This week we read speculative fiction short stories (and an
excerpt) from African American authors.
Black No More (excerpt) by George S. Schuyler
This story is set post-Civil War in America after Dr. Junius
Crookman discovers a method of turning black people white in just three days.
Max, a young black man, is very interested in the procedure: no more Jim Crow!
No more insults! More opportunities, and maybe even a chance to date the white
woman from Atlanta that he is infatuated with!
The procedure itself is one of artificially inducing and
stimulating vitiligo, a disease that causes loss of skin pigmentation. This is
a plausible premise, as we have seen that vitiligo can indeed turn the skin of
a black person completely white, as happened with Michael Jackson (who I
immediately thought of when reading this story). What was unrealistic about
this theoretical procedure was the doctor’s insistence that it would also
change stereotypically black features like hair texture, as well as nose and
lip shape. Of course I was willing to give the story a pass on that one since
the rest of the premise was highly believable.
The doctor who invented this torturous procedure plans to
get rich off black people’s desire to eliminate their problems with racism by
conforming to white standards. But others are dubious about the procedure’s
overall result, despite its obvious efficacy: it only works on the exterior of
a person’s body, and doesn’t change their genes, so what will happen when tons
of mulatto babies start appearing? Will there be outrage or acceptance? Will
the newly white African Americans feel superior to their black brethren, as Max
does following his procedure? Will these formerly-black patients truly be able
to blend in, considering the media is intent on interviewing them and splashing
their pictures all over the paper, or will there be a new type of racism aimed
at people who look Nordic, as do the patients who undergo this procedure?
I enjoyed reading this excerpt. It was interesting to see
how distrustful Max’s friends were of him once he became white, as well as Max’s
remorse for losing his acceptance in black culture, which he realizes more
authentic and joyous than white culture. While some of the questions that this
story raised were interesting, the part that I read seemed to lack depth and
sophistication.
I much preferred reading the short story, “The Space Traders”
by Derrick Bell. This story got me thinking a lot. It’s about a future America
that is on the verge of financial and environmental collapse that has repealed
many of the laws offering equal protection to black citizens. In the story, a
spaceship comes to America with gold enough to provide solvency, chemicals
capable of un-polluting the environment, and a nuclear engine capable of
fueling America for years to come. What they want in return is the entire
population of African Americans living in the USA. They do not offer a reason
or explanation for their demand, only giving the American people 16 days to
decide whether to accept the trade.
Right away, white and black people perceive the aliens in
vastly contradictory ways: the white people view them as nonthreatening and
benevolent, whereas black people view them as menacing. White people discount
black peoples’ concerns as superstitions and foolishness in order to absolve
their consciences of actually considering the deal. The President considers it
a solution to generations of excess, as well as to the problem that the “great
American racial experiment” has caused in terms of the country’s unity.
The most interesting aspect of this story was seeingwhich factions would support or fight the trade, and why. The government, TV
evangelists, , and environmentalists all support the trade, while black civil
rights leaders, liberal whites, corporate America, the prison-industrial system,
energy companies, and the Jewish population all fight against it, with varying
degrees of altruism and selfishness motivating their opinions. I found myself
thinking about this story for days afterwards. It was a really uncomfortable
story to sit with, and I’m pretty sure it was meant to be. I found myself
thinking that if something like that were to happen in real life, it would
probably go down the way the author speculated that it would—with white
Americans accepting the deal against the wishes of their intended sacrifices,
the black population. It was a disheartening realization. I really recommend reading this story to everyone, as it is great food for thought.
