Black Masculinity and Disability In America

 Rebecca Miller

Ms. Harris

ENGL2017-64187

4-30-2022

Black Masculinity and Disability In America

In the history of America, black men have been characterized as violent, amoral, and intellectually inferior to their white counterparts; beings who lust for white women and the power that white men systemically hold in society. George Schuyler’s “Black No More” - a 1931 satire written in response to the Harlem Renaissance - explores the concept of collectives, race, and class in America. The purpose of this essay is to explore where black masculinity in America stems from, how race relates to disability, and how disability affects black men and their presentation of masculinity through George Schuyler’s novel, “Black No More”. 

Todd Reeser from Concepts of Masculinity and Masculinity Studies introduces the concept of hegemonic masculinity - masculinity which validates men’s role as the dominant group in society. On black masculinity, Reeser says, 

“Hegemonic masculinity relates not only to women and homosexuality, but also to race.

 Connell had labeled black masculinity in the US as marginal, because, while it may

 exemplify certain elements of hegemonic masculinity, it is still not recognized, nor can it

 remain as such, meaning that the whiteness of hegemonic masculinity cannot be

 ignored”. 

That is to say, black American masculinity derives many forms of its expression from the ideals of white patriarchal masculinity. Schuyler does a good job demonstrating hegemonic masculinity through his main character in “Black No More”. The novel is about Max Dasher, a black man who turns himself phenotypically white via an invention which aims to solve America’s “race problem” by turning all black people white - thus iradicating black people from the country. There are two prevalent themes to address about Max’s character; his ability to be seen as a man and his lust for a white woman. C.P. Gause, a black professor and activist - and the author of a Counterpoints article on black masculinity - states, “Throughout American history, black males were not expected to be able to fulfill the ideal male gender role. Indeed, it was made abundantly clear that repercussions would follow if they made serious and persistent efforts to do so”. 

In the novel, Max pines for a Georgian white woman that rejected a dance with him and called him a racial slur. Max, having relationship problems, no money, and no status, decides to turn himself into a phenotypically white man to solve everything; and it actually works. He moves to Georgia, pretends to be an anthropologist named “Matthew Fisher”, and fools the racist father of the white woman he loves into organizing and making millions off of a hyper-religious, white-supremecist group. The group he forms is against “black no more” as whites can no longer tell who is black and cannot discriminate against them. They also fear for interracial relationships and biracial children ruining their race. For the majority of the novel, the reader is in suspense as to whether Max will get caught - knowing that if he is found out, he will be imprisoned or lynched by the organization he’s formed. And toward the end, when his wife, Helen, is pregnant with their biracial child, Max says, “Well, Helen got in the family way last winter again. I sent her to Palm Beach and the other resorts, thinking the travel time and exercise might bring on another miscarraige”(Schuyler, pg. 139). This quote compliments Gause’s earlier statement, showing  Max’s desperation to avoid getting caught, because he knows he will lose his family, wealth, and status as a man once his child is born. There is of course, also the element that Max not only lusted for, but successfully married a white woman that he desired. 

For historical context, American black men have long been treated as predators - particularly to white women. “Any Four Black Men Will Do: Rape, Race, and the Ultimate Scapegoat”, an article from the Journal of Black Studies which discusses the way that black men are systemically falsely accused of sexual violence, goes into detail about the history of the racist stereotype. Since the days of slavery, Klansmen would often rape black women as a means to emasculate black men for not having the social or legal power to “protect their women”. In fear that black men would in turn do the same to white women, white men further tarnished the reputations of black men by creating the false notion that they are inherently rapists because they are black. However, a quote from the aforementioned journal article says, “In fact, their evidence suggests that Black rapists are less likely to target White women. A 2001 report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics supported 1993 and 1998 results showing that 76% of rapes and sexual assaults for Whites are intraracial and 85.8% for Blacks”. 

However, the stereotype still remains, and it is especially common for black men with mental disabilities to be falsely accused of predation. On the subject of disability, “Black No More” could also be read as a novel in which the main character overcomes his race, which is presented similarly to a disablility. Though race itself is not considered a physical or mental disability as the color of a person’s skin does not cause them to have impairments, being born black in America arguably could be considered socially and economically disabling. Max Dasher’s story reads as a man who overcame social disability by turning himself white so that the prejudices of white Americans would allow him access to far more opportunity than he had as a black man. Though Max can be considered disabled due to his race, he is portrayed very differently than other black disabled men in that time. A quote from a Cinema Journal article, “Disabling African American Men: Liberalism and Race Message Films”, states, 

“African American characters with disabilities needed qualities representing inner

 strength, such as honor, integrity, grace, intelligence, and, the surefire trait, dignity. The

 latter was a catchword in the postwar and civil rights eras, lavished on those who took

 persecution on the chin and did not deign to fight back. The characters' moral fortitude

 enabled them to rise above the base level of their oppressors, never meeting violence

 with violence. Film critics endlessly praised black male characters with physical or

 mental impairments for being "dignified" (To Kill a Mockingbird)”. 

What’s amusing about this quote in application to Max, is that Max is not by any means a dignified character. He chooses violence (primarily social and economic violence) throughout the entirety of the novel. And he doesn’t have to present himself as being dignified in the eyes of white people because they believe that he too, is white, and do not hold him to higher standards of behavior. Anna Hilton quotes Nirmala Erevelles on disability in hip-hop in the CLA Journal,

“While disabled black men and women alike have succumbed to police violence, “[t]he

 Black male body...is a source of terror in white patriarchal society,” Nirmala Erevelles

 argues, and “could become an even more terrifying spectacle as a result of the...lethal

 triple combination of race, gender, and disability” (4)”. 

This quote about the fear of the black male body is applicable to the end of the novel, when two white politicians - Snobbcraft and Buggerie - are murdered because it is dicovered that they have black ancestory; even though they aren’t phenotypically black. These characters, on the run, find a southern town called “Happy Hill” which is known for enthusiastically and brutally lynching any black Americans unfortunate enough to pass through. Disguised in black face, the politicians pass through the town, are mistaken for black men, and nearly lynched - only for the town to discover that they are white; that is until the townsfolk discover their pictures on the newspaper that exposed their ancestry. The reverend of the town then tells the people, “Take ‘em. They’re niggers just as I thought. The Lord’s will be done. Idea of niggers runnin’ on th’ Demmycratic ticket!” (Schuyler, pg. 175). 

In conclusion, “Black No More” by George Schuyler is a good example of hegemonic masculinity in black men and how it isn’t systemically effective. At the end of the novel, everything works out for Max. He maintains his wealth and his family despite his secret being discovered; as his wife, by chance, has black ancestry as well. His family then buys skin tanning products to appear darker, and moves to Mexico to avoid the consequences of their actions. The novel treated Max’s race as a disability which he overcame, and in the end, reclaimed because he had the life wanted. 

Works Cited 

Gause, C. P. “Chapter 2: BLACK MASCULINITY.” Counterpoints, vol. 337, 2008, pp. 37–59,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/42979205. Accessed 1 May 2022.

Hinton, Anna. “‘And So I Bust Back’: Violence, Race, and Disability in Hip Hop.” CLA Journal, 

vol. 60, no. 3, 2017, pp. 290–304, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26556986. Accessed 1 

May 2022. 

Nickel, John. “Disabling African American Men: Liberalism and Race Message Films.” Cinema Journal, vol. 44, no. 1, 2004, pp. 25–48, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3661171. Accessed 1 May 2022.

Patton, Tracey Owens, and Julie Snyder-Yuly. “Any Four Black Men Will Do: Rape, Race, and

the Ultimate Scapegoat.” Journal of Black Studies, vol. 37, no. 6, 2007, pp. 859–95,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/40034959. Accessed 1 May 2022.

Reeser, Todd W. “Concepts of Masculinity and Masculinity Studies.” Configuring Masculinity in

Theory and Literary Practice, edited by Stefan Horlacher, Brill, 2015, pp. 11–38,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1163/j.ctv2gjwt1m.5. Accessed 1 May 2022.

Schuyler, George S. Black No More. Penguin Classics, 2018.