UMOJA hosts talk by journalist Touré

What does it mean to be black in the 21st century?

MSNBC correspondent, Rolling Stone contributing editor and music journalist Touré spoke at this year’s UMOJA Week closing event.

“I want to talk about how you can occupy the future,” he said, “how you can deal with one of the hardest things you will have to deal with in your life: racism.”

After reading excerpts from his recently released book Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness? What It Means to be Black Now, Touré concluded that the most racist experiences are “unknowable,” such as opportunities that never manifest themselves, things that happen behind closed doors.

“You can’t say ‘that is racist’ because you will immediately lose the game,” he said. The best strategies to cope with racism, Touré said, include identifying role models, having confidence and being aware of stereotype threat — the fear of fulfilling negative expectations.

College senior and Penn NAACP president Megan Reed said that the goal of the event was to discuss the concept of “post-blackness” abstractly and tangibly. “[It’s about] what we want to see accomplished and how to accomplish it.”

The audience of approximately 40 people responded with questions, requesting his opinion on the modern “Magical Negro,” a black character in movies and literature that often serves as a stepping stone for a white protagonist.

They also asked about President Obama, whom Touré believes had the advantage of being light-skinned and lacking the historical “baggage” of growing up in a black family.

Although he believes that the President’s non-threatening appearance influenced the election, he credits him with being a “genius” who embarked in a 20-year journey to become the first black president.

Wharton freshman Christina Hardison enjoyed the event and said that she “learned a lot … about trying to come to terms with what blackness means in 2012.”

College junior Afiya Romeo, on the other hand, disagreed with some of his points. “He seems like a person who doesn’t let things blow him under the rug,” she said.

“He brought up challenging points, but I don’t know if I agree with all of them, like colorism. I thought that was too far-fetched,” said Romeo referring to the author’s opinion that different shades of black receive different levels of racism. College junior and Penn NAACP treasurer Adrienne Edwards, who was instrumental in bringing the author to Penn as this year’s Sankofa speaker, said, “He is young and has an established presence in social media and TV, which can resonate with the community more so than an academic can.”

Although she would have wanted to see more people at the event, she liked that those present were engaged in the discussion.

UMOJA Week is an annual event that seeks to embody “sankofa,” a term that means looking into the past to build a better future.

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