NYT columnist: "Black people get a little testy when white people call them 'articulate.'"

[beaconess]

The Racial Politics of Speaking Well
By LYNETTE CLEMETSON
New York Times, February 4, 2007

. . .
It is amazing that this still requires clarification, but here it is. Black people get a little testy when white people call them “articulate.” . . . A series of conversations about the word with a number of black public figures last week elicited the kind of frustrated responses often uttered between blacks, but seldom shared with whites . . . “You hear it and you just think, ‘Damn, this again?’ ” said Michael Eric Dyson, a professor of humanities at the University of Pennsylvania.

. . .

Being articulate must surely be a baseline requirement for a former president of The Harvard Law Review. After all, Webster’s definitions of the word include “able to speak” and “expressing oneself easily and clearly.” It would be more incredible, more of a phenomenon, to borrow two more of the senator’s puzzling words, if Mr. Obama were inarticulate.

That is the core of the issue. When whites use the word in reference to blacks, it often carries a subtext of amazement, even bewilderment. It is similar to praising a female executive or politician by calling her “tough” or “a rational decision-maker.”

. . .
And such distinctions discount as inarticulate historically black patterns of speech. “Al Sharpton is incredibly articulate,” said Tricia Rose, professor of Africana Studies at Brown University. “But because he speaks with a cadence and style that is firmly rooted in black rhetorical tradition you will rarely hear white people refer to him as articulate.”
. . .

It is unlikely that whites will quickly or easily erase “articulate” and other damning forms of praise from the ways in which they discuss blacks. Listen for it in post-Super Bowl chatter, after the Academy Awards, at the next school board meeting or corporate retreat. But here is a pointer. Do not use it as the primary attribute of note for a black person if you would not use it for a similarly talented, skilled or eloquent white person. Do not make it an outsized distinction for Brown University’s president, Ruth Simmons, if you would not for the University of Michigan’s president, Mary Sue Coleman. Do not make it the sole basis for your praise of the actor Forest Whitaker if it would never cross your mind to utter it about the expressive Peter O’Toole.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/04/weekinreview/04clemetson.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

1. It would be nice if our president was articulate.

[PADemD]

2. Delete

[beaconess]

3. Did you read what she said?

"Do not use it as the primary attribute of note for a black person if you would not use it for a similarly talented, skilled or eloquent white person."

How would that stop you from using the word "to imply that someone doesn't sound like the idiot in the White House?"

[TomInTib]

5. When the idiot was asked to comment on Obama (on Fox)

He said Obama was "articulate".

We didn't hear much about that, did we?

[beaconess]

7. I've heard about it and it rankled me the same way

But, while the comment was offensive, it wasn't as off-putting as Biden's.

Besides, I don't expect much from him.

[lligrd]

4. Is It Possible That Biden Was Simply Listing

positive attributes toward winning an election and that he includes being African American as one of those? If so, he wasn't describing an articulate African American but an articulate and African American candidate.

[beaconess]

8. All sorts of things are possible, but I'm not going to twist myself into knots

trying to find better alternatives to what he said in plain English. He described Obama as "articulate, clean," etc. It was offensive. I'm not the only one who thinks so.

But I can't help wondering why so many people are going through so much trouble to defend Biden and trying to interpret his comment in the most benign possible way - rather than taking the time to consider why so many African Americans were completely put off by what he said and why it's a problem.

[lligrd]

9. Agreed. It Was Stupid And Not The First Stupid Thing Biden

has said. I just don't think he really is a racist and think that he possibly does see being black as an attribute at this time. It is still stupid because one's race or sex should not be considered an attribute or a hindrance. It really irks me when people claim we shouldn't pick a candidate because America is not ready for a women President or a black President or a whatever President. Since when do we bow to the truly stupid when deciding who should run the country?

[beaconess]

10. I don't think he's a racist, either

But he obviously is still buying into certain stereotypes about blacks. And if he thinks that being black is now an attribute, he's not living in the real world. At best, Obama is helping to make being black less of hindrance.

I definitely agree with you about the America isn't ready crap.

[angee_is_mad]

11. Obama is CLEAN!!!!

That is what offended me the most. Being an educated black woman it irritates me when non blacks refer to blacks as articulate, but it happens everyday.

It pissed me off when Biden refer to Obama as clean. Does he secretly view blacks as inarticulate and dirty? I guess there's a thin line between being insensitive and ignorant.

I'm not willing to use the bigot card yet, but Joe certainly makes it hard not to use it. Unfortunately this is something that Obama is going to see alot more of down the road.

[lligrd]

12. To Be Honest, With The Clean, I Think He Was Referring

to dirty politicians not blacks. I am not defending him, that was just my take on it. And yes, Obama will certainly have to handle a lot of this down the road but I think he is up to the task. On the bright side, he won't have to deal with them commenting on his clothes or hair.

[emulatorloo]

6. Mary Sue Coleman is wonderful. But she is not as articulate as Obama

I get the editorial, yet I can think of plenty of people who aren't as articulate as Senator Obama. I have seen Mary Sue Coleman speak.

[Solo_in_MD]

13. Articulate is compliment, regardless of race.

Obama is articulate, Ms. Welden would not have had it any other way (2 points to the person who correctly indentifies who she was).