Gay rights are also an issue of regular discussion. This sector of society is so marginalized that many states by law do not allow them to marry each other. Instead, they are expected to practice their courting and dating rituals in what is described as a "normal" way. Even religion is used as a basis for this type of discrimination.
Indeed, despite many efforts to the contrary, discrimination is still very much a part of life for those who do not assimilate into mainstream society. This is Baraka's focus of rebellion. According to the author, black authors and artists are to unite against such discrimination by offering the world a culture that is unmarred by other influences. Anything else is the beginning of assimilation and ultimate cultural death, as symbolized by Clay. Indeed, his point is not difficult to understand. Certainly, the assimilation of a gay person into mainstream heterosexual life would mean the denial of his or her true sexual orientation. The assimilation of a Jew into Christian society would mean that he or she is no longer Jewish, but has become Christian.
However, some argue that assimilation and discrimination are not the only options when considering the nature of modern society. According to the author Chielozona Eze, there is a third possibility, particularly in terms of culture. Eze mentions the concept of transculturalism (Eze, 2005, p. 29), by means of which cultures do not assimilate each other, but rather adopt what they regard as useful elements of each other so that each might develop into a new type of culture. In this way, the core culture remains without denying beneficial influence from the culture of contact. Such transculturalism would also make tolerance easier, as members of each culture can recognize themselves in the mirror of the other.
This is a far friendlier and more tolerant type of meeting platform for cultures. Baraka's purist view is very much grounded in the historical resentment of Africa towards Europe for the injustice of slavery. Transculturalism on the other hand recognizes that no...
Instead each can learn something valuable by communicating with the other. The same is true of religious groups, the genders, homosexual groups, and the like. All cultures and groups can learn from each other, adopting whatever symbols and elements please them while maintaining the core values of the original culture. In this way, tolerant interaction rather that resentment occurs.
One example of such tolerance is the show "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," where a group of homosexual men use their cosmetic skills to help heterosexual men improve their image. This does not mean that either assimilates the other. Instead, elements of the one culture are adopted by the other in order to create an improvement upon the original, even while the core of the original remains.
Although I can therefore fully understand Baraka's drive towards maintaining a pure black culture for which there exists a pure black literature, I also believe that this is no longer entirely viable for today's world. The fact is that black people live among a myriad of other cultures. None can say not to be influenced by the other. Holding on to past resentment and pain undermines the beauty, improvement, and friendship that may be gained from a more tolerant type of interaction.
Although I therefore do agree with Baraka's view that complete assimilation means cultural death, I also disagree that the only other option is enmity. I believe that the world today is ready for a more tolerant outlook. This does not mean that all cultures should be required to assimilate within a single "melting pot." Instead, it simply means a tolerance for difference, and an acceptance of improvement.
References
Baraka, Amiri. (1964). Dutchman. New York: William Morrow and Company
Chielozona Eze. (2005, Jan 20). Hate Your Enemy: The Anatomy of Resentment in Africa's Cultural Resistance to the West. Retrieved from eScholarship Repository, University of California. http://repositories.cdlib.org/globalfellows/2005/2
