Black Pride: An Evolution in Self Love

Azie Dungey and Evelyn from the Internets discuss James Brown, Black Girl Magic, and Black identity on this first episode of Say It Loud.

(spoon tapping)
00:07
(cup clattering)
00:09
(bag crinkling)
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– I really like your lipstick.
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It’s like the perfect shade of purple.
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Where’d you get it from?
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– Oh, thanks, it’s just Maybelline.
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– Nice.
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– I like your locks.
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– Oh, they’re crochet. – Really?
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– Like $6.99 a pack. – Hmm.
00:29
(bag crinkling)
00:35
(energetic music) – Okay, I see you, head wrap.
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– Oh, do you?
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Okay, melanin.
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– Darkest shade in the collection.
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– What is it, like mahogany, mocha?
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– It’s just called Dark003, but okay,
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push through, cheekbones.
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– Okay, give me angles.
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– Hit, hit,
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hit, hit.
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Ooh, ooh,
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ooh, ooh.
00:58
(microwave dinging)
01:01
My enchiladas.
01:05
– When you hear the words black pride,
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what comes to mind?
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Maybe vintage ads with glistening Afros,
01:10
this gif, Black Panthers?
01:13
Definitely the now infamous Issa Rae quote.
01:15
– I’m rooting for everybody black; I am.
01:19
– But what does it mean to love being black?
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Why does this concept exist
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and is there still a place for black pride
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in today’s cultural climate.
01:27
– I’m Azie. – And I’m Evelyn.
01:29
– Let’s discuss, on our first episode of Say it Loud.
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– (snapping fingers) James Brown.
01:34
I also think of James Brown.
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– Yeah, that’s where title comes from.
01:38
(upbeat music)
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– Pride is defined as deep pleasure or satisfaction
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derived from one’s own achievements,
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the achievements of those with whom one is closely
01:50
associated, or from qualities or possessions
01:53
that are widely admired.
01:54
I googled that one.
01:55
But for black, well, I’ll let Azie define that.
01:59
– Okay, basically, slavery took humans
02:02
across the Atlantic Ocean to the Western Hemisphere.
02:04
Tactics included mixing people up and stripping them
02:07
of their unique ethnic or geographical identity
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and referring to them exclusively by skin tone.
02:13
Over time, diverse languages faded away
02:16
and specific ethnic identities were erased.
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Descendants of enslaved African emerged
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with new cultures, based on new regions,
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but still unified by the atrocities of slavery.
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What that means is in the US,
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black is both an ethnicity and a race.
02:31
– Wow.
02:33
You did that.
02:34
That was perfect.
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Okay, so together, black pride is choosing
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to celebrate the things that are socially,
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culturally, and were even legally deemed undesirable,
02:45
negative, or illegitimate.
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Black pride has everything to do
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with embracing yourself and nothing
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to do with hating someone else.
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No tiki torches are involved.
02:55
– The unofficial anthem of the black pride movement
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in the United States belongs to the Godfather of Soul,
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James Brown. (snapping fingers)
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The year is 1968. – That was a year, y’all.
03:07
– We’re comin’ fresh off superstar athlete,
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Muhammad Ali publically refusing to be drafted
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into the Vietnam War, anti-war riots intensified,
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Martin Luther King is assassinated,
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and Richard Nixon is gonna become the president.
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– And just like celebrities now might feel pressure
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to take a public, political stance,
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we can imagine that popular black entertainers
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in the ’60s and ’70s faced a similar dilemma.
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James Brown was not makin’ those songs to march to.
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But according to his autobiography,
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a grenade was left at his doorstep
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by who he believes were black militant activists.
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– They tried to kill him? – Oh, not quite.
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The pin was still in the grenade,
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so it looks like they just wanted to scare him.
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And it worked because the next night he wrote
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Say Loud I’m Black and I’m Proud.
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– Wait, so this reluctant song goes on
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to become a massive hit.
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– Oh, yeah, it was number one
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on the R&B; charts for over a month,
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and piqued at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.
04:06
Black folks didn’t want to be polite
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about discrimination any more.
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After all, the biggest advocate of nonviolence
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was just murdered.
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– Shouting I’m black and I’m proud was the public statement
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those alleged militants probably wanted.
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It joined the ranks of black is beautiful,
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and other messaging that sought
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to encourage a group of people who had every reason
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to feel otherwise.
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– If you want to learn more
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about what James Brown actually thought
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about the song and its impact,
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we’ll link some resources below.
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Spoiler, he wasn’t too pleased.
04:37
– And neither am I; I’m really hot.
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– Yeah, it’s kinda, you want to get outta this?
04:40
– Yes, please. (snapping fingers)
04:42
Now, we know what black pride is and where it comes from,
04:46
but is there a place for racial pride today?
04:48
– Oh, are we sharing personal opinions, or–
04:51
– Sure, let it flow.
04:53
– Okay, well, I think as long as someone lives
04:56
in a society where they’re associated
04:58
with negative traits, there will always be a need
05:01
to remind yourself that you’re valuable.
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– Historically, we’ve not been in control of our image.
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Black pride is a way to reclaim authority
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over how we’re seen to ourselves and to the world.
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Ideas like Black Girl Magic, Black Boy Joy,
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and perhaps, the most contentious, Black Lives Matter,
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are all different manifestations of black pride.
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– Hashtag, melanin Mondays, hashtag, black love.
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We should really do a black Twitter episode.
05:27
Let us know in the comments if
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that’s something you’d like to learn more about.
05:30
– I think, even like Beyonce’s Lemonade, and Beychella.
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Both performances boldly incorporated imagery
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and references from black American experiences.
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And although some might think
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mentioning your race is divisive,
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black people in America are at a unique position.
05:45
Our culture is also our race.
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Having black pride is similar to marching
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in the Saint Patrick’s Day parade if you’re Irish,
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or giving the salutation of your people if you’re Vulcan.
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– Vulcan is not an– – I think that black pride
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shows that our histories are intertwined.
06:00
You can’t have your pop star without a little hot sauce
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sprinkled on the top,
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and you can’t tell the story of America
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without also telling the story of black folks.
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– You know that feeling when you watch the Olympics
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and you root for athletes despite their country?
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That’s a form of black pride.
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(crowd cheering)
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– Iceland, go Iceland. – You go people there?
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I don’t think we got people there.
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– What, no? – For me,
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it’s when a black girl in the grocery store,
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or a gas station, or public restroom
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compliments my features.
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It’s like, I stand a little taller.
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– Black pride movements will continue to take new forms
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as technology, current events and pop culture shifts.
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The history of this country is such that loving the skin
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that you’re in is considered controversial.
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So, if you’re gonna say it, you might as well say it loud.
06:48
– Comment below and tell us
06:50
what black pride means to you.
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And do you think it’s still relevant today?
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Subscribe, follow social media, et cetera.
06:56
– And we’ll see you next week.
06:58
– [Evelyn And Azie In Unison] Bye.
07:01
(upbeat music)
—

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