Florida Atlantic University Black National Identity Discussion

I’m working on a communications writing question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

Dawson begins by identifying two different perspectives on Black politics. Toni Morrison argues, “It is clear . . . that black people think differently from one another; it is also clear that the time for undiscriminating racial unity has passed.” Charles Henry, an African-American Studies professor at UC-Berkeley, disagrees. He says that “the loss of a national black identity” is “a bad thing,” and that “we must seek to present alternative values and goals” to the way things are “as forcefully as possible.”(Qtd in Dawson 200)

This is an interesting and important question for public sphere scholars. In talking about something like, “the Black public” or “the women’s public” do you assume, along with Henry, that everyone in that public should agree on a set of basic assumptions about what issues concern the public and what we should ask for? Or do you agree with Morrison, that some of the people that we might think of as publics or counterpublics don’t, and shouldn’t, agree with each other about what problems exist and how they should be solved. How have things changed since Dawson wrote this in 1994?

Remember, you can discuss any or all of the questions posed in the module or you can discuss something else that you found interesting in the reading. Discussion posts should be your original ideas that identify important concepts from the readings. You shouldn’t quote or paraphrase extensively, except to point out what aspect of the articles you are commenting on. Discussion posts should deal with the course reading for each week, and not general observations on the public sphere or material you have read in other classes. Material quoted from the readings should total no more than 10% of a discussion post and should include an accurate reference to the source (author and page number). Original posts should explore an issue in some depth, so they should be at least 200 words.

You should also reply to at least one post by your colleagues. Replies can be shorter (50-75 words, minimum), but should indicate that you have read and thought about the material and the post to which you are replying. Replies can, of course, be longer if you have more to say to each other.