Savant's new words

This sentiment is widespread in the Black communities of America, and is likely to remain widespread for the forseeable future. My question is how will the collective or ethnic identity of Black America be affected as a growing secularism begins to encounter more and more often the traditional religious sentiment expressed by Phoenix? In THE SOULS OF BLACK FOLK (in 1903), Dr. W.E.B Du Bois claims that the Preacher and the Teacher once represented or symbolized the most cherished values of the Black world. The Preacher symbolized the centuries old striving for righteousness and justice, for a better world of deliverance from bondage. Is that still true today? We can infer for a number of reasons that a kind of homespun Black social gospel, a gospel of deliverance has been a part of AA popular culture since the time of slavery. It certainly suffused the southern civil rights movement of the 1960s, James Baldwin goes so far as to say that the devout Afro-American tends to picture himself as a Hebrew in captivity, awaiting a god sent Moses for deliverance. But if secularism spreads and become more commonplace, how will this self-perception be affected? How is identity affected? I've already mentioned an article which indicates the contemporary young black activists seem to be keeping a certain distance from religious leaders. But religion remains strong in Black communities. Will there be a cultural bifurcation in AA communities and identities?

-Savant

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It's probably unlikely that sizeable number of Blacks in this country will convert to an ancient Egyptian religion. They're mainly still tied to Christianity, with Islam as a distant second. Those who are disillusioned with the Abrahamic religions are likely to become secular, or maybe lean toward some Eastern religion.

-Savant

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So now some white conservative journal founded by William Buckley assumes the authority to judge who is an "authentic " African-American? Ah, the blissful blindness of white privilege!

-Savant

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The vast majority of American Blacks--those not in the universities, or with professional jobs in corporate America--have very little if any contact with East Indians; and certainly do not direct hatred or hostility toward East Indians. Most Blacks are not members of our bourgeois or petit bourgeois strata; rather, they are working class folk, some even sub-proletarian. The non-white people of color with whom the mass of black folk have anything like regular contact would be mainly Latinos and Asians (as in from the Far East). Sometimes you find tensions there. East Indians? Well, there are Indian restaurants which I supposed Blacks from any walk of life might have contact. There are certainly a good number here in Baltimore. But just generally? Not much. In the universities or corporations? That's a different story. Also, the person was posting from UK. How much hostility there is between Afro-British and East Indian people in the British Isles? Of that I'm not sure? I've heard and occasionally read about tensions between British East Indians and Blacks. I don't know how severe it is. But if the poster want to paint this picture of Black vs Indian hostility for the USA, then he's talking a load of pish posh. At least as far as the great majority of Black Americans are concerned there's little attention to Indians, let alone an abiding hatred.

-Savant

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Liberal" or "conservative ," the white who presumes he has the privilege (while denying white privilege exists) of deciding who is "authenticall y" Black or African American, is in his/her very presumptuousness acting and revealing his racism. Just as it is up the Jews to determine was Jewishness means, or Latinos to determine (if they wish) what is authentically Latin, Blackness or "authentic " African-American identity is to be decided by the AA people and community.

-Savant