced French discourses regarding Africans and used these to introduce herself as an exotic, sensual figure (Section 9/4).

While Baker had a huge fan following, she also had many critics. If W.E.B. Dubois had anything to say of Baker, I'm sure he would not be in favor of her portrayal of herself as primitive and erotic. Dubois believed that the Black community had an image to uphold and that they must represent the race in a positive light that alters the previously established views on Black people (Lecture 8/19). Baker's performances in France were "based in the discourses of French colonial encounters in Southeast Asian and North Africa. She was the embodiment of the importation of the exotic products to the metropole and subsequent narratives of contact in popular romantic fiction" (Translocations 252). She embraced this image of the primitive colonial subject and added sexual appeal to lure in her audience. Dubois would be disappointed in her willingness to stoop to this level because she was making no effort to propel her race's image. She was simply looking to propel her own success forward and make a bigger name for herself. Baker did change people's perception of the Black body, however she only did so by embracing colonial ideas that were rooted in White supremacy thereby slowing down, if not reversing the progress that the Black community had made in trying to show that they were equal.

Although Baker had embraced French discourses in her performances, she did still manage to make a name for herself in a time where Black people, especially Black women, did not have much of a voice. Her career did adapt to the needs of her audience and her procession from a street dancer to an international super star affected a wide audience. If Alain Locke were to assess her work, he would use his ideas of art and propaganda to define her work. Locke would say that her performances started as artistic expression which was more visual and elicited an emotional response from her audience and ultimately transformed into propaganda which was more psychological and carried a message for her audience. It became propaganda because of her intention to utilize crowd beliefs and conform to stereotypes (Section 9/4). After gaining fame and fortune she used her wealth as propaganda to convey the message that Black people can be successful. An example of this is the pet leopard that she owned. No average person owns such a pet. It is a symbol of her wealth and success that she earned for herself.

Yes, Baker embraced stereotypes but she did so as a marketing strategy. She knew that it was necessary for her to enter modernism as a primitive because she had to gain fame by restricting herself to the French ideals before she could transform into a modern influence and still be accepted by the community. If she entered France directly as a broadway singer, she would most likely be ignored. Through her risque performances she drew attention and had her audience sit back and watch her as she transformed into an elegant dancer, singer, actress, and later a spy when she joined the resistance during World War II (Chasing Rainbows). Her support of France during World War II exemplified the hypocrisy that tainted her career. She supported a country that exploited the nations where African Americans originated from and she herself travelled to these nations. Also during this time, she performed for US and French troops in the Liberty club which, contrary to its name, was segregated. Through her performance she demonstrated that she was still in touch with her roots however her loyalty remained with France (Translocations 260). Ultimately, Bakers advocacy for France though her entertainment made her infamous during World War II.

Given Baker's upbringing in East St. Louis, she did not have many other options as far as career paths go. She did not want to end up like her mother who had to give up her dreams of becoming a music hall dancer and became a washerwoman (Chasing Rainbows). Instead, she took agency of her life and travelled away from a country where she knew her career was limited and broadened her horizon. Baker set an example for women all over the world by showing them that a little street dancer from East St. Louis could eventually become an international sensation by simply taking matters into her own hands and adapting to the situations that she was in.

Education Inspired By Washington, Dubois, and Locke

If I were to be hired to teach at any school, I would have a lot of teaching methods to choose from that were advocated by strong leaders in the past. The only problem with this is choosing which method would be the most appropriate to implement in a given context.

Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Dubois, and Alain Locke all had strong, yet very different opinions regarding how to educate and empower the Black community. If I were asked to teach at a school in New Orleans that was primarily African American and was a lower achieving school, I would most likely use Locke's philosophy to inspire my students. Thriving in a situation such as their own would be difficult for these students because there is nobody to motivate them or set an example for them to follow. They are not being encouraged to search for more, rather they believe that there is no way for them to improve their lives and break this system. As Locke put it, these students are made to believe that they are "a something to be argued about, condemned or defended, to be 'kept down,' or 'in his place' or 'helped up.' to be worried with or worried over, harassed or patronized, a social bogey or social burden" (New Negro, p.631). They are not motivated to turn their lives around because they do not believe that they have a voice. What Locke believes is that they should give themselves a voice through aesthetic representation (Section 8/28). Once they are exposed to the power they possess, they can represent themselves in however way they please. Art can be used as a tool to for liberation and these students must be aware of the change they can provoke once they utilize their tools. With this, they can free themselves and motivate themselves to have agency. Locke states, "Constructive participation in such causes cannot help giving [African Americans] valuable group incentives, as well as increased prestige at home and abroad" (New Negro, p.634). These students can inspire one another and inform their community of who they are and what they can achieve.

I would choose Locke's method over Washington's because Washington would only inspire the students to blend into society without really altering or bettering their lives. His philosophy is appropriate for those who would rather remain voiceless and go on living their lives as they already are. I also believe that Dubois' method would not be appropriate for these students because his method requires that these students graduate high school and seek higher education which is hard when they are from a low achieving school and have no motivation to do so in the first place (Section 8/28).

Alternately, if I were asked to teach at a highly ranked, achievement oriented school that was primarily white, I would likely take a different approach. While Dubois's philosophy was unfit for the school in New Orleans, his proposals would be appropriate in this context because the students in this school are already motivated and high-achieving and are more likely to seek higher education. The next step for them would be to use their mindset to their advantage by taking control and gaining political power. This activism would help them raise awareness of their needs and allow them to demand change according to their needs. Du Bois believed that these students should be political subjects who, if educated, have the right to demand civil rights and not to bargain them away in order to get economic rights (Lecture 8/18). These student must voice their opinions in a different way and take advantage of the resources that they have.

Yes, the students can express themselves aesthetically, but in a society that is mainly White, I would aim to mobilize my students both aesthetically and politically because these students enjoy some advantages that the students in the New Orleans school may not necessarily be exposed to. Which is why I would choose Dubois's method over Locke's method in this case. I would also choose to implement Dubois's method over Washington's method because Washington's method would not instigate change. It would not inspire these high achieving students to further their education and instead it would lead to a standstill in their progress.

Each of these philosophies are both brilliant and flawed. They can each be implemented and successful if they are practiced in the appropriate context. These men were highly influential at their time and a blend of their ideas would be the best approach to teach and inspire today's modern students.

Criticality and Activism Expressed By Banneker and Douglass

As they have exemplified in their writing, both Benjamin Banneker and Frederick Douglass have expressed their criticality towards the treatment of African Americans during the 18th and 19th century. Banneker through his letter to Thomas Jefferson, and Douglass through his autobiography express their frustrations with the mentality of those who condone slavery. Both Banneker and Douglass express criticality and activism in different ways, which lead to different effects on society. Criticality, in the broadest sense, is one's willingness to critique the world caused by the belief that there is something wrong with the current situation while activism is a willingness to take action and change the world through public behavior (Lecture 8/12). In order to be an effective activist, one must first learn to be critical. 
One of the reasons that Banneker and Douglass were so different were the methods through which they brought their ideas to the public. Banneker chose to express his contempt by exposing Jefferson's hypocrisy in a letter addressed directly to Jefferson. Banneker does note that Jefferson is an ally to the African American community but goes on to question why he, after stating in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal," chooses to ignore what he stated and allows himself to own slaves. In a piercing tone, Banneker writes, "Sir, how pitiable is it to reflect, that although you were so fully convinced of the benevolence of the Father of Mankind, and of his equal and impartial distribution of these rights and privileges (...) that you should at the same time be found guilty of that most criminal act, which you professedly detested in others, with respect to yourselves." Banneker also rejects Jefferson's scientific racism as a justification of slavery by using himself as living proof that African Americans are not biologically inferior because he is educated in math and science and even creates an almanac. Banneker may have written this letter privately to Jefferson, but he does publicly expose it after publishing the letter in his almanac for everyone to see. However, even though Banneker did publish his letter, he did not publicly demonstrate for an end to slavery or scientific racism thus illustrating that he undertook a limited form of activism (Lecture 8/12). 
Contrasting Banneker, Douglass took to a more public, and in my opinion more effective, form of activism. Douglass not only lived the life of a slave and used criticality and activism to set himself free, but he then shared his story with the world to spread awareness of the injustices that African Americans had to endure. Also different from Banneker, Douglass was a common slave and his background was more relatable to the public than Banneker, who was educated and did not experience slavery first-hand. Douglass's criticality was embedded because his critique emerged from within slavery itself (Lecture 8/12). Along with having a deeper rooted critique, Douglass displayed more activism because he took it upon himself to not only spread awareness, but also educate his fellow brethren so that they too could be critical and set themselves free (Douglass, p.94). In his narrative he says, "I taught them because it was the delight of my soul to be doing something that looked like bettering the condition of my race." (Douglass, p.95). Douglass was willing to take a risk and put his life on the line in order to create change. In the final chapter of his narrative, Douglass does not disclose exactly how he freed himself so that slave masters would not use this information to prevent their slaves from running away. He later includes his escape story after that possibility was no longer an issue. In addition to his written story, he also travelled the world to spread his story orally in order to reach a wider audience. This is ultimately more effective because the majority of slaves at the time could not read so he made sure everyone could hear his story.
Even though the two have contrasting approaches to spreading their ideas, Banneker and Douglass have set good examples to follow in terms of alerting the public when there is something wrong. In recent news, the events that took place in Ferguson, Missouri show that there are still issues regarding racism in today's progressive society. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a well known athlete, is following Douglass's examples of activism and is trying to tell the public that there are injustices still taking place. He wrote a blog article for Time.com stating his frustrations regarding the shooting in Ferguson where he also gives a background on systemic racism and class warfare and their correlation. He states, "This fist-shaking of everyone's racial agenda distracts American from the larger issue that the targets of police overreaction are based less on skin color and more on an even worse Ebola-level affliction: being poor"(The Coming Race War). Jabbar calls all students to action saying that we "need more protests" and that we need to organize ourselves and determine what needs to be changed and how we will go about doing so or else we will face more tragedies like this one. 

Douglass, Banneker, and Jabbar are all strong example of activists who took to writing to express their criticality. Although some of their approaches may be more effective than others, they all ultimately help in spreading awareness which will lead to progress being made in the name of justice. 

The North Hall Takeover at UCSB

The North Hall takeover at UCSB is an event that I, Cynthia George, will never forget. 1968 and the years leading up to it was a period of great reform and along with that came a flurry of emotions ranging from great confidence to great fear. The event at North Hall was no small endeavor that was planned overnight. This came up through countless nights of careful planning and was brought on as a result of years of neglect, oppression, and injustice toward the Black student community. The North Hall takeover was the Black student community "assertively seeking change" on campus (Biondi, p.13). We were not interested in trying to integrate ourselves into the university, we wanted the university to be relevant to the needs of the Black community (Biondi, p.22). The students were fed up with their lack of representation on campus and wanted the school to know that not only did they have a voice, but they also had power and were a force to be reckoned with.

I personally was an active member in the Black student community. Immediately after my arrival to campus I was contacted by Tom Crenshaw (who was an occupier during the takeover) and taken to Murad Rahman's place to begin organizing and planning activities to spread awareness of injustices on campus (Awakening, p.50). Now even though I was an active member, I cannot take credit for what happened in North Hall because I was not in North Hall. The planning and execution was fully done by men so I did not even know when the event was going to take place until the day it happened (Awakening). However, the moment I knew that the men had taken North Hall, I felt great fear inside me for I knew that people were going to try to stop them and I was going to do everything in my power to slow them down (Awakening, p.52). I supported them because I knew the campus was about to face a huge transformation and I could see it happening as the takeover took place.

I knew that I was going to do everything in my power to prevent the school or the police from stopping the takeover. I made it very clear that I was not a non-violent reformer who was just going to get pushed around (Awakening, p. 51). Regardless of my size or physical capabilities, I was going to make sure that the men inside the building were protected. My personal philosophy did not align with those who practiced non-violence. My views were afrocentric in that I practiced cultural nationalism (Awakening, p.57). I was no pacifist and I was not about to let people step all over me. I knew that this was risky for me. Supporting them from the outside came with some consequences which is why I felt such great fear once I knew that the men had taken over the building. I had never felt such fear before because I knew that I was going to let myself possibly be harmed in order to give the men the time they needed (Awakening, p.52). This risk was worth it because I knew all of the men inside and I knew that they needed support and protection. If they did not have support from their fellow community members, then there was no way that the school would take their cause seriously.

I was also willing to take the risk because I knew that I was not alone in supporting them. I could see that students, not only Black students, had recognized their effort and were willing to take the risk to support them. This is how I could tell that their takeover had been a success. Some had even taken the risk to enter the building with them (Awakening, p.54). They wished for change too and this was their way of showing that this was everyone's business, not just the Black students'. Their success was confirmed when the chancellor agreed not to suspend the students as long as they cooperatively exited the building (Awakening, p.55). We knew that our power had been felt and we managed to make a strong impact.

This demonstration was a learning experience for all the students and staff of the university. We all learned that we could spark change by uniting together and demanding that something had to be done.