Danez Smith - Dear White America
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- čas přidán 15. 06. 2014
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Danez Smith, performing at Rustbelt 2014 in Detroit, MI.
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It takes a very special blend of ignorance and arrogance to hear a poem that so eloquently and powerfully captures the various shades of grief and injustice and resistance wrapped up in US race relations and respond: "hey that was racist toward whites!" Or "that was too angry! Let's just stop talking about racism and it'll go away!" Or "c'mon we're all just humans dude!"
Normally wouldn't waste time responding to CZcams commenters, but these attitudes exist everywhere, and deserve to be called out as the closed-minded, naive and, above all, dangerous misconceptions that they are. This poem is a f'ing gift. Thank you Danez.
i love your poetry
***** Well, discrimination never goes away if we just don't talk about it so, yeah, I'll turn against "our own lord."
agreed! love your comment!
just because it's racist doesn't mean that it's not eloquent or powerful, or any less capable of capturing the grief and injustice and resistance. It is racist, but that doesn't diminish the significance of his truth, nor does it diminish it's merit. His racism is steam coming from wounds that have been inflicted upon him by a society that is supposed to safe guard and cherish him just as any other and has failed him. His racism is a part of his truth, it is a part of his wound, it is the shadow of his devotion to a higher ideal of unity that has been destroyed by the reality of the world he finds himself in. To deny that his poem is racist is wrong. To deny the truth and power of his poem would also be wrong. For him, the two go hand in hand. The racism he's expressing isn't racism born out of conceit or pride, it is born out of surviving a system that he feels abandoned by. It's a different kind of racism. Doesn't mean it's any less dangerous. But, it does mean that there is a deeper truth behind it than simply the racism that comes form shallow conceit.
He is a great author, a magnificent poet. But, at a personal level, there's no reason for me to entrust my well-being to him. So, I shall learn from him from afar and see the world with bigger eyes.
hi li can you tell me how he's racist ?
"'I dont see races' neither did the poplar tree" shit I got chills, man
+Vikki Elliott I... unfortunately didn't understand the analogy. Please explain. >
+Luna Kehrer He (the poet) meant lynching
KBcubedP3 Oh. Shiz.
Does he mean the tree (referencing to by-standing white people who didn't support the lynching but didn't stand up against it?) did not see race like people use as an argument these days but still condone the way it is now?
That in such a way 'ignoring' the fact you're black only gives permission to people to exert their racism?
It's a nonsensical analogy
"Take your God back, though his songs are beautiful his miracles are inconsistent." I love the hell out if that line.
Taisha Leon I want to love this love a thousand times!
"There are no amber alerts for amber-skinned girls.." WOW
That line grabbed me by the neck my god
He killed it with that line!
I have watched this maybe 150 times. I cry every time I hear that line.
if you are offended by this, you don't get it
TheProximateGalaxy Gasp. It's almost as if all things are open to critique.
Nova Lol you basically just said you’re offended
and I can't say anyone should GAF about their offense. The fact that they are offended is offensive
Not offended, just annoyed. He literally makes but of people who consider themselves color blind. He also constantly generalizes white people
@@ilikelebronjames6426 because being "color blind" to races is not a positive trait to have. its an ignorant one... thats the point
"If white people are so privileged, why is there a Black Entertainment Network and not White Entertainment network?" The same reason why in mario kart you don't get blue shells or lighting bolts when you're in first place already.
That's the point there shouldn't have to be a "black" entertainment network...
Aruinedworld In what ways are black people in first place? Can you explain this to me? We get scholarships and social benefits, but still our rate of college attendance is among the lowest. We get this attention in the media when we face injustice, but still we're simply accused of using the "race card". We get BET, but it doesn't always paint us in a good light and all it does is draw complaints from white people upset we have something they don't.
Meanwhile white people are more likely to be hired if you're white, hell, if you have a white sounding name! When white people apply to college they may complain that minorities are picked just to meet a quota, but when we're picked JUST to meet a quota we're not picked at all we're turned in for a bit of that good government money. All the benefits we have are illusory at best and flat out bullshit at worst. So what exactly is your argument here?
Samuel Epicurus Oh, so for whatever reason I couldn't see your comments? I see them now though and I see I dived into a much larger discussion. Right now I haven't read through all the past comments, but it seems you've been making a good point on a different topic.
I assumed the comment I was responding to was in response to the first comment, saying that black Americans are in "first place" in comparison to white Americans. I'll probably add another response once I've gone through the past.
because all the other channels 119 or wtn
Aruinedworld anything that isn't a black entertainment network IS a white network. So stay keeping up with the kardasians an skrt back into your lane
This poem makes me wish I had the power to move all of my brothers and sisters to a new universe and start all over.
Ms. Watts, With all the love and good intentions in the world, I beg you not to do so. I do not want to live in a world with only ppl who look and walk and talk like myself. I know your ppl never asked to be here in the US. But you're here. I beg you to stay and share with us all your wonderful assets. I give you my most solemn word, I will show you much deserved (and long overdue) appreciation for your contributions. I will voice equality, justice, and love everyday, as often as I can. Don't leave us. You are needed and wanted here. I'm so sorry you have been made to feel otherwise. We have such an ugly, shameful history in this country. I wish I could change it, but I can't. I can only promise you I will do all I can to change the future. I ask you, in the most sincere manner possible, don't gather your brothers and sisters away from us. Stay. I realize leaving earth is not actual option. Further division is. Things are more tense all the time. We can throw integration to the wind and split apart forever. I am asking you, as one woman to another, don't fight for that end. Stay. Fight with me for what is fair and right. Stay. Let's leave our children a better country than we have now. We can do this. There is still hope.
@ Maliya Watts, I have a strong faith and believe. One day, my brothers and my sisters will move outta babylon. you can trust this if you believe. It will happen.
There's always Wakanda...
maliya watts do it. Please
Molly Whelan 😭 I have never met you but I already love you. It’s people like you that actually make America great. On behalf of my fellow blacks, thank you.
This is breath taking, he has so much passion. The imagery is crazy. you have to just close your eyes and listen. i shed tears.
Gemini Peterson
Yes
He killed this one!!! I love when he said how much time do you want for your "progress"!!!! I'm sick of it.
LetReasonPrevail1 Therefore, your point is mute.
I called you an idiot because you are an idiot. Black people ARE making progress so what exactly is your point? Black women are the largest group to enroll in college and also the largest and fastest growing entrepreneurial group. Therefore, everything that you have stated is mute. There is no Black victim mentality. Studies have shown that Black people are disproportionately stopped by police and incarcerated. There have also been studies to show that they have been discriminated against when it comes to housing, thus, forcing many to live in the ghetto. There have also been tons of studies done where a Black person's resume was not even looked at or considered simply because their name was too ethnic-sounding. I could go on & on. But I can tell that you're simply too daft to see beyond 2inches in front of your face. Run along now troll. You're annoying me.
+Kaneisha Lewis wow preach!
+LetReasonPrevail1 Black community does not need to progress. They have been intelligent, well behaved and hard working for generations (don't make me pull receipts now). It is white people that need to progress. The reason it looks like black progress is because the current A/A generation is dealing with the nicest whites America has ever had. Blacks BEEN doing amazing things forever, despite all odds and discrimination. I would love to see your receipts tbh, so i can see where the fuck you got your information from.
Can people stop saying that white people are also beaten up? I'm sorry but we haven't experienced racism like people who are black. You need to understand that you are privileged.
THANK YOU
Sure in the 1800s racism was worse for those of color, but i and still am growing up in a black neighborhood, and the amount of times i've gotton weird looks and glances, the amount of times that people have threatned me becuse i dont look like i belong in this neighborhood, people have asked where i lived and i told them just down the street nd yhey didnt belrive me. Just becsus tou bave never experienced racism doesnt mean it doesn't happen. And i agree, it is worse for people of color. But ive also seen it twoards others too, so dont tell me that white people arent discriminated against or we are privleged, because no one is because of their race.😂
My interpretations:
"Dear White America... We did not ask to be part of your America - although are we not America?"
This poem does not exhibit hatred towards white people. Like many other educators, Danez confronts the concept of "whiteness", debunks the myth of "white America", and denounces racism. He's addressing the individual experiences under the systemic problem of racism, NOT addressing the "problem" of white PEOPLE, necessarily. (Although, white people can perpetuate the system).
"I do not trust the god you have given us"
Poet portrays skepticism of the religion/god that has been used to justify wrongdoing.
"I am sick of calling this recklessness the law"
Pretty straightforward. Despite the ideals of equal protection under the law, black and brown folks are disproportionately treated with suspicion and treated like criminals (e.g. Stop & Frisk Law).
"Abracadaver, white-bred voodoo"
Brilliant play on words here.
"Why does it always have to be about race? Because you made it that way"
You want to educate yourself about the origin of the concept of race? Look at the medical experiments/studies done trying to identify "the black gene." Research the difference between American slavery (based on "race") and ancient slavery (based on economics). Hell, look up European imperialism/colonialism, and you'll find your answers.
"How much time do you want for your 'progress'"
I assume the poet is addressing the myth that we live in a post-racial society and that over time, racism is lessened.
"This New Testament, this new story, you cannot see or touch or ruin. This, if only this one, is ours."
Simply put, the winners/victors write history. Art is a way the oppressed, marginalized, or silenced can write their own stories.
This is raw and real and hurt. You hear it, close your eyes and you feel it. He's speaking for himself, but the emotion transcends the 13% of America we blacks are. This is perhaps one of the best pieces of prose and poetry I have ever heard.
To be honest, I probably would have been offended by this piece not too long ago. I would have quickly dismissed it as the angry ranting of a man who was too sensitive or too jaded to see reality. Now, as the white mother of a biracial teenager who is growing into a wonderful young man, I have had to have too many conversations with my son about how to stay safe, about how important it is to stay away from anyone who is making any kind of trouble because unfortunately, his skin and his hair will be the first things too many teachers and too many police officers will see when they walk into a place where something bad is happening or has happened. I have seen the news from too many places where young boys' lives have been taken for no reason other than their skin color made them suspicious or threatening or problematic.
It's so easy to listen to this piece and to immediately be offended, but like most things, maybe if we could all just stop talking and listen to it and consider what is being said, we could learn something about each other and begin to see things from a perspective that we don't all share. You don't have to like it, but if I had to hazard a guess, I would say many of the people commenting here are so personally offended because they see the truth in what is being said. This clearly isn't an attack on individual people; it is a comment on "White America" as a whole (Did you see the title?), and if you are here to argue that this description isn't an accurate reflection of that, you are either blind or you aren't paying attention.
i was clenching onto my bed sheets for dear life during this entire poem.
fuck the emotion in his voice had me in tears.
one of my favorites.
"There are no amber alerts for the amber skin girls" I couldn't resist from applauding when he said that.
I'm learning more from button poetry than o have EVER learned in my 16 years of education and that is very VERY saddening because I have wasted 16 years of my life reading black history from the point of view of a white man. Black history from whitewashed textbooks. And now I am having to unlearn the sugarcoating and lies and learn the real stuff and the stuff they "forgot" to mention. But just know I will make damn sure that when I have kids of my own their time won't be wasted like mine was
(Edit: Please read to the bottom... YT put "read more" in the worst place possible!)
I think the reason there are so many non-black people getting frustrated over this video is because there's an increasing number of allies on the outside of these issues now. I personally stand against overall prejudice for many groups I'm not personally a part of, whether it's aimed at someone's race, sex, gender, country of origin, citizenship status, sexual orientation, etc. So it's admittedly a little jarring when I'm grouped together with the same ignorant people I argue against on a daily basis.
BUT what listeners need to understand is that in order for art like this to start a constructive dialogue, it HAS to be jarring. If he were to say "some white people" it would be too easy for those that aren't classic "text book bigots" to excuse themselves from the message. So don't take it as a personal attack; understand that it's in the interest of the bigger picture, and focus your energy on our common goals for equality for everyone.
This is such a well thought out comment! Thank you so much!
Perfectly put!!
But by addressing all white people together you just raise race tensions and cause more issues than you fix.
PREACH!!!
People so pressed in these comments, they must be the people who believe we live in a post racial society..
Most of them are white people who are too ignorant to understand basic concepts. Or they were feeling guilty and lashed out lol
***** Do you honestly believe that using ableist slurs are gonna get you anywhere? I hope you don't reproduce.
***** Again, do you honestly believe using ableist slurs are going to get you anywhere?
💙💙💙
when he quoted James A. Baldwin at 2:29-2:38 😩😩😩😩
Good observation, i would have missed the reference He is even better in performance than on the page of that is possible.
i want to unread half of these comments
Perspective appreciated. Sometimes it easy to forget what others go through on a daily basis when it's not happening to you in particular. It's not easy to listen to, someone coming down on your entire race, but it's a necessity, to bring (even just to a few) perspective, understanding. I know I do try to empathize and be kind to everyone I meet. I can understand how that's not enough. I don't know if anything ever will be. Kudos for some great poetry here.
This man's anger is valid.
@Nova Ignorance is a choice. And a bad one at that. In case that isn't clear, Nova; get less dumb.
@yeah its really sad that you call this mans genuine anger of being black on a planet that caters to white people, “cringey” you are just contributing to the problem
I listened to this poem and then scrolled through the comments, and for the first time CZcams really got to me. I burst out crying. Calling this poem racist? How ignorant do you get. The fact that you could ignore the words in this poem and instead see it as a personal attack makes visible the back pack full of privileges white people carry around but refuse to acknowledge. I am a black girl in a white mans world trying to make it my own, I grew up around people telling me I was pretty for a black girl, watching young boys die who could have simply been detained, and having my history mocked and laughed at by my white counterparts. And they say racism is over in America. You all make me so completely sick.
Wow. As a white American with a very clear understanding of just how much privilege I am handed every day, I sit with moist eyes, overwhelmed with emotion. Thank you for your powerful share, Mr. Smith.
I teach in a school where the various "gaps" are frightening and growing. I see the results of entrenched poverty, lost opportunities, and harsh realities. Working to be the best ally I can be, the best teacher I can be, and to just be able to see and hear each student's story. If I truly believe that every student can be uplifted and transformed by what I've been granted the opportunity to share, then it becomes of primary importance to find out how to engage "every" student - which means meeting each where they are. And my experience is that POC (and people of the LGBTQ communities) have very different experiences of what school is about, what America is about, what life is about, than I have ever been confronted with. The best I can do is to first listen, and do my best to hear…
oh my God, this has me in tears.
@yeah yeah. At the police brutality and racial prejudice so prevalent it lives on seven years after the poet wrote this. And so blinding in its horror you can’t help but want to scream
Danez, don't stop what you are doing. YOU ARE AMAZING AND BRAVE. Thank you for your voice. You are a KING.
i got the wind knocked out of me with this one holy shit
"Abracadavar. White-Bread Voodoo."
I'm crying again.
more relevant today for sure. this poem is priceless
Today is November 9, 2016. Today Donald Trump will be president. Today this poem is more relevant than it ever has been in my lifetime.
Jocelyn Billheimer pres elect
Akeyla Agossou-Houeto oh **TODAY he's president
Pls don't remind me
Anger, awareness, injustice, and intelligence make for some great poetry. Keep on.
This was food to my soul. Thank you brother for your words of truth. They will never begin to understand our pain, because that would require a hard look in the mirror at the evil of their actions.
forever one of my favourites. was speechless the first time i heard it and i'm still speechless now.
Powerful piece - paced well and a stable imagery with the space metaphor. Painful. Incredibly relevant currently. But I could have said that three months ago, or a year ago, or five, or six, twenty, forty - I really wish I could stop. I'm looking forward to the day when I can watch something like this and say 'it was relevant for its time'. I'm almost stupidly hopeful that some day someone can watch this and say 'I can't believe it used to be this way'. I'm not bouyed in this hope by the comments section. Danez Smith - snaps, sir.
Poems like this give me a different outlook on things and makes me realize that most of these things are true..
Danez Smith is incredible, one of my favorite modern poets. An honor to listen to this.
I really just had to come back here today after yet another black man was killed. I don't know if I came for affirmation or just to let someone articulate anger I feel. Either way here we are again...
carpe_diem Same!
his energy and emotion is off the chart this was amaaaaaaazing !!!!
I had, like, a weird awareness of existing outwardly for a second. Damn. So good.
This brought me to tears. It was amazing, don't ever stop
*snapping forever* *clapping to the end of time* the power, the truth, the sadness
Thank you. Amazing. I'm in tears. Truth is spoken.
I watch this wayy too much ive been here like three or four years
Wow! Its like my entire life experience, in poetic prose! Just pure raw emotion! Brilliant!
Every hair on both arms has been awaken by your beautiful words delivered with such conviction. And they will forever remember to stand up and fight against injustice in our world so you can come back to it and we can all live together as equals and be at peace because everyone finally fucking gets it, just as you do! That was BRILLIANTLY AMAZING!
This is incredible. Had to watch three times in a row.
I don't know why tears role down my eyes watching this!!
I am moved and love his powtry
Loved every word👏🏾😌
cried through it all. beautiful.
This just gave me chills all over
"Until then, I bid you well. I bid you war. I bid you our lives to gamble with no more." Wow! This is powerful stuff.
The emotion and delivery of this poem was amazing. He's right, none of this would be about race of whites didn't make it about race. Don't want people to play the race card then don't fucking hand it to them.
Preach!!👏🏾👏🏾👌🏾🙏🏽
Veronica Bradford BOOM!
maybe burn the fucking race card in the first place.
that was truly amazing, the whole time I was watching this I was just speechless
Thank you!!! Thank you for articulating this message with such a eloquence. It is important to understand many will NEVER truly listen to the message however I count this message to be successful if just one person black or white thought to themselves when is enough, enough.
Thank u again!
I'm a little late to this party but well said. Enough was a long damn time ago. Pretty much day 1.
Very powerful poem and delivery. And seeing the first comments, I've decided to not dig further into what people have written about the video and leave on a very good impression.
The most powerful 3 minutes of poetry I've ever experienced.
I love poetry, a poet and I love besides writing reading and listening to poetry
these types of poems are for awareness and educational purposes, he as an African american man cannot be racist to another Caucasian man, why? because we did not create racial categories so therefore.....
***** Well lets see, Black people have been in america for practically as long as white people yet we've had one black president, our communities are being gentrified and children are being taught that their lives don't matter. The answer to your question is when we get what we deserve and when we've reaped the benefits of this land just as much as white people have.
Samuel Epicurus That's a pretty ignorant comment.It's clear you know nothing but the textbook definition of gentrification and don't really get the effects it has on the current residents. Let me just let you in on a little known fact, gentrification does not help them. ESPECIALLY when these new residents are constantly looking at them as if they are ghetto trash that is dirtying up their hip, new neighborhood. But honestly, I think maybe you should try to see things from another's point of view, because yours is obviously a bit warped by your privilege.
That's the point. You may be unaware of this, but most people in those poor, low-income neighborhoods are renters. I'm sure you will have no problem finding facts to back that up. So sure, it helps home owners but that's a small percentage in most cases. So while the property values do increase, so do rental rates.
And yes, I am aware of one of the few benefits to the former residents. But unfortunately, my previous statements still stand. I'd love to see how those kids get to stay in those schools once their parents are all but forced out of their neighborhoods by high rent prices and economic change. I don't care who's doing it, black or white. If you have no concern for other people live's being affected negatively by your business, then you are a bad person. Simple. I would say the same for any race in any other similar situation.
I am all for the diversifying of neighborhoods, being raised in a diverse city myself but it would prove to be much more beneficial if the gentrifiers felt the need to embrace and coexist with the already existing culture, instead of simply replacing it with their own. Don't claim you're making everyone's lives so much better while simultaneously socially marginalizing them.
Also, when I said your privilege, I didn't mean as a white person, I simply meant as a person who has only experienced the "good" that gentrification does and instead of listening to someone else's plight, you dismiss it a us victimizing ourselves.You called me racist, but you've seemed to make a lot of wrong assumptions. I'm gonna follow your lead and assume it's because i'm black? You assumed I'm here blaming white people for all of my problems. The only thing I feel the need to "blame" white people (obviously not all of them) for is their willful ignorance.
I am not looking for something or someone to blame, and unlike your comparison, this is not some natural occurrence that can't be resolved. Gentrification could be wonderful if it were done right, with better intentions. In a way that the benefits can be enjoyed proportionately and don't cause social and racial tension. But that isn't going to happen if people only look into the way it effects them and are quick to take criticisms as outright hate and jump to the defense.
***** Well America prides itself on being the land of equal opportunity, so why should I not expect to have the same benefits? And you want to go there about the glass being half full? Its not. of the 44 Presidents, there has only been one president of color, in other words in 43/44 empty. The fact that there hasn't been a native american president is a comment on how deplorable this country truly is when it comes to non white people. Also, Swedish people are white people and do not have anything to do with the exclusion of people of color in this country.
***** Crimes against white people are usually not classified as hate crimes unless they are based on another factor other than race. i.e. religion, gender, sexual orientation. Which is wrong because anyone is capable of hatred for any reason. The other issue is that prejudice against white people isn't classified as racism because it does not fit the definition of racism.
I needed this in light of recent events 😫😭😻
Wow. Just...wow. This was awakening. Truly awakening.
Danez gives me chills everytime.
Preach!!! I really want to hug this guy right now!!
Damn! I am speechless after that.
This is so perfect. So beautiful.
I'm so... yessssss... Yes... I'm sorry but I just can't deal with how good this was. That just made me cry a little thank you so much for this.
I'm utterly impressed by his passion
This poem is beautiful, thank you.
I love Danez's work, so genius.
CHILLS. MY GOOSEBUMPS HAD GOOSEBUMPS.
Amazing and powerful! This is poetry!
Not that color matters much to me, it's the topic of discussion here. I've heard a few things Danez has done and he seems to be an extremely passionate poet. At first I was slightly taken back, I'll admit. But after a second listen and "reading in between the lines," if you will, this message becomes more "moving." To those taken back by this, don't just hear to what he says, actually LISTEN and reflect on the overall message. I'm not going to pretend like I understand the struggle, because the fact is I won't and never will. BUT I do get the message that he is displaying in this poem. If some of you are still mad then you're missing the point and should move on. As good as this poem is, I do hope that one day there won't be a need for a poem such as this.
Just my insight I guess.
I love this man.
favorite poem.
This is amazing.
I live for this dude
Wow, just wow. Beautiful
This was so good.
"There are no amber alerts for the amber-skinned girls..."
That line has me thinking deep....
This is one of my favorite so far. Yall go deep
This is incredible. Well done.
Amazing! Essential! Congratulations, fellah! CAMEMPA (Paciência Memory House) thanks you!!!
This poem took me to church!
This is amazing. This poem is just beautiful.
"black boys have always been too loud to live" --> that line 😲
keep up the good work in you
This poem is my solace because I live in a world where I can't be honest about this stuff so I'll hang on to the words of peoples who can be
I was there!!!
great delivery.....
This just became my new favorite thing ever.
He hit on some crucial stuff here!
this aged well unfortunately...its still very much relevant
And always will be, unfortunately
This is so amazing!!!
Favourite poem ever
I had to lean back a second and just say yes.👏🏿
How can there be 240 thumbs down!? This is power! And this is damn relevant NOW!!!
It’s not power it’s generalizing all white people and screaming into a mic
@@ilikelebronjames6426 hes not talking about white people, hes talking about the problem of our system that white people may perpetuate sometimes.
@@ilikelebronjames6426 hes not just straight attacking all white people, only you are applying it to that. probably for a subconscious reason that u already know
I bid u our lives to gamble with no more...stunning x
Amazing!
This is pure genius!
This spoken word piece is powerful