On Sunday afternoon I attended HaMapah, a one-man multimedia dance performance that traced the intersections between Adam’s (the performer) African, Jewish, and Native American Heritage. This incredibly moving piece highlighted the importance of identity, ancestry, and shared histories. As Adam danced, sang, and moved through his journey of personal identification, the audience was called to explore and question the ways in which each of us is “the sum total of all our ancestors.” We are “the map, the quilt, and the tablecloth of those who have come before us.” For me this experience highlighted two things- First, the creation and representation of identity, and second, the power of shared experience.
Adam and the director of the piece, Daniel Banks, spoke about the power of our genealogies. In much of the racial, political, and religious controversies that tear groups of people apart if you go far enough back, we are all pretty much related. If we take this to be true, is it possible for us to treat each other like we are siblings or cousins? Are we capable of this kind of love? As we discussed these questions after the performance, I thought about how this premise relates to the history of African American heritage that we have addressed so far. In theory I believe this is possible, that there is great power in focusing on shared experiences and overlapping histories.
The other thing that resonated with me during this piece was the creation and representation of personal identity. Through dance Adam characterized his own struggle with his historical, racial, sexual, regional, and familial identities. I began asking myself-Who defines my identity? What parts of my being resonate with me more that others? How do I portray myself to those around me and how would they define me? For enslaved (and sometimes free) African Americans the freedom to define who they were and how they were presented was most often not in their control. Identity is also a highly dependent concept. Who we are or rather what identity traits we choose to portray are almost completely dependent on where we are and who we are surrounded by.
Finally, this piece has made me consider the concept of freedom in an entirely different light. Freedom is a very difficult notion to define, as it is also a highly dependent concept. Just as I have struggled to define ‘identity’, I am struggling to understand what freedom really means. In the documentary we viewed in class the narrator asks the viewer, “Who better to define freedom than a slave?” This nation was built on the creation of freedom for some individuals, which cannot be separated by unfreedom. Is freedom is the ability to be who you want to be without fear of the consequences- be it rejection, slander, or physical harm? If so, what members of our society would feel the most freedom? How would you define freedom?
I would like to address your thoughts on genealogy and identity from a personal outlook. Having been born and raised in the deep south, I can relate to the importance of genealogy and culture in the creation of my own identity. At home, whom you are related to defines who you are in so many ways, whether it’s the connections that you make, the opportunities you’re afforded, or the reputation you are born with – for all intents and purposes, your last name or your parents’ maiden name can be the key to Pandora’s box. Moreover, what you do with those faculties helps construct your identity. But in addition to your ancestral line, the southern culture that surrounds you also plays a very important role, and undeniably, the south has a lot of culture. From the food we eat and the way we talk, to the music we listen to and the things we value, our culture affects every aspect of life. Though I may not agree with every southern principle or follow all of the traditions, I am bound to the south forevermore through my own identity.
ReplyDeleteCarson, I really appreciate your question-based style/strategy in writing this post. Because of the inexperience the class has in African American history and the complex nature of "identity," trying to actually make claims about such an abstraction would in many ways just be futile especially in a 400 word blog post, yet the battle for identity is far too important to just leave unsaid. The way you contextualize the struggle of slaves for identity and a definition of freedom through the many struggles for identity in today's society is particularly effective. Cornel West (because I have to bring him up every chance I get) mentions this struggle of today's African Americans to escape a definition of "blackness" based on the level of oppression he or she has experienced from white society. While I know that this "blackness" is just the racial subsection of the identity which Adam and Banks were expressing, this post makes me wonder how oppression plays in defining other facets such as sexuality.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post, and one particular statement stood out to me the most: "Who we are or rather what identity traits we choose to portray are almost completely dependent on where we are and who we are surrounded by." Why? Well, I’m from South Memphis, and I grew up in a very poor household and neighborhood. I was often surrounded by drugs, gangs, guns, and other forms of profanity. I lived in this type of environment from the time I was born until the latter years of my high school journey. Now, you said that who we are and the traits we choose to portray are almost completely dependent on where we are and who we are surrounded by. I'd like to say that NOT conforming to or embracing where I'm from taught and showed me my true identity. I'm not shooting down the lifestyle of the "hood," but it just never felt right in my heart. So, I was always my own person. I told myself that since I was born into a society full of people that were so complacent with living on welfare, fighting, selling drugs, and having more children that I would have never imagined a woman being able to conceive that I would never allow my surroundings to define my identity. Yes, that's where I'm from, but I'm far much more than that.
ReplyDeleteTo Maggie, I really agree with what you said because I am really influenced by southern culture on a regional level, as far as clothing, style, music, dance, and our delicious food. I embrace those aspects with every ounce of my being.
Although this post was posted in October, it actually comes full circle with a recent small discussion in class this past week. I will focus on the specific question that Chan pointed out, "Who we are or rather what identity traits we choose to portray are almost completely dependent on where we are and who we are surrounded by." In class the comment was made that at a large university a professor had the students write down a number of characteristics about themselves. Later the professor identified the characteristics and explained that a majority of the African American students identified a characteristic of themselves as black, but that white students did not claim white as a characteristic of themselves. Dr. McKinney responded to this story pointing out the fact that if the state university was predominately white, the the minority students would then find their color as a large part of their identity. This then points to the element of the question of identity being defined by who we are surrounded by, or in a way who we aren't surrounded by. Maybe by defining the odds or being within the minority in an environment, your identity is skewed in a particular way. So I continue to wonder, do we place our identity in our surroundings?
ReplyDeleteOur identity is determined by our surroundings because our surroundings determine our actions and our actions determine our character. It is something we cannot help but do. It is impossible to not use our surroundings to influence us. It is what gives us the opportunities to form opinions on matters and to be exposed to basic human realities. We can choose to conform and accept our surroundings or defy them, but either way they are still influencing how we, as people, act. Our surroundings are our families, our friends, our homes, our schools, our country, etc., and without these things what would we have to base ourselves on? I agree that identity is a completely dependent concept because there has to be something to center ourselves on. We have an enormous impact on our own identity, but it is because we make decisions based on the events that occur around us and the people that are involved in our lives.
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