What’s in MY Name: Cherishing the Names of your Black Students - Part II

Day 2- Analysis of “The English Language is my Enemy” by Ossie Davis Teacher

In addition to learning history and literacy skills, a core purpose of this project is to have pride in African American naming traditions and the names themselves. [If the teacher is Black/of African descent or African American specifically- and wants to talk about experiences with her/his own name or family names- this is one space for that.]

Teacher: And for anyone who is not Black it’s also important to learn African American naming traditions because history is not just about one group; it’s about all of us. It’s also important to learn this so that everyone can respect Black histories, names, and people.

Teacher: Think back to yesterday’s activity around the words BLACK and WHITE. What are some things you remember from what we found when we looked at your responses to those words? [Give time for discussion; review from previous day]

Teacher: Well, in 1967, the African American author and Civil Rights activist Ossie Davis, was so upset by anti-Black racism around him and what people had to say about BLACK and WHITE, that he decided to write an essay about it. It’s called “The English Language is My Enemy” We’re going to read one piece of his essay, called an excerpt, together.

Activity 1:

Teacher: While you listen, identify two of his main themes. A theme is a powerful, an important idea in a work. The idea usually shows up repeatedly in the work, but in different ways each time.

The English Language is My Enemy by Ossie Davis

A superficial examination of Roget's Thesaurus of the English Language reveals the following facts; the word WHITENESS has 134 synonyms; 44 of which are favorable and pleasing to contemplate, i.e. purity, cleanness, immaculateness, bright, shining, ivory, fair, blonde, stainless, clean, clear, chaste, unblemished, unsullied, innocent, honorable, upright, just, straight-forward, fair, genuine, trustworthy, (a white man-colloquialism). Only ten synonyms for WHITENESS appear to me have negative implications—and these only in the mildest sense: gloss over, whitewash, gray, wan, pale, ashen, etc.

The word BLACKNESS has 120 synonyms, 60 of which are distinctly unfavorable, and none of them even mildly positive. Among the offending 60 were such words as: blot, blotch, smut, smudge, sully, begrime, soot, becloud, obscure, dingy, murky, low-toned, threatening, frowning, foreboding, forbidden, sinister, baneful, dismal, thundery, evil, wicked, malignant, deadly, unclean, dirty, unwashed, foul, etc…..not to mention 20 synonyms directly related to race, such as: Negro, Negress, n-word, darky, blackamoor, etc.

When you consider the fact that thinking itself is sub-vocal speech—in other words, one must use words in order to think at all—you will appreciate the enormous heritage of racial prejudgment that lies in wait for any child born into the English Language.

Any teacher good or bad, white or black, Jew or Gentile, who uses the English Language as a medium of communication is forced, willy-nilly, to teach the [Black] child 60 ways to despise himself, and the white child 60 ways to aid and abet him in the crime.

Who speaks to me in my Mother Tongue damns me indeed!...the English Language—in which I cannot conceive myself…my enemy, with which to survive at all I must continually be at war.

Activity 2:
Have students discuss with you the teacher, or write down in the chat or on paper, or in a format like answergarden.ch or padlet (Google to learn more about these online tools):

“What do you think the theme of Mr. Davis’s essay is based on what you’ve heard?” [Have students share answers with a buddy, then revise their own answers after talking with their buddy.

Third, invite them to share their answers out. If interest, have an extended conversation. Possible themes could include: how the word black is often associated with negative things like fear, ugliness, being a criminal, and darkness where darkness is a bad thing whereas whiteness is often associated with heaven, angels, and things that are good.]

Teacher: even if you personally don’t think of Black and Black things and people as bad or criminal- why do you think it is that this color is so often seen as negative? [Resist the urge to tell students answers about the roots of anti-Black racism; note their answers so that you can reference them on a later date]

Teacher: Thank you for sharing your thoughts about where anti-Black racism came from and why it was created. We’ll look more at the roots of anti-Black racism in another, different lesson. Now, let’s use our growing anti-racist muscles to list as many things as we can in the next 3 minutes that are beautiful and good about the color Black.

Possible answers: -black soil is the best to grow plants in -darker berries are sweeter “share the famous line ‘the darker the berry, the sweeter the juice/the darker the flesh, the deeper the roots”-

Note: The line “the darker the berry” comes from a book by Wallace Thurman, Harlem Renaissance author. It has been used by many others since in homage to him and the power of the idea. The full quote here which adds in the power of dark skin is from a Tupac Shakur song, “Keep Ya Head Up” -most of the universe is Black, and something scientists call “dark matter” -beneath the soil where life grows is black -the inside of a mother’s womb is dark -darkness is a time of rest and rejuvenation for all life- it is required to thrive -the element in the human body – melanin- that creates dark skin, is a protective element that allowed the first humans who we are all descended from, to withstand time in the sun without getting severely burned the way lighter skin gets burned.

***If students ask about why there is such a wide range of skin shades- here is a TED video about the science of skin shade.

Teacher: Great Black is beautiful list we’ve started here! Let’s leave it up and add to it all year.

[Extensions: add a challenge that when we hear people immediately associate the word Black with things that are negative, and white with things positive- students co-create ways to interrupt that and explain that this may seem innocent but can be part of anti-Black racism, since it’s not “natural” for dark and light to be associated with good and bad. Another extension is to explore “political correctness” – the history of taking care with one’s language which for sixth grade standards could even go into ancient African, and other religious and spiritual teachings that discuss this, and connect with present debates about political correctness and “cancel culture”]

Teacher: Now, we can start to think about how when you hear the word “Black” as a name describing African people, and people whose great great grandparents came from Africa to places like South Carolina – let’s think of the thousands of different groups of African peoples who built our state and nation. We can think of them and honor them. We can think of all the ways they fought back against European enslavement and brutality towards them.

Teacher: If you yourself are Black/African-American, I pray you feel power and pride in the ways Africans and African Americans built our state of SC and this entire nation, and remained connected to Africa and Black people worldwide.

Teacher: If you identify in another way that is not Black- you/we also get to honor the ways Africans and African Americans have built this state and nation, even while fighting against extreme brutality. I also hope you want to join the work to end anti-Black racism wherever it is- whether in families, schools, churches, mosques, or anywhere.

Teacher: Now, let’s start learning about naming traditions in many African American families by completing a quick write answering this question. If you do not identify as African American - please also complete this quick write exactly as it’s written. What do I know about my name? How do I feel about my name? Teacher: Write as much as you can for the next two minutes. Write on paper, or create a free answergarden.com, and text the link to your friends and family to see what they say. [Model this. After time ends- ask if 1-3 students wants to share]. Save this so that tomorrow, we can refer to what you wrote as we continue our learning.
 

If needed, send it to your grade level and school administrators to receive approval.

Another important strategy is to send a note home with parents letting them know you will be talking about racism, send a copy of the lesson home first, and see if any families have concerns.

Including your colleagues, school administration, and families of the students ensures collective learning and growth and avoids potential roadblocks.

If you are a family member, completing this at home, you are acting as a teacher and guide, so all the parts saying “teacher” apply to you as well!

See Activity 2 in Lesson Details section.