Assimilationism and Respectability Politics, perhaps the same theory when bound to the black body, are both relative to the concept Dr. W.E.B DuBois coined as “double consciousness”. However, his claim “One ever feels his twoness, — an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder,” can be thought of as dueling consciousness, the constant awareness of living as an “other,” in a society made upon your suffering. 

The concept of racial standards is the groundwork for assimilationism, which in turn is the foundation for Respectability Politics. Assimilation is the idea that people of color can be developed to possess the culture and behavior that White people, those on top of the power structure, deem “civilized” or “acceptable.” Respectability politics is a modern form of this, defined as a strategy one uses to present themselves to reject black stereotypes. Or, in simpler terms; acting in a manner that is associated as “white.”

The impression that behaving in a manner associated with white people is the appropriate way to act reinforces racist, sexist, and assimilationist notions. The idea that people of color, namely black people, need to use their black body to act in a way different than their normal behavior in order to gain respect, insinuates that the only correct way to act is the way white people do, “respectfully.” 

The black body can only be described as a “body [that] can be taken away from you easily, and with little consequence.” – Ta-Nehisi Coates. In his groundbreaking novel “Between the World and Me,” Coates crafts a letter parallel to that of James Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time,” both being composed of letters to their descendants, providing them with a guide and commentary on being black in America.

So often do we see people inadvertently adhering to the standards that respectability politics creates. Black women straightening their hair for a job interview, black people completely rejecting the culture that their ancestors spent centuries building and maintaining throughout hardship, because it makes them more appealing to white people, and therefore the industry. The pressing need to prove that racial inequity exists because black people are not following the ideals of what it means to be “civilized,” also comes with some acting to disprove the theory that black people are inferior. This begs the question, What makes someone respectable? Which part of the black body, the black body so valued and necessary to society, is not respectable? Why is the black body, the foundation, the builder, the creator of this country, this society, not “respectable?” Even removed from assimilationist ideas, this concept is fundamentally racist and disrespectful to all aspects of black life. 

It may seem distant and difficult to connect this issue to you or your life, but it is all around you, it is in our school. The issue is clear right here in McCaskey, it is clear in the constant demand for teachers of color in a school that hosts so much diversity. The issue starts right here, in school. Students grow up and are taught that they are less than because they behave a certain way and because of this, they will never amount to anything. Respectability politics is holding students back. It is telling students that durags are unacceptable. It is students being dress coded for a matter as simple as how they wear their hair. What gives people the right to not only maintain but preach the belief that their culture is superior while claiming that we have moved past the era of social darwinism? It persists in the school system; an outdated relic of global culture that is holding students back. It is blocking a new generation of educators from developing because students are taught that they are not good enough, so why try? Cultural understanding is not present enough for this issue to be resolved, but progress such as the introduction of certain classes like African American Literature and Multicultural studies are evidence that it is on the horizon. The addition of these classes is not providing evidence that “black lives matter,” a redundant statement if you ask me- but pushing the narrative that history is not eurocentric, in fact, it is anything but. The black body continues to defy what we have been taught to be true. It survives, regardless.