White Gaze/ Navigating White Space

 White Gaze/ Navigating White Space

May 02, 2022

Charles Wilhite

Ms. Harris

Engl-2017

May 02, 2022

White Gaze/ Navigating White Space

I chose to talk about white gaze and navigating white space for my assignment. It is hard to talk about one without talking about the other. During this semester we talked about the white gaze and how artists in the Harlen Renaissance had to take in mind how their work would be viewed by white audiences. Things have changed since then, but black artists still must be aware of the white gaze when they express themselves with their artwork.

The Writers and artists from the Harlem Renaissance were able to do their work because of white benefactors that sponsored their work. Although the artists of today do not have white benefactors the venue or medium which they work is presented is ran by white people. This is true with musicians, writers, actors, or artists. If you are black and you want to get your work out there to the world you would have to sign with a company that is owned by white people that will want some creative control over what you put out. There are some exceptions to this like Louisiana native Percy Miller aka “Master P” who signed a distribution deal with a major label and owned the rights and creative control of everything on his record label. The fact is that most black artists, even if they make so-called black music, movies, books, or artwork, must be aware of the white gaze and how they perceive their work. But not just because they hold the purse strings like the white benefactors during the Harlem Renaissance but as a minority you are trying to express black experience to a white majority that may not relate to some of the things that you put out there.

 As a black person in America, you must be self-aware of how you look in the eyes of white people constantly. This is an exhausting fact that our white friends, family members, or co-workers might not understand. From how we wear our hair, dress, or talk black people feel like we are held to a different standard than our white counterparts. Growing up in America as a black person you feel as if you must work twice as hard as someone white to get to the same position.

Since the “racial incorporation” process of the 1970’s and 1980’s was established, black people have been learning how to navigate through white space. I am not saying white and black people working together, eating at the same restaurants, and going to school together is a terrible thing. This has improved our country and given plenty of opportunities to black people. The ability to get a better education and jobs are some ways how black lives improved but navigating these places that are mostly white and run by white people can be a challenging task. While in these places black people may be surrounded by white people who assume negative things about them because of their race. Therefore, black people feel pressure at major colleges that are white and high paying jobs that do not have many black employees have to work twice as hard to earn their place and not feel like a token. Even in daily acts like shopping, eating, working out or going to a movie black people must watch how they act. They cannot come off angry or like they cannot afford to be where they are because of prejudice. A white person can wear a jeans shirt and sneakers and go to an expensive restaurant or store and have no problems, but a black person would be looked at as if they do not belong. Also, if a black person complains or has a problem with their service they will be perceived as an angry black man or woman and can get authorities called on them because they are looked at as a threat. So, black people feel the need to dress a certain way to get treated well and stay calm even when they might feel disrespected because they know how threatening some white people see them. These things we touched on in several of the books we read this semester but in “Passing” the characters were able to get around these challenges by passing as white. You can see how they were treated in white spaces when they were thought to be white. The sad part is the reason they did this is still the same, it is harder to navigate through life as a black person.


Sources

https://www.colorlines.com/articles/overwhelming-whiteness-black-art

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/09/everyday-racism-america-black-white-spaces

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