Annie Waters 9/7 Blog Post

What most resonated with me about the reading “No More Whistling Walk for Me” was the continual themes of defiance toward erasure of black ancestry and the narrator’s reclaiming of individual power as a black American. Throughout the chapter, Twitty places great emphasis on the troublesome nature of reflecting on his heritage; he reflects on the enhanced ambiguity of black identity in the south in reference to the increasingly heterogeneous makeup of Southern demographics and culture as well as the overload of daunting histories behind confederate battlegrounds and burial grounds for enslaved people. This made me think of how multifaceted it must be for black Americans to take efforts to reclaim pride in their histories and personal positioning in society. I find our University history to be extremely relevant in this conversation, especially considering the recent projects done to inform the campus community of the history of the land we study on, having been once used for plantations and acting as a burial ground for enslaved people. It’s extremely important for the campus community at large to be mindful of the impact that this has on our University culture as well as the influence it has over the experiences of black students on campus. I find it devastating to know that our campus was built with disregard to the lives of black people laying to rest on our grounds after having struggled under slavery and fought for their humanity. Knowing this, the campus community has a great responsibility to foster a culture supporting black students in fighting for liberation from oppression and marginalization. In Chapter 1, Twitty discusses singing traditional African American songs while cooking and the joy it brings him while reflecting on their painful history, being sung by slaves by obligation to prove they weren’t eating while working, etc. In parallel to this, it is my hope that UR can reflect on its history in such a way that empowers its black students, that on a community level, we can be sensitive to the racial issues of our past and present in such a way that makes black students feel liberated in pursuing education and success here with an understanding of how this land’s shameful past has transformed our community into what it is today. This does, of course, demand the cooperation of white students and those who enjoy other societal privileges, which presents a great hurdle in the progression of our community.

On another note, I would like to reflect on Twitty’s commentary on the paradox of ancestry as a black American. He makes a point to say he is between the eighth and twelfth generation of his family born in “America,” rather than saying “the United States.” Here, he employs national nomenclature to emphasize the divisiveness of American culture through history. He figuratively relates the country’s historical desire to elevate white lives over those of black citizens by way of denying black Americans full accessibility to an understanding of their familial histories as ensured by early practices of slave trade. Twitty is unsure of which generation of his family he falls into because of America’s history, and as an act of reclaiming his familial identity, he refers to himself as an “American,” and not a citizen of the “United States” to emphasize the idea that he holds power in his individual identity despite our country’s historical attempts to take the power of identity away from black Americans.