Definitely felt seen when a white reporter mistook Daniel Kaluuya for someone else. And this was after he had won the Oscar. Being mistaken for another black person once and a while...ok. I get that. But when it's a pattern you start to think 'wait, you really don't see me, do you?' I've shared this story before, but first day as a Northwestern freshman and this smiling white student came up to me and said 'so nice to see you back, Reggie.' I was 18 and it was no big deal. People make mistakes...once. But when the third and fourth white student mistook me for Reggie I had to insist on my...existence in their space. And by doing so I had to insist that the college wasn't just their space. Politely. I didn't scream or bellow. I just had to firmly make clear...I'm not that negro. And, of course, when I finally did meet Reggie we did not look alike. At all. Different body, skin tone, hair, nose, height, demeanor, and even voice. Reggie had this cracking, high-pitched voice. We could not be further apart...but we were black. And, of course, no black student EVER EVER mistook me for Reggie because there were no similarities.
I started wondering if Tom Cruise gets mistaken for Mr Rogers? Does Julia Roberts get mistaken for Betty White? Seriously. Is there any world where someone comes up to Tom Hanks and says 'OMG. I am such a fan. Followed you my whole life and let me just say...THE MATRIX was phenomenal, Keanu.' You may think that's not a fair comparison because those people are famous!! Well fast forward to Samuel L. Jackson talking about auditioning for PULP FICTION. This is after being in movies for a long long time. Well known. He still has to audition again and again for PULP FICTION for these execs. In one of his last rounds he gets into the room and the exec said 'loved you in APOCALYPSE NOW.' Jackson calmly, politely insisted that he was NOT Laurence Fishburne. Like what the hell? You've seen me audition in front of you!! We do not look alike.
I have another POC friend who says white people always spell his name wrong...which is weird b/c his name involves THREE LETTERS. It's not hard. It's not complicated. What total lack of effort does it take to fuck up 3 letters on a consistent basis? They let it go when their name was misspelled on awards they won, on acceptance letters, in emails. But at a certain point they started to wonder 'wait...is this forever? Will I have to insist and re-insist on my existence?
Is it any wonder that the first Black president was harassed about his birth certificate for years by white people. And when he showed his birth certificate they insisted 'no, show us the long form!!' And when he showed the long form birth certificate they went...'nah! I just don't accept it. I don't believe you. I don't accept your legitimacy. You're hiding something...despite being the most scrutinized person on the planet, despite government documents, proof, pictures...I just don't accept you as legitimate. It is my one claim I can hold on to by denying you as who you say you are.' I used to have a funny nightmare of accepting the Nobel Peace Prize for saving the planet from alien attacks or something ridiculous and this polite and very liberal Norwegian say 'thank you so much, Austin. Austin Squirrel everybody. Give it up.' (and I only knew it was a dream b/c Norwegians don't say 'give it up.' like Arsenio Hall. That's a dead giveaway that you're fucking with dreamland Norwegians.)
Is this why old-time Black performers had to hire their own hype men when they went on white radio and tv? Is this why James Brown and other performers paid a specific black person to go around saying their name correct, giving them a proper intro, and not mistaking them for Little Richard?' Every appearance, becomes a re-coronation in which you have to baptize and crown yourself with the rightful kingdom of your name. Is this why the concept of hype men didn't have to exist in white culture? The regular radio announcer could do the introduction because he would say their name CORRECTLY. And, of course, why would a white male need a hype man? The world is his hype and the ground is strewn with the soft rose petals of adoration.
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