In this post: Embrace your inner rebel and read a story of the past that tells truths of the present.
Category: Black in America, Fast Fiction
Ramiah Recommended?
Yes! Absolutely yes. For a book published in 1969, I was not expecting such a powerful reading experience, and one that allowed me to draw so many parallels to today. Tokenism. Code-switching. Police brutality. The list goes on.
The Spook Who Sat By Door follows Dan Freeman, a black man who integrated the Central Intelligence Agency, but did so as a cover to lead a black rebellion against a racist society. Freeman chooses Chicago as ground zero, and chooses young black men involved in gang violence as the soldiers to his army. Much of the book is spent training the army in weaponry, military tactics, and overall strategic thinking to prepare for a large race war against police and policing institutions.
As violent as this story sounds (and don't get me wrong, it is that violent), it is a beautiful story. Once the ferocity is stripped back, the message is clear: black empowerment. The means by which that message is presented can intimidate people. The book makes the antagonists white people at large, and remembering the context of the freshly integrated society that this book is placed in offers more perspective for why this is the case, but the core enemies of this book are racism and racist structures.
Freedman targets his state's white Senator (Senator Hennington), but he was really infuriated that the government did not value black votes past election day. Freedman calls out the white policeman in his neighborhood, but he's really frustrated with the lack of trust the police garner and the abuse they place on the black neighborhood he lives in that perpetuates the cycle. Freedman is upset with his boss at the nonprofit, but he is really enraged by the tokenism of the black employees and their lack of opportunity and credit in the organization.
Freeman represents an experience I think many black people can relate to. Freeman has gone through life pressured externally by societal ideals of how to at, dress, and be, while internally rejecting the constraints placed upon them.
He fell into step with others like himself, safe, tame, ambitious Negros, marking time to a distant drummer, the beat hypnotic, unsyncopated, the smile fixed on their faces, heads held high to pretend the treadmill did not exist and that their frantic motion was progress. (page 82)
To make a living and to have any credibility (and any chance to be) in our society where networking is currency and conformity is the exchange rate, Freeman had to adopt a 'mask'. This mask allowed Freeman to get by and work toward his endgame. "They accepted at face value what he appeared to be, because he became what they wanted him to be" (page 48).
This book -- and in particular, this line -- made me think of stereotype threat: a self-fulfilling prophecy in which a person acts in the way they fear, the way they are stereotyped as, because their thoughts and actions are burdened by said stereotype. For me, this was most realized in the SAT. In 2015, when I was studying for the test, US News reported "On the SAT, black students had a mean score of 428 for critical reading and 428 for math, compared with mean scores for white students of 527 for critical reading and 536 for math" (you can actually still find the article here) I had read so many statistics of those studies and pressure to beat those figures weighed on me as I took each test. It took me more attempts than I would have liked to reach the score I wanted, and most of those steps along the way, I was thinking of the odds stacked against me.
This was not the only case I thought of modern-day issues while reading. The police brutality chronicled in the book made me forget that this was supposed to be a fictional novel. It was like reading reality. The George Floyd era we're living in is not isolated to this year, it has been happening. Many people know this already, and this book drove the point even further home for me. For example, in Chapter 15, Freeman states, "The papers had reported three killed, but he had seen five dead the night before on Fifty-first alone - target practice with live ammo and live targets. But then again, the bull's-eye of every target he had ever seen has been black" (page 187).
In spite of the dangers stacked against the characters, Sam Greenlee illustrates a legendary way to strike back. So legendary that this piece was banned for a period of time. I truly don't see a practical application to the events showcased in this to real life, but the mere fact that it was considered a threat is empowering. I do not have too many examples where black thought and strategy were considered so.
I been scared all my life. There ain't a nigger living who doesn't know fear; we live in it all our lives, like a fish in water. We just have to learn how to use it. (page 99)
The message of black empowerment does not only apply when black folks are in the context of other races, but also within the black community. Greenlee addressed black elitism, black beauty, and, one of my most used sayings in 2020, all skin folk not being kinfolk. That just scratches the surface of all the profound topics this book brings about, too many topics that I could not do them justice in just one review.
Again, all are still salient to the black community today. One of the most compelling debates was about the allegiance of black cops. It's a discussion I've seen again and again with the rise of Black Lives Matter, and I think two quotes in the book capture it well:
S*** Daws, the ghetto's always been a jungle. You really think you can treat people like animals and not have them act like animals? You really believe you are just a cop and I'm just a social worker? Man, we're keepers of the zoo. You can't cage a whole race of people without asking for trouble'" (page 175).
"You're a f***n' hypocrite - all that s***about helping your people. You want it both ways, to be a superop and have spades dig you, too. Well, you can't be a cop without betraying your people and you can't be with your people without betraying your badge" (page 243).
It's a tough topic. Tough! I don't know if there's a right answer, and I hope to get your thoughts on this. Ultimately, I think there's a conflict that is not exclusive to law enforcement.
And that is a great point about this book overall - the topics are not solely black topics, but the lens in which the topics are presented are black. And that, the black story and black strength that is presented throughout this book, radiated and continues to radiate through me. At the end of the day, we just want to have our seat at the table, to have the treatment we deserve as people. To be, and to be peacefully. I'm sure that's what everyone, regardless of their race, wants.
'Why do you have to label me? Whitey will do it soon enough when the deal goes down… Why can't I just be a man who wants to be free, who wants to walk tall and proud on his own turf as a black man? Why can't it be as simple as that?' (Page 128)
This book painted blackness in a new light for me. Even as grim as this book can be, I want that line to shine evermore.
Ramiah Reflects
My New Favorite Life Quotes:
"If we ever forget how to laugh we're finished." - Freeman
"But if we can find it again and use it, if we and get that black pride going for us, then nothing is going to stop us until we're free - nothing and nobody." Freedman
Questions to Ask Yourself (and answer!):
Freeman contemplates, "To be a 'Negro firster' was considered a big thing, but Freeman didn't think so." What do you think about being the first of something that could allow you to represent your race?
How can one, if at all, balance the battle of two communities that makes up their identity: professional and ethical?
What mask do you put on every day?
Food for Thought:
Freedman constantly wore a mask, but he was not always able to know who he was because he was his cover became him. "ut he was lonely, his cover, his plans had forced him into himself and his loneliness ate at him like a cancer... afraid... that he might give something away" (page 100). Is separate from one's cover, or code (when code-switching) truly possible?
Is there a right way to make change? In a discussion between Freedman and Dawson, Freedman's black friend who's a cop, they discuss the right way for black people to make change. Dawson says,"'I just hope the brothers take it easy. Rioting won't help things any,' to which Freedman replies, 'The picket lines don't seem to have helped much, either.'" (page 149). Which point do you agree with?
Beautiful prose on black beauty that I wasn't able to fully incorporate into my review above. It is written in the perspective of the Dahomey Queen, a character Freedman often sought the company of: "There was the picture of a woman in the book that had looked enough like herself to startle her, hair kinky and short-cropped, with big earrings in her ears… She wore big round and oval earrings like the queen in the picture, but she could not bring herself to wear her hair short and kinky; but sometimes she would look at the picture and see herself there and for the first time in her life, she began to think that she might be beautiful." (page 38)
Ramiah's Re-read When
Re-read when:
You need empowerment.
You are feeling rebellious.
You need a reminder of black pride.
You want a deep thought on the nuances of the black community.
See below for my book notes:
Check out my other posts and book notes here.
Until next time!
Montana Houston
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