A student once asked me this question. As a prelude to my answer, I
had him read the following passage from Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man:
"Brothers and sisters, my text this morning is the 'blackness' of 'blackness'."
Seemingly coming out of a deep sleep, the student asked, "What does this mean?" I answered, "It means what it says and says what it means." Now, frustrated, he asked me, "What does race have to do with architecture?" I answered, "Black is and black ain't . . . everything and nothing." Now, visibly upset with me and my response, he asked, "What does your blackness have to do with architecture?" I answered, giving him a more specific example, "Ask your Mama." He looked at me, the scales falling from his eyes, and said, "Oh! I understand. You mean, like, 'What did I do to become so black and blue?' " I answered, "Monkey see, monkey do."
Darell W. Fields |