Charles Waddell Chesnutt, an African American lawyer, author and social reformer, was born on June 20, 1859 in Cleveland, Ohio to Andrew Jackson Chesnutt and Ann Maria Sampson. Chesnutt published more than one
When Chesnutt was growing up, his parents were freed blacks.
Chesnutt’s grandfather was white, which influenced why many of Chesnutt’s
stories dealt with the issue of legally black people “passing” themselves as
white because of the lightness of their skin. Chesnutt’s physical appearance
was close enough to a white man even though he still carried himself with a
mixed racial heritage.
In a quote by Charles Chesnutt, he discusses how race
relations influenced his writing:
"I think I must write a book. I am
almost afraid to undertake a book so early and with so little experience in
composition. But it has been a cherished dream, and I feel an influence that I
cannot resist calling me to the task. . . . The object of my writing would not
be so much the elevation of the colored people as the elevation of the
whites--for I consider the unjust spirit of caste which is so insidious as to
pervade a whole nation, and so powerful as to subject a whole race and all
connected with it to scorn and social ostracism--I consider this a barrier to
the moral progress of the American people: and I would be one of the first to
head a determined, organized crusade against it.
--Charles W. Chesnutt, written May 1880 in his journal at age 22
Racial issues impacted Charles Chesnutt’s life even though
his physical features made him look closer to a white person. Chesnutt’s
chances of success were minimal in the South, where he was teaching, because of
the deep prejudice. His mixed racial heritage was a burden that always haunted
him in the South.
In Charles Chesnutt’s essay titled “What is a White Man”, he
discusses the division between the races and questions who the white man is and
why black people had no say during this time period. Chesnutt felt strongly
about the racial division and about equal rights and opportunities because he also
was a victim of the racial tensions. He talks about the “one-drop rule” and
figuring out what race and class you belong to. I think that idea is
representative in Chesnutt’s life and in his writing because “passing” and
figuring out where you belong appears in a lot of his writing and in The House Behind the Cedars. Chesnutt
also discusses that being an American citizen is so prized in the white
community, but black people don’t get to be in that “charmed circle”, which
includes wealth, education and many of the privileges that white people had.
In most of the Southern states, African Americans were divided
into two classes, the Negroes and the mulattos. If you had less than one-fourth
of African blood, then you were considered white. Throughout the essay,
Chesnutt questions why everything is compared to the white blood and why court
cases, compare black blood to white blood and how white blood sets the
standards for being American. Why does the white race equal purity?
Chesnutt sums up his argument in “What is a White Man” by
saying that times change and over half of the colored population is of mixed
breed, therefore there should not be a division between blacks and whites.
Through Chesnutt’s writing, I think he does a great job of addressing these
problems and showing that class distinctions are unjust.
I find the "passing" as a white man an interesting concept. Not every African American is physically able to do this. Though by appearing white Chesnutt begins to question what really makes the appearance of a white man.
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