One thing that I have been thinking about since our discussion on Zora Hurston was the fact that she didn’t support conventional religion, specifically catholicism & christianity. From her point of view it is understandable as to why she opposes christianity, however, given her background and how her life turned out, I think it would’ve been beneficial for her to turn to some form of religion. I think her dislike of christianity was partially fueled by her resentment towards white people (amongst other personal views), but part of the reason I feel it could have been beneficial is because religion can be used as a tool to build communities.
Specifically speaking towards the Renaissance and Radicalism article, after learning about the Harlem Renaissance and some of the trials and tribulations that black people went through in redefining the “negro identity”, black people were represented by many great figures but at times it seemed like they were not on common ground. For example, when the Irish were integrating within America they were very unified. From the jobs they participated in, to the messages they wanted to portray to the public. Irish nationalist organizations were formed based on their catholic background, and that allowed them to have a social & political presence within different communities. With that being said, if you look at the NAACP, although there was a common goal to ensure the rights of colored people, they are fighting a battle of color, and it would’ve benefited them to “change” the narrative. To a country that “claims” to value christian and catholic beliefs, if they would have taken the stance of being united based on their similar religious values, I think it would have made black people more unified and make it harder for the opposition to challenge them on the basis of color.
Although there have been many great black leaders, they all approached black nationalism from different angles. Yes the ultimate goal may have been the same, but the steps to get there were too different. Christianity doesn’t have to be the religion that unites them, but when you have some blacks that are Christian, some that are muslim, and some that are non-believers, they are inevitably going to run into a problem. It is easy to oppress people when they are divided amongst themselves.
I think that you make a great point when you mention that it is easier to oppress a divided people. I am not sure, however, that a unified religion would have helped the black community in their quest to define the negro identity. Religion is a tool used to build communities, but it was also employed by slave owners to oppress their slaves. Adopting the religion or similar beliefs of the oppressor certainly is a type of conformity to the box that their oppressors put them in.
Do you think that there are other points on which the blacks could have unified besides religion? There a lot of things that blacks “could” have done to try and fit in, but would they really have worked? I feel as though their “opposition” would have just shifted their terms in order to keep them down.