Articulate While Black: Barack Obama, Language, and Race in the U.S.

224 Pages·2012·1.34 MB·English

by  H. Samy Alim

Articulate While Black
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Articulate While
Black
BARACK OBAMA, LANGUAGE,
AND RACE IN THE U.S.
H. SAMY ALIM
and
GENEVA SMITHERMAN
FOREWORD BY MICHAEL ERIC DYSON
1
3
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Alim, H. Samy.
Articulate while Black : Barack Obama, language, and race in the U.S. /
H. Samy Alim & Geneva Smitherman ; foreword by Michael Eric Dyson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-981296-7 (alk. paper) – ISBN 978-0-19-981298-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Black English–United States. 2. Race awareness–United States.
3. Obama, Barack–Language. 4. Obama, Barack–Oratory.
5. African Americans–Languages. 6. English language–Social
aspects–United States. 7. Language and education–United States.
8. Sociolinguistics–United States. I. Smitherman, Geneva II. Title.
PE3102.N42A43 2012
306.440973–dc23
2012010289
ISBN 978-0-19-981296-7
ISBN 978-0-19-981298-1
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
None of us—black, white, Latino, or Asian—is immune to
the stereotypes that our culture continues to feed us, especially
stereotypes about black criminality, black intelligence, or the black
work ethic. In general, members of every minority group continue
to be measured largely by the degree of our assimilation—
how closely speech patterns, dress, or demeanor conform
to the dominant white culture—and the more that a
minority strays from these external markers,
the more he or she is subject to negative assumptions.
—Barack Obama
Every conversation about black speech is a conversation about
black intelligence and ultimately black humanity.
—Michael Eric Dyson
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CONTENTS
Foreword: Orator-In-Chief by Michael Eric Dyson ix
Showin Love xv
1. “Nah, We Straight”: Black Language and
America’s First Black President
1
2. A.W.B. (Articulate While Black): Language and
Racial Politics in the United States
31
3. Makin a Way Outta No Way: The “Race Speech” and
Obama’s Rhetorical Remix
64
4. “The Fist Bump Heard ‘Round the World”: How
Black Communication Becomes Controversial
94
5. “My President’s Black, My Lambo’s Blue”: Hip Hop, Race,
and the Culture Wars
130
6. Change the Game: Language, Education, and the
Cruel Fallout of Racism
167
Index 199
vii
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Foreword: Orator-In-Chief
I chuckled in amusement in the Spring of 2012 as President Obama regaled
the audience with his humor in what has to be one of the most enjoyable
roles for the commander-in-chief: standup comedian at the annual dinner
for the White House Correspondents’ Association. Obama’s pace and timing
were a lot better than those of the professional comics charged with bring-
ing down the house that night. Jimmy Kimmel rushed through his jokes
a bit too nervously and even stepped on some of his lines. Obama, on the
other hand, was smooth and eff ortless, confi dent that his zingers would
fi nd their mark. His swag quotient was also pretty high that night. He let
it be known that his musical prowess consisted of more than a melodically
accurate one-off rendition of a line from Al Green’s R&B classic “Let’s Stay
Together,” which he had delivered at an Apollo Th eater fundraiser three
months earlier. Obama’s version of the soul legend’s tune went viral in
Black communities as a sign of the president’s eff ortless embrace of Black
Culture despite the criticism that he keeps Blackness at bay. At the Apollo
fundraiser, after drawing huge applause from his largely Black audience,
Obama addressed the Rev. Al Green, who, along with India Arie, had sung
at the aff air, by saying: “Don’t worry Rev., I cannot sing like you, but I just
wanted to show my appreciation.” At the Correspondents’ dinner, Obama
showed his appreciation for Hip Hop and proved his Rap bona fi des, and
not just by citing the easy or apparent fare. To truly strut his stuff , he’d
have to display an afi cionado’s grasp of Rap Culture’s range and appeal and
fl ash a little insider savvy.
Th e set-up for Obama’s Hip Hop coolness was a perfect storm of con-
spiracy theory and Black cultural signifi cation. “Now, if I do win a second
term as president,” Obama teased his audience, “let me just say something
to all my conspiracy oriented friends on the right who think I’m planning
to unleash some secret agenda.” He paused for a few seconds, then hit
ix