Jake Baker Dr.

Mass English 1102 9/19/13

The Redemption of Liberty

Many like to think of this country as a sort of beacon, a shining city that sits perched on a hill forever emanating the ideals of the enlightenment. There is arguably no more iconic representation of these ideals than the statue of liberty, the colossus that once welcomed scores of immigrants traveling to Ellis Island. However, many such as these would soon learn that America is not so American as it would claim to be. Some might wonder if the face of Liberty were not petrified in stone, if perhaps she were personified in the most literal sense, what might be her reaction upon encountering the nation that pretends to be her progenitor. Figuratively, this scenario is what Wright attempts to convey in 12 Million Black Voices. One might find the above picture to bear a striking resemblance to the portrait he himself paints, of Americas Liberty. At once a poignant rendition of African-American history, 12 Million Black Voices can be understood to an even greater extent as a philosophical treatise. In his most famous work, Richard Wright indicates the gross inconsistency that is evident in the application of American ideology. Somewhat more subtly, he implies that this arises from the innate incompatibility of the two cornerstones of American thought, individual liberty and capitalism. Specifically, he makes the case that the former is detrimentally affected by the latter. His argument is presented in a real-life context as seen in the plight of the black population throughout American history. Through the story of their oppression, he challenges the validity of American ideals, and in doing so aims to propel the position of African-Americans in society.

Made evident early on is the obvious contradiction to the notion of individual liberty that is manifest in the early history of black enslavement. Wright explains the stark hypocrisy of early American society: Against the feudal background of denials of love and happiness, the trade in our bodies bred god-like men who exalted honor, enthroned impulse, glorified aspiration, celebrated individuality, and fortified the human heart to strive against the tyrannical forms of nature and to bend obstreperous materials closer to a mold that would slake human desire (Wright 16). Here capitalism is conveyed as a stumbling block on the path to true liberty. In this context, the application of capitalism reduces this central ideal, so far as it suggests the right of one to pursue happiness, yet via the exploitation of another. In other words, this idealistic promise of liberty is in actuality being superseded by the lust of a materialist culture. Right thus challenges the premise of liberty as the crux of American society. What logically follows is the question of how exactly American flavored notions of freedom and the rights of man constitute the great humanistic improvement that conventional history suggests. The reality of slave history undercuts the idea of an America that was founded on absolute principles, replacing it with one of moral relativism. To evoke the words of Right, it is a nation of godlike men who strove against the tyrannical forms of nature by which they themselves were oppressed, only to instill there own system of tyranny against others, specifically African-Americans.

However, Wright does not make this point without also mentioning how America might be redeemed. Further, he asserts that its redemption is intrinsically

linked to the fate of African-Americans. To Right, history exemplifies a sort of cyclical metaphor. Regarding this idea he says, We black folk, our history and our present being, are a mirror of the manifold experiences of America. What we want, what we represent, what we endure is what America is. If we black folk perish, America will perish( 146). Here, what Wright is saying is that although the American ideal was reduced by the system of slavery and African-American oppression in America, this system created a context in which the true American spirit might be expressed. He claims that the relatively short history of AfricanAmericans can be thought of as symbolizing the manifold experiences of the white Americans who fled oppression throughout hundreds of years in feudal Europe. As such, they embody the hopes and desires that lie at the heart of American idealism. Right is thus implying that the acceptance of African-Americans into contemporary society would complete a circle of liberty that would be the culmination of American ideals, and that would create a society that truly embodies the tenant, all men are created equal.

The question that keeps being revisited in class is whether or not the picture Wright paints of the African-American situation is one that is ultimately dismal or optimistic. As explained above, the answer to this question is that 12 Million Black Voices is a work that is realistic. It implores white society to make drastic changes, yet is not worded in such a blatantly hopeful way as to suggest that such changes will me made over night. The attitude of many towards race issues today is one that mirrors this sober realism. Though the extent of human rights and individual liberty

continues to be amended to this day, one might still ask if the societal transition of African-Americans is one that Wight might think adequate. There has been doubtless improvement. However, it seems as if the message of 12 Million Black Voices, the call for American society to pursue a more complete and ubiquitous form of liberty, is still relevant today.

Works Cited:

Wright, Richard, and Edwin Rosskam. 12 Million Black Voices. New York: Thunder's Mouth, 1988. Print. Photograph: http://www.libertynews.com/2013/03/dhs-drone-spots-guns-oncivilians-can-track-cell-phones-holder-says-they-can-kill-americans-on-us-soil/