(Un)Apologetically (Un)American
Kimberly Springer
I've been in the thick of contemplating what it means for African Americans to be Americans. I'm in the midst of teaching a Black Feminist Theory course and mostly, I've assigned readings from Beverly Guy-Sheftall's crucial anthology Words of Fire: African American Feminist Thought. As much as I attest that Black feminists have something to say on every topic and should not, therefore, be marginalized to only addressing race or gender issues, I've been having trouble figuring out a contemporary Black feminist position on being an American. Figuring out a black feminist position on the U.S.'s attack on Iraq was simple: racist, white supremacy unchecked. But, figuring out a Black feminist position on MY GOVERNMENT's attack on Iraq was a different matter. I spent way too much time sending apologetic emails overseas to friends: "It's not my fault! I didn't vote for him! I'm sorry I voted for Nader! Please send election monitors!"

I never tried to claim America as mine. Yet, if I constantly tell my students that we cannot talk about "society" as if we are not a part of it, how can I hover around the outskirts of American foreign and domestic policy, picking at the carcass of democracy like a needy vulture?

Can't do it anymore. It's simply not feasible for me to walk around like a radical without a cause because in the words of 19th century black women writing about gender, I find an unequivocal dedication to asserting the American citizenship of newly freed African Americans. Women such as Anna Julia Cooper and Maria Stewart not only critiqued the hypocrisy of this country, but also called for democracy, the vote and human treatment. Underlying their words is simply idealism: the hope that white America would live up to the ideals espoused in its foundational documents. Regardless of whether those documents actually included enslaved Africans, 19th century black women intellectuals remind me that America is nothing if not a young, dynamic country. They demanded inclusion and did so unapologetically.

As soon as I heard George W. Bush's comic book rhetoric of "You are either with us or against us" I had an epiphany: if I didn't want to claim America before, well dammit, I want to claim it now. However, in looking for allies in this reclaiming of America, I'm encountering milquetoast, weepy, forever-apologizing leftists and so-called progressives.

Here's what I recommend: those of us who truly care about democracy, a woman's right to choose, antiracism, pro-sex, working class and the impoverished need to stop apologizing, stop reacting and start shaping the debate to our advantage.

Conservatives want to call you "pro-abortion?" Try this response, "Yeah? So what?" Anarchists want to break some windows at the anti-war march and someone is worried about how the peace movement will look in the media? Big deal. The Consolidated Media is going to make us look like a bunch of hippies lost in time anyway. People with "Support the Troops---Bring Them Home" placards, frankly, make me sick. Real support of the troops would be ensuring that men who've been trained to kill don't return home and slaughter their families at Fort Bragg.

It's time to stop letting conservatives define the debate. Stop trying to reframe crap propaganda. Believe me: conservatives have an endless "bait the liberal" playbook. If we don't get proactive and exercise to our right to dissent---the principle American value---we should resign ourselves to always putting out fires. Take a cue from James Baldwin, the late great Nina Simone, Aaron McGruder's The Boondocks, and the Dixie Chicks (who I loved before Natalie's comments and who I love even more now for sticking to their convictions): let's start some fires of our own.

Kimberly Springer teaches American Studies at King's College in London.

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