A Blacker Shade Of Gray

Hannah Giorgis' article in The Atlantic, "What Does It Mean to ‘Sound’ Black?" she addresses the idea of sounding Black versus sounding White and how this plays out in entertainment (and for a short time, news) media. The piece opens with a discussion of the HBO show _Insecure_, and how some people have questioned the show's "authenticity" due to the specific speech patterns of the lead actresses, their “blaccents,” as the article puts it. It's an interesting article, although it seems to be a bit too careful to skirt Black community's debate over sounding Black.

Why I am disappointed by this? I'm uncertain. There's a part of me that immediately delves into a pseudo-Millennial Social Justice mindset: I want this talked about because I don't sound Black, and while this isn't an issue in my day-to-day life, it comes up when I'm in groups of mostly Black people, and an old argument that's been lurking around for the past three decades comes to the fore again. Do I feel ignored when the discussion of what it means to sound Black fails to engage with the way the Black people themselves treat those who don't sound (or behave) Black enough?

The other part of me that takes an interest in this is the analyst. The sociological implications of how voice and behavior play into a perception of identity, and rejection of identity is a fascinating topic, and it's always something of a letdown when something scratches the surface, but goes no deeper. My inner (over) analyst wants to know what became of the concept of "linguistic profiling" and the idea that “how you push air through your nostrils and your mouth,” is an innate quality, dictated by the differences in facial features and only overcome with diligent and deliberate effort. He also wants to understand, why, if "No one tells Aaron Sorkin that he doesn’t sound (or behave) white enough," people are skeptical of Issa Rae and Yvonne Orji's ability to sound Black enough.

The fights that I used to have with college classmates have faded to an indistinct background haze. I remember pushing back against their charges that I was deliberately sounding White with charges that they were willfully under-educated as if I'd been told about them in casual conversation, rather than those arguments being the first thing that actually motivated me to care about where I went to school. I've moved past re-litigating it in my mind, and have settled into an idle curiosity about it.

Because I still don't understand it. I still don't understand why, for White people, color need be no more than skin deep, while for Black people, authenticity requires a performative aspect. As this is a matter of human choice, it's quite possible that I never will. How does one poll an entire ethnicity for their attitudes on what makes someone an "authentic" member of the club? I don't know if I'm satisfied with not knowing as much as I'm uncertain as to what I would do with the information. And maybe that's it. Maybe I want the information, so I can find out if anything would actually change. Would I feel better about what has gone before? Would I choose to do things differently than I do them now? Would I have greater insight into a group of people that I am inextricably linked, but usually estranged from? Or would I be able to give them more insight into me?