So, what is happening when a person says they are "proud to be black," for instance? I don't believe the statement is written onto a blank slate. It is not a solitary statement, it is a response. It is a response to centuries of American history and culture announcing, "you should be ashamed to be black."Originally Posted by Ker_Thwap
Now a person may argue that the statement "proud to be white" is equally in response to an extremely young cultural narrative aimed at instilling contemporary white guilt for the crimes of white ancestors. There are a few problems with this stance; perhaps I can pick out the two least debatable. One: the existence of a cultural guilt narrative is not widely accepted in the same way that the obviously fraught history of black Americans is. Two: the language of "white pride" has been entirely tainted by hardcore racists. The idea of "black pride" has been ill used as well but this never overcame its positive values.
It is worth noting that Italian pride, Irish pride, and perhaps Catholic pride all have a positive history in our country as well. Again, each of these cases involves a people who have suffered discrimination and maintain an interest in keeping a memory of shared history and cultural identity alive.
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