Riffing on one of my favorite childhood books/animated films:
Isn’t it great
That I articulate?
Isn’t it grand
That you can understand?
I don’t grunt, I don’t oink
I don’t even squeak or squawk
When I wanna say a something
I open up and talk!
Joe Biden’s recent gaffe is not as innocent or poorly thought out as some people may believe. In fact, calling a person of African descent “articulate” is probably one of the most damning and limiting critiques you can level at a person. It is an incredibly racialized comment, and while some folks of the Caucasian persuasion may think that it is an innocent and well-meant compliment, their continued use of the term to describe (highly) educated African Americans clearly reveals their low expectations and not-quite hidden prejudices.
As someone who has been told that she reminds white folks of Oprah Winfrey, Condoleezza Rice, Patti LaBelle, and Carole Moseley Braun, I can’t convey just how weary these comparisons make me. It is as if for these people, my rhetorical and verbal skills make me a rare breed. I’m that ‘one in a million’ black woman who can get her point across clearly — I can “articulate”, in other words — and this quality delights white people so, that they simply must remark on my talents.
If you’re confused about whether you should use this word to describe a Black person, Lynette Clemetson offers these handy tips for you to consider before you open your mouth and insert your well-shod foot:
Do not use it as the primary attribute of note for a black person if you would not use it for a similarly talented, skilled or eloquent white person. Do not make it an outsized distinction for Brown University’s president, Ruth Simmons, if you would not for the University of Michigan’s president, Mary Sue Coleman. Do not make it the sole basis for your praise of the actor Forest Whitaker if it would never cross your mind to utter it about the expressive Peter O’Toole.
Well said, indeed.
