It has been well-documented that human civilization–more recently the United States of America–was built on the literal blood, sweat, and tears of Black people for generations. It has been the brains and brawn of Melanoid people who gave us gargantuan and influential U.S. cities such as Washington D.C., Chicago, and Los Angeles. It has also been noted that our intellectual prowess has created countless innovations which make our everyday lives more convenient than ever in this modern day society. In spite of our illustrious history of being the quintessential trendsetters and builders, have we in Black Society paid a price for doing so?
The aforementioned examples of Black Excellence had to be displayed in order to reiterate that a counterproductive spirit is nowhere to be found in the DNA of African/Melanoid people. The semblances of “laziness” and lack of motivation which has infiltrated Black Society in recent generations has been attributed to external factors–namely the system of racism/white supremacy. When a person’s ability to provide for themselves and their families is stripped away from them systematically, you can be sure to witness a person who’s in danger of falling prey to a broken spirit, which gives way to the previously mentioned “laziness”.
Because we have often acknowledged this to be a problem in Black Society, many of us feel a sense of obligation to the dominant society to prove that we’re not “failures” by overcompensating in all areas of human activity. At the workplace for example, we may want to prove that we are just as worthy as our non-Black colleagues by putting in more hours and labor than anyone else at our jobs. We also might go out of our way to be the most polite in our social circle(s) of non-Blacks, just to show that “we come in peace”, and that we mean no harm.
Maybe the best term to capture such an overambitious spirit in Melanoid people would be none other than “John Henryism”, which was a term coined by a Black educator named Sherman James. In a nutshell, “John Henryism” describes Black people’s tendency to overwork ourselves in order to “fit in”, only to remain in a second-class state in comparison to the members of the dominant society. “John Henryism” is such a debilitating approach to navigating through society that it spawns various physical ailments such as hypertension and high blood pressure.
As you may or may not know, the coined phrase “John Henryism” is an ode to the American folk hero by the name of John Henry, a Black man whose relentless work ethic led to his eventual demise at the hands of a steam powered machine, which is a great analogy for our situation in a white supremacist society.
Check out the video below to hear Gus T. Renegade’s profound take on the dangers of “John Henryism”.
The condition recognized in academia as “John Henryism” is such a serious phenomenon that it is killing us–literally. While much honor lies in our strong work ethic, perhaps a more healthy alternative to falling prey to “John Henryism” would be to re-direct the same energy/work ethics into creating our own alternatives (i.e., economic base, neighborhoods, education) to a society which has been designed to exclude us in the first place.
B. Clark
Great article and to our detriment as Black people we are always trying to appease whites and for what? It gets us nowhere except to be used, abused, and a boot in the ass afterwards. If our people wants to appease anyone then do for self, your family, and those in your community who are like minded. Melanoid Nation is a solid organization and I admire you all for the outstanding work……keep progressing for our people.
I agree with your sentiments. My personal Epiphany came with two words: lazy slaves.
Very well put in the video an i feel i fall in that category an i haven’t even realized… im still highly motivated but this information sort of puts me in a limbo as far as what my passion is an how i will get there… if any one else feels this way (reply)
As always B, another great and insightful article! You all keep up the wonderful work.
-Mimi
All due respect to the author of this article, but during the major periods of building, industrialization, and innovation, black folks were doing menial jobs, that required virtually no thought or mental aptitude at all. All you need to do is look at the census information. I think we all need to reevaluate our contributions, because some black folks get excited thinking we built this, invented that, blah blah, only to find out some white guy really did.
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