if you write it, will they come?

“Die Nigger Die!,” from the first paragraph of this book, I was immediately drawn in by the laconic and matter of fact definitions Jamil Abdulla Al-Amin (formerly H. Rap Brown) posits to terms such as negroe and nigger.  In my lifetime, these terms have been coated with political correctness and have been tip toed around for fear of offending, for lack of insight and for indifference. The stark opposites of these generational flaws characterize the 1960’s, a decade in which Al-Amin found his place in political and social movements and also the time he decided to pen his autobiographical memoir “Die Nigger Die.” Al-Amin opens stating that negroes are Blacks whom whites have been successful in eliminating or in shaming the characteristics that distinguish them from negroes/whites and that havecontributed to the survival of Blacks. (p.i-ii) Negroes consider poor and un-institutionalized Blacks to be niggers while whites see all black people as niggers according to Al-Amin.  This blunt and definitive response to the predicament of blacks in this country is the nature of the book and was a bitter pleasure to read.

Al-Amin’spolitical memoir felt so familiar to me; I too have noted the tendency for people of color to attempt to distinguish themselves from each other in the eyes of white people.  Not only have I noticed, but I have also fallen victim to it. This behavior is counter-revolutionary. The walls we (people of color) create amongst ourselves only make us easier to control.  We find less in common with each other and begin tearing one another down in an effort to gain alignment and acceptance in the white mainstream culture.  This will only leave us exhausted and disappointed; this is an unattainable goal. The white mainstream culture was made exclusively and for us to never “fitin.”

white america:

            Think white or I’ll kill you.

            And if you think too white, I’llkill you.

negro america:

            Think white or I’ll kill you

            And if you think too white ‘the man’will kill you.

            So think colored.

            Imitate the white man,

            but not to perfection in front ofhim. (3)

This is the blackman’s reality in the 60’s and although there has been progress, much remains the same. The operations to maintain the mainstream white culture have just become more covert.  We are allowed to take part in the mainstream culture, coerced even.  We are encouraged to fashion our lifestyles, our familial organization and work ethics using theirs as a model. Encouraged is an honorable word considering, when we have developed our own models or used those passed down through the diaspora, they are considered abnormal. Freedom and acceptance cannot be “allowed” or tolerated; that is something we must take and give to ourselves.  This is where the covert operations to keep people of color complacent have been successful.  We laud the pseudo freedoms and forget thework we have yet to do.  These are people that Al-Amin realizes are dangerous to the revolution.  He believes these people are unable to identify their enemies.  They see black people not making an effort to fit in or to “tom” as unproductive and dangerous.  The true danger here is ignorance. 

The message behind the title became superbly clear to me after reading the following excerpt.

All of white America is a structure of institutions that says to Black people, “Nigger, you ain’t shit.” All standards of excellence, beauty, efficiency and civilization are such that any comparison between Black and white is designed to favor white and put down Black…Then, if one examines negro institutions and community structures, he finds the message is the same.  Die Nigger Die! (40)

I have felt this way many days.  When I leave my neighborhood of Flatbush, Brooklyn and head to work on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, the differences are disheartening.  From the type of MTA buses used, to the libraries, to the hospitals, my community consistently has less than. Like Al-Amin, separate doesn’t bother me with the intensity that unequal does.  I was born in Kings County hospital, nicknamed Killer County. From my birth place alone, seconds into this world, I am being put down. Something is drastically wrong with that.  In my community, it isn’t unusual for many family members to be living in the samehousehold. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and a myriad of other extended family members may make their way in and out of one home; this is considered abnormal by the mainstream culture. Social science fields of study take an ethnocentric stance and feed to us that the normal, healthy family structure is nuclear and should consist of two parents and 2 children. When we look into our homes and see the difference, people are left to internalize this, left to internalize this “abnormality.”

            All of these facts of life became apparent to Al-Amin in his youth, making him a threat to mainstream institutions.  His speaking out publicly, organization of the community and general rebellion made him a target for the government to catch, lock up and throw away the key for charges that range from ridiculous to just false.  He was imprisoned for what seems to be for good long after he left behind the militant attitudes and rebellious nature.  He converted to the nation of Islam and became an imam conducting a life majorly to himself and his local community as a spiritual rather than political guide.  Al-Amin has spent decades in prison, particularly solitary confinement and is still presently incarcerated.  Almost prophetically, Al-Amin states in his memoir that “I anticipate one day, however, that I will be arrested and there will be no legal procedure any lawyer will be able to use to secure my release…It’ll be, Where is Rap?” (108)  Learning of Al-Amin’s story hurt me and left me angry, but it was a much necessary reminder of what this country’s foundation is.  It has reminded me that this struggle is ongoing and to not allow myself to be complacent.  Most of all, it served as a critical mirror that has shown me where I have erred.  Not only will I be reading it again but here I am coercing all of you to take a look at it as well.

This book can be found online for free!