Flashback--Reflections on Black History Month from 2007...Still About Right

Given Black History Month is around the corner, I am expecting to be asked about being black or blackness or whatever. There is no way for me to really answer these questions, but of course I do my best. Still, anything I can do answer in advance would probably be good. So, I went to the archives!!!!

I wrote this for the college newspaper wayback in 2007. The world has changed--African-American President!! On the other hand, it hasn't changed that much. I changed some words, who wouldn't? Still most of it is the same and I think it hold up well.

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Well, it is Black History Month again. As usually my immediate thought is that we got the shortest month. Black people have done a lot for this country; you could have at least given us January. I did not take up this space to complain however; instead I want to consider the importance of a "black" history month.

It is true; the average person cannot identify famous black inventors, politicians, educators, doctors, or artists. On the other hand, it is likely that person could not identify any famous white persons for the same thing. It is asking a lot of people who cannot find Iraq on a globe to remember things that happened five, fifty, or even 150 years ago. Still, the whole idea of a special month for X group is problematic. For example, April is…Poetry Month…no, wait, it is Math Month, no, that is not right, it is Zoo and Aquarium Month. April is all of these things, yet when April rolls around I think to myself, "How long until the semester is over?"

The problem with a special month is that people sleepwalk through it, leaving the meaning behind the month…meaningless. Do not get me wrong, the need to celebrate the unique culture of the many peoples that make up the United States is noble. Yet, being forced to do so has been, and continues to be, a source of resentment.

Recently, Francis Fuyukama, a guest at the upcoming Rollins Colloquy, wrote in Prospect Magazine that the American identity is rooted in a White Protestant culture. As a result, the things Americans most identify with themselves, "the famous Protestant work ethic, the American proclivity for voluntary association and the moralism of American politics are all by-products of this Anglo-Protestant heritage." This interpretation of American identity plays well in Peoria, but it is not really true.

At the turn of the twentieth century, many Americans were convinced what made this country great was that the process of creating the United States incorporated the best elements of many immigrant people and forged them into an "American" identity where deeds and ideas mattered more than class, traditions, and lineage. Basically, immigration and multiculturalism made American unique. There were many conceits in this "melting pot" idea. Still, the result is we consume the elements of many immigrants culture without thought. Our culture pulls from the food, language, and belief of many people from around the world, but strips away the markers of difference.

Reacting to this ideas inform Black History Month, Hispanic History Month, and Italian Heritage Month. Yet, unlike their Italian counterparts, African Americans still face questions about their worth in society. Questions that stem from continued marginality. Even as studies show a growth in the black middle-class, the fact remains that race and racism persists. For African-Americans, the incorporation of their cultural perspective is a bitter pill. On the one hand, urban music, food, and style are the very definition of "urban" culture, while at the same time resentment and resistance prevents African Americans societal participation. And make no mistake, it is resistance. Whether it is segregation that ensures the wealth building opportunities associated with homeownership do not affect black neighborhoods or the lack of access to financial services that contributes to a wealth gap between African-American and mainstream society, racial biases remain an important part of the black experience. So the need to recognize African Americans and other minorities as fully functional and contributing actors in the U.S. identity remains strong.

This commitment does not depend on recognition in a special period however; instead it requires us to consider how the strength of differing perspectives helps the United States and how U.S. society must make sure that we do not ignore the inequity that sometime come from struggle between the majority and the minority. For all of the fear associated with multiculturalism, the ideas at the heart of U.S. identity resonate with every American. As we face the new century, a global perspective informed by American popular culture is shrinking the distance between people. It is a good idea to celebrate difference in this circumstance even if only to demonstrate that those who are different than us need not fear us. This is a lesson we can take to heart every month of the year.

Planning History, Atlanta, J. Horace McFarland, Visual Culture and You

This academic year is a strange beast for me. I am officially on sabbatical, a concept that non-academic types find hard to understand. Suffice to say, after a long period of testing, my department and the college have judged me worthy for tenure. Tenure is defined as"status granted to an employee, usually after a probationary period, indicating that the position or employment is permanent." In practice, popular culture has defined tenure as "you can't be fired, so now you can goof off." It is part of the whole, "ivory tower as bad cultural motif." In practically terms, after review I was awarded tenure and took the opportunity to go on sabbatical for the academic year. This means I do not teach any classes, not that I don't do any work. Since my work is kinda intellectual in nature (keep your jeering down to a low roar) outside observers don't necessarily see me breaking my back digging ditches--so to them I'm lounging in coffee shops...goofing off.

Skeptics aside, I have been pushing my particular lines of urban inquiry forward. Yeah, I'm a urban historian, so I study the city. I do so through some exotic lens (comics), but I do it through structural lens (city planning) as well. I am currently working hard at both the comic and planning lens. Comics are interesting in part because they allow me to consider basic questions about American urban history using popular culture. Comics, as I have spoken about, tell us about how U.S. citizens perceive the urban experience. My musing on this subject are freely accessible in academic and non-academic forums, so I'm not going to repeat myself here. Still, comics touch on the powerful impact of visual culture.

Visual culture also has links to city planning in my complicated mind. Recently, an article I wrote on J. Horace McFarland, a somewhat overlooked Progressive Era planning and conservation advocate was published by Pennsylvania History. McFarland is, at a very basic level, a human Swiss army knife(you groan, but you won't forget). He did so much, reformer, photographer, rosier, writer, lobbyist, speaker, proto-feminist, and the list go on and on.

As president of the American Civic Association (ACA) McFarland championed planning and conservation throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe between 1904 and 1924. I am currently working on a manuscript on Progressive Era planning in Atlanta. This research grows out of my dissertation, but it has evolved a bit because as I have continued to find information linking Atlanta to the broader debate going on in the United States about planning in the Progressive Era. McFarland is one point of intersection between Atlanta and broader world. McFarland's experience in Atlanta, similar to his experience in other cities, was to emphasize, through visual means, the consequences of rapid, unchecked urbanization. McFarland photographed cities across the United States, combined those photos into lantern slides (think powerpoint slide) and showed them to local residents. The goal was to allow the community to see the damage created by their actions and galvanize them to support reform. This kind of documentary as activism continues today. Still, we owe a debt to photographers like Jacob Riis, Lewis Hine, and McFarland for their efforts.

Recently, Rebecca Ross, made me aware of a new web based project called Picturing Place. Picturing Place is an academic research project housed primarily by two universities [U.C.L_Urban Laboratory, Bartlett School of Architecture Research Fund and Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design], both accredited by the UK Higher Education Council For England (HEFCE). The goal of the project is to critically explores the role of images and image-production in processes of urban change. The project incorporates multiple forms and images of cities. Urban renderings: maps, plans, and project descriptions are all open for inclusion. Added to that, actual depictions of the city: pictures, murals, billboards and other representation that shape our perceptions of urban space are also included. The project's goal is to encourage discussion about the role that visual languages has in the production of the built environment. I understood immediately that the problems facing reformers in Progressive Era United States fit within this project's framework. So, I went through the process to get an image from McFarland's collection included on the project. It is strangely apropos that the image I contributed to Picturing Place was taken in 1911. Now in 2011, this interdisciplinary project is bringing together scholars to create an interactive relationship between images and cities. I suspect Picturing Place will grow as the opportunity to communicate the impact of urbanization visually through the web-base platform offers opportunities to promote global discussion. I can already see other images I would like to contribute the website. If you have opportunity, you should contact them to submit images as well.

I'm thinking while on sabbatical. I'm doing as well. There is more to come on Atlanta, McFarland, visual culture, and space as it relates to the urban experience.

Yusheng Yao on the China-U.S. Relations

With the state visit from Chinese President Hu Jintao, Yusheng Yao took a moment to react to recent media reports about the evolving relationship between the United States and China.


The U.S. And China: Rivals That May Need Each Other As this NPR story suggests, Americans then to look at future relationship between the United States and China with two possible extremes.
America has entered a new year with a rising national debt and deficit projections. Meanwhile, China continues its ascent as a global economic player. In the years to come, an economically bruised U.S. may have to share the superpower spotlight with the competition. Still, former Pentagon strategist Thomas P.M. Barnett tells NPR's Guy Raz, American hype over China's rise is overblown, while foreign affairs commentator Gideon Rachman predicts that China-U.S. relations will get "bumpier" over the next few years.

As our resident China expert, Yusheng Yao reflects on these two positions.

In regard to Barnett's argument that China's rise is overblown: I don't think China's rise as an economic power is overblown--the dynamic and momentum of China's growth will continue for years to come. yes, it will take decades for the most Chinese to reach the level of American middle class. But that is not very relevant. What China lags far behind is its comprehensive power (especially what Joseph Ny's definition of soft power--cultural values and political system, etc) and it will not be easy for China to narrow the gap. Barnett's another point is that the challenge for the U.S. with China is not its competition but the level of responsibility it takes to the world system. That is true; but he may underestimate China's desire to change the rules of the game, not just to follow the established rules in world politics, finance, etc. That can be a great challenge for the U.S. in the future: how much are we willing to accommodate that?

Rachman's comment on U.S./China relations as "always had elements of friendship, cooperation and rivalry" can stand when we think of the more recent relationship of past 15 years. If we push the relationship back to the late 80s and early 90s, we found much difficult time after Tiananmen, and then before Nixon came to China, the two countries had been deadly enemies. For the present, when U.S. economy is not good and China is booming, China is perceived as taking unfair advantage of the bilateral and world trade system. I agree with Rachman that the bilateral relations will be bumpier in the next five years and I would go further to say that the relationship will be more bumpier as the balance of power is shifting between the two on more issues.