The Dichotomy of Black Consciousness
By Rodion
4/5
()
About this ebook
Written during his senior year of college, Rodion’s 2011 thesis inquires into the dilemmas faced during the maturation of the black male in America through the examination of events in his own life as well as the review of literature by authors such as Carter G. Woodson, W.E.B. Dubois, Na’im Akbar, and Frederick Douglass. The Dichotomy of Black Consciousness juxtaposes the experience of the athlete with that of the academic, and analyzes the relationship between the two in order to uncover the true nature of the dichotomy and better understand the self as a whole.
Rodion
Having been influenced by a diverse collection of artists, ranging from legendary hip-hop duo OutKast to famed literary author and playwright James Baldwin, self-published author Rodion ventured into writing as a means to explore truth, develop and refine ideas, and break down barriers—all through the art of storytelling. To learn more, visit www.whoisrodion.com
Related to The Dichotomy of Black Consciousness
Related ebooks
The Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey: Or, Africa for the Africans Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cultivating Minds To Own Thyself Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Educational Philosophy of Elijah Muhammad: Education for a New World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Envy of the World: On Being a Black Man in America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Garvey and Garveyism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Liberation of the African Mind: The Key to Black Salvation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mis-Education of the Negro Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAfrica's Gift to America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Say It Loud!: Great Speeches on Civil Rights and African American Identity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCan the Black Man Rule Himself? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConspiracy to Destroy Black Women Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Emancipation of a Black Atheist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5New Day in Babylon: The Black Power Movement and American Culture, 1965-1975 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5From Superman to Man Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings365 Black Nuggets: Wisdom for Each Day of the Year Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlackcentricity: How Ancient Black Cultures Created Civilization. Revealing the Truth that White Supremacy Denied Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPhilosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Nation within a Nation: Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) and Black Power Politics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Afrocentric Idea Revised Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Afeni Shakur: Evolution Of A Revolutionary Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The God-Science Of Black Power Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pan-Africanism: Political Philosophy and Socio-Economic Anthropology for African Liberation and Governance: Vol 3. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDie Nigger Die!: A Political Autobiography of Jamil Abdullah al-Amin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Intellectual Thought in Modern America: A Historical Perspective Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Negro Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Black Panther Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5African Humanity: Shaking Foundations: a Sociological, Theological, Psychological Study Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Say It Plain: A Century of Great African American Speeches Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Genius: Inspirational Portraits of African-American Leaders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Discrimination & Race Relations For You
The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row (Oprah's Book Club Selection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Men We Reaped: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Thick: And Other Essays Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Humanity Archive: Recovering the Soul of Black History from a Whitewashed American Myth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Critical Race Theory: The Cutting Edge Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Systemic Racism 101: A Visual History of the Impact of Racism in America Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race: The Sunday Times Bestseller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Communion: The Female Search for Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Salvation: Black People and Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics (And Everything Else) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Diversity Delusion: How Race and Gender Pandering Corrupt the University and Undermine Our Culture Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Skin, White Masks Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5God Is a Black Woman Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The End of White World Supremacy: Four Speeches Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Boy [Seventy-fifth Anniversary Edition] Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Blood of Emmett Till Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Origin of Others Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Say the Right Thing: How to Talk About Identity, Diversity, and Justice Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5James Baldwin: A Biography Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Talking Back, Talking Black: Truths About America's Lingua Franca Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Letter to a Bigot: Dead But Not Forgotten Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary and Analysis of Between the World and Me: Based on the Book by Ta-Nehisi Coates Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Black Fortunes: The Story of the First Six African Americans Who Escaped Slavery and Became Millionaires Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Dichotomy of Black Consciousness
2 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
The Dichotomy of Black Consciousness - Rodion
Foreword: In View of Janus
For all the love and affection in their wondrous, little hearts, I don’t think children can possibly appreciate their parents as much as they should—granted, we as adults do not seem to be much better at it (if we be better at all). Adults, at the very least, have escaped the level of ignorance that causes them to view a parent as their often/sometimes/rarely considerate warden—and anyone who has not yet done so cannot rightfully claim to have grown up, no matter their age. I recall there being a multitude of practices my parents used while raising me that I promised myself I would never use with my children. Though I do not have children at the moment, I do have every intention of breaking the majority of those promises when the time comes.
In my pre-adolescent years, if there was one thing I considered more unjust about my upbringing than anything else, it was likely how meticulous and obsessive my mother could be concerning my schoolwork. To my memory, the madness began the very moment I started to bring home graded assignments. When I brought home anything below an A
(and the only other grade I would dare walk into that house with was a B
), she would have me sit down and redo the entire thing. If I got a low grade on an assignment and took the time to correct it, there was a slim chance my teacher would change the grade to that of the revised version—or at least an average of the two; but even when that was not the case, my repeated attempts at reasoning with my mother and my subsequent pleas for mercy only served to prolong the inevitable. I had committed the crime, I was well aware of the sentence, and there was to be no pardon.
At the time, it seemed an absurdly pointless and tyrannical punishment, and it was not until I had long since given up trying to make sense of it that I began to recognize the patterns that followed. The first thing I came to realize was that most of my mistakes were not due to a lack of understanding concerning the topic, but a lapse of concentration or attention to detail—a valuable life lesson alone. The second, and far more important, lesson was that the questions I answered wrong on the first go-round and corrected on the second became the questions I was least likely to ever answer wrong again. So it was that I became conscious of the importance of learning from one’s mistakes, as well as the benefits it yielded. So it was that I learned how weaknesses—or, perhaps more accurately, flaws—could be remade into strengths.
Unfortunately, I also made the mistake of divulging this humbling realization to my mother, and, considering how adamant and headstrong I was in my debates with her, I doubt she has any intention of ever letting me live it down. Of course, that is a small price to pay for the realization that if one intends to fly, one must expect one or two or a lifetime of falls, and be willing to learn from them. Alas, it would seem the aforementioned is a mistake I have yet to learn from, for I must now confess that my mother—no longer my warden, but forever my sage—is also the only reason I remained in the Honors program throughout college, and my being in the Honors College required I write a senior thesis. Thus, in 2011 The Dichotomy of Black Consciousness was born.
A labyrinth of various circumstances (It is always a labyrinth, is it not?) ranging from wonderful to heartbreaking prompted my rereading it earlier this month, for the first time in at least five years. Overall, it was a strange, bittersweet endeavor. I enjoyed taking the trip down memory lane and reexamining