Posted on Aug 1, 2023
'Lies About Black People' seeks to debunk myths and move forward
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Host Deepa Fernandes speaks with diversity educator, poet and American University lecturer Omékongo Dibinga. In his book "Lies About Black People: How To Combat Racist Stereotypes and Why it Matters" Dibinga addresses the many myths that are held about Black people, their corrosive effects, and how to begin to overcome them.
'Lies About Black People' seeks to debunk myths and move forward
Posted from wbur.org
American University
Diversity
Education
Poetry
Posted 10 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Being Black in America is like being a human lie detector. You are constantly being asked or even demanded to prove that you are truly qualified to work at your job, go to school where you do, and live where you live:
“You want to be President of The United States? Show us your college transcript.”
“You want to be a Supreme Court Justice? Show us your LSAT scores.”
“You want to be a doctor? Didn’t you only get into med school because of affirmative action?”
As Black people, despite our qualifications, we are too often placed in a position to have to prove people wrong or prove that we are not lying about who we are. We are too often presumed guilty before presumed innocent. We are too often assumed to be underqualified than qualified or dare I even say…overqualified. The assumption is made first that we are not worthy of our positions. Whenever there is a conversation about a role a Black person is going to assume, there is always the qualifier that she must be “qualified,” although that term is rarely used for White males, if ever. What is it about the very sight of our skin that makes so many people (including many Black people) believe that we are inherently incapable of achievement? What is it about our complexion that leads to so much rejection? What makes so many others believe we are not worthy of what we have earned?
The most shining recent example of the constant questioning of Black qualifications comes in the form of the 2022 nomination and subsequent confirmation of Judge Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court of The United States. Judge Jackson was the first Black female to ever be nominated to the highest court in the land in the 236 year history of the Supreme Court. The court has had 116 judges in its history, including Jackson. Of those 116 judges, several were appointed with no judicial experience at all such as (John) Marshall, Taney, Chase, Waite, and Fuller. Furthermore, only half of the judges appointed in the 20th century were
actual judges prior to their appointment (Hylton 2020). More than half of the Supreme Court justices in history, 64 to be precise, never obtained a law degree (Dhillon 2014). Judge Jackson was hailed by many as one of, if not the most qualified nominee to the Supreme Court, represented by her attaining the highest rating from the American Bar Association, yet she was still treated as if her experience was a lie. She was treated like her qualifications were not real or did not matter (Stracqualursi 2022). Jackson has two degrees from Harvard including her law degree, graduated Magna Cum Laude from undergraduate school, was an editor on the Harvard Law Review, and served as a judge for almost a decade prior to her Supreme Court nomination (Southern Poverty Law Center 2022). Who is more qualified? When it comes to being Black in America, the qualifications do not matter for many White people."...
..."Being Black in America is like being a human lie detector. You are constantly being asked or even demanded to prove that you are truly qualified to work at your job, go to school where you do, and live where you live:
“You want to be President of The United States? Show us your college transcript.”
“You want to be a Supreme Court Justice? Show us your LSAT scores.”
“You want to be a doctor? Didn’t you only get into med school because of affirmative action?”
As Black people, despite our qualifications, we are too often placed in a position to have to prove people wrong or prove that we are not lying about who we are. We are too often presumed guilty before presumed innocent. We are too often assumed to be underqualified than qualified or dare I even say…overqualified. The assumption is made first that we are not worthy of our positions. Whenever there is a conversation about a role a Black person is going to assume, there is always the qualifier that she must be “qualified,” although that term is rarely used for White males, if ever. What is it about the very sight of our skin that makes so many people (including many Black people) believe that we are inherently incapable of achievement? What is it about our complexion that leads to so much rejection? What makes so many others believe we are not worthy of what we have earned?
The most shining recent example of the constant questioning of Black qualifications comes in the form of the 2022 nomination and subsequent confirmation of Judge Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court of The United States. Judge Jackson was the first Black female to ever be nominated to the highest court in the land in the 236 year history of the Supreme Court. The court has had 116 judges in its history, including Jackson. Of those 116 judges, several were appointed with no judicial experience at all such as (John) Marshall, Taney, Chase, Waite, and Fuller. Furthermore, only half of the judges appointed in the 20th century were
actual judges prior to their appointment (Hylton 2020). More than half of the Supreme Court justices in history, 64 to be precise, never obtained a law degree (Dhillon 2014). Judge Jackson was hailed by many as one of, if not the most qualified nominee to the Supreme Court, represented by her attaining the highest rating from the American Bar Association, yet she was still treated as if her experience was a lie. She was treated like her qualifications were not real or did not matter (Stracqualursi 2022). Jackson has two degrees from Harvard including her law degree, graduated Magna Cum Laude from undergraduate school, was an editor on the Harvard Law Review, and served as a judge for almost a decade prior to her Supreme Court nomination (Southern Poverty Law Center 2022). Who is more qualified? When it comes to being Black in America, the qualifications do not matter for many White people."...
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Seems like every time we take a step forward, we get set back 2. Just time to regroup and try a different tactic, PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
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