Harlem Duet and the prospect of "Going Beyond Race"

I had to read Harlem Duet for class the other day and when we discussed the play in our lectures, there was a recurring element in the reflections of my predominately female, predominately non-black classmates and that was, they thought the play “went beyond race”. Most people in my class said something along the lines of, “Even though I’m not a black woman, I can relate to the feeling of a husband/boyfriend leaving me for another woman…” While I appreciate that level of empathy or understand how non-black women and men could enjoy or relate to the play, it irked me to hear the statement “went beyond race.” Why? Because it trivializes that aspect of the play – an aspect that is so integral, so fundamental to Djanet Sears’ literary work – and it trivializes the politics and struggles and injustices that come with race as well.

The mere fact that Othello gives Billie that impassioned, insulting, and hurtful speech about how white women are easier than black women because they do not emasculate and pigeonhole men or come home complaining about injustice in the workplace clearly demonstrates that this play is all about race. Othello’s speech indicates that he cannot stand to be with a black woman any longer because it reminds him that he is a black man; the injustices a black woman faces in the workplace reflect the injustices he pretends not to experience at his workplace. Therefore, his rejection of the black woman is a rejection of being black.

This is further demonstrated by the fact that upon reaching a certain level of professionalism, Othello leaves Billie for Mona. Certain people in my class found the “woman does everything for the man and then he leaves her for someone else” cliché albeit sad. And perhaps they are right. What they fail to realize though is that Othello leaves Billie for a white woman because he feels as if having a white woman by his side means that he has made it – he is successful, he is worthy.

Of course, Othello’s desire to be seen as a man, to live his own life without the burden of history, without feeling a certain obligation is understandable. But still, it is essentially impossible to sympathize with him and that is because to him, being “seen as a man” and “living his own life” means rejecting his heritage, rejecting his culture and assimilating into a dominant and racist society he deems worthier than his roots. He blames the black community for putting the burden of history on his shoulders; he does not blame the white society for forcing the black community to bear this burden. He criticizes the oppressed for being consumed with a history that has hindered them from advancing and does not even think about who gave the oppressed this history.

And I’m not saying Billie doesn’t have faults. She certainly does. She is so consumed with race that it drives her mad and she ends up in a mental institution. She is too preoccupied with the past to live life in the present. She cannot be consciously aware of her African-American history while trying to live her own life, she wallows in the history. So yes, she most definitely has flaws. But throughout the play, I found myself agreeing with her and most of her viewpoints. Othello is merely an extremely selfish, self-hating black man who has deluded himself into thinking that history has no or should not have any meaning.

In the end, my point is, Harlem Duet is not a play that “goes beyond race” because race and all of the politics that surround it is the central, essential aspect.

The Ambiguity Central to Do The Right Thing

I'm currently taking American Popular Cinema since the 1970s and it's a wonderful course. Many of the films that are on the syllabus are ones that I have seen, ones that I love, and ones that I am so incredibly happy to write essays about and to deconstruct in lecture. And while I have enjoyed studying films such as The Godfather, Breakfast Club, Thelma and Lousie, and Halloween in an intensely academic way, I knew that I would feel differently (not negatively) about Do The Right Thing.

Even though Spike Lee's film was made in 1989, it is just as relevant and just as contentious today as it was then and my lecture proved that. Most of my class sympathized with Sal and therefore viewed the film as one that incites and encourages violence. Conversely, I sympathized with the African-American characters and therefore I felt the opposite. I say 'therefore' because who you sympathize with in the film determines how and what you think of the ending and the film as a whole.

In my opinion, Do The Right Thing does not incite or encourage violence and those who think it does are taking the film in an extremely literal sense. When the Black community destroys Sal's Pizzeria after Radio Raheem's death, they are destroying an oppressive idea. Sal's Famous Pizzeria is representative of the exploitation of African-American neighbourhoods and I think while this is subtle, it is something that unravels throughout the course of the film.

For instance, the fact that Sal does not comply or even consider Buggin Out's demand to put African-American leaders/celebrities on the Wall of Fame demonstrates my aforementioned point. Buggin Out makes a very valid point in saying that since the Black community funds the pizzeria, there should be some sort of representation of clientele. Sal's absolute refusal illustrates his inability to acknowledge anything productive or great from the people he takes money from on a daily basis.

That Sal never once leaves his pizzeria signifies his lack of interaction with the community. He only puts up with Mookie's horrible work habits because as a delivery boy, he takes away that necessity. Sal's only interactions with the community are business-oriented and somewhat condescending. He does not want to get to know the people of the community, he does not want to help in advancing the state of Bedford-Stuyvesant - he only uses the Black community to his economic advantage. In other words, Sal is capitalizing off of a poor Black neighbourhood.

Consequently, I can completely understand the community's frustration and anger at the end of the film. Police brutality is what killed Radio Raheem, yes. But it was Sal's inability to represent his clientele, his disgust of hip-hop (an aspect of African-American culture) and his inherent racism that caused the events that caused the police to arrive. Meaning, that it was the exploitation and capitalization of the Black community that catalyzed the police brutality. So the community makes an attempt to destroy the exploitation and capitalism.

They [the community] have seen and been through enough that pacifism and passivity seem to be synonymous concepts and they feel as if it is time to take action. It is time to do things a different way, a more militant way, a more reactive way. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

So I indeed will end with a Malcolm X quote:

"I don't favor violence. If we could bring about recognition and respect of our people by peaceful means, well and good. Everybody would like to reach his objectives peacefully. But I'm also a realist. The only people in this country who are asked to be nonviolent are Black people."