A Critique of Afro-Pessimism

By W. F. Twyman, Jr.

Last weekend, my wife and I celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary with brunch at Brockton Villa, a delightful seaside restaurant tucked away around the bend in La Jolla. We have enjoyed special outings at Brockton Villa since we moved out to San Diego in 1992. Nothing is more relaxing than a glass of champagne, a ham and cheese omelet and ocean breezes from across Coast Blvd. One of many reasons why we love La Jolla. When they were young, the kids would frolic across the street in the park. We would all walk along the boardwalk and watch the sea lions lounge around on the water’s edge. My wife would oftentimes drop the kids off for school at Bishop’s and stroll along the oceanfront.

La Jolla is a joyful part of our San Diego memory. It has never mattered to us that La Jolla is 0.8 percent black. See also my Coronado experience.

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This evening, I want to discuss an intellectual movement that is joyless. Some scholars, intellectuals and writers believe Black Americans should remain in a permanent mental state of Pessimism. I refer to this movement as Afro-Pessimism. The Case for Afro-Pessimism I did not know this mindset had a formal name until I saw a notice for a Black History lecture on Afro-Pessimism. The presenter was an old friend, a radical black friend from college, law school, Manhattan law firm days, government service in D.C., and time as a law professor. My friend had veered into the land of permanent Pessimism. I have chosen joy in the remaining days of my life.

Afro-Pessimism is a critical framework which means it is a negative framework. The framework is relentlessly downcast and cynical. See Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender and Identity — And Why This Harms Everybody. The focus is on racism, colonialism and slavery (what else ?). The labels used to understand black people would be “Anti-Black violence,” ontological death.

If one fervently believes blacks are not human beings of modernity, I don’t have much use for the sad sack movement. No wonder black students suffer from sky-rocketing rates of mental illness. Racism is Not A Mental Health Crisis Physician, heal thyself. Then, again, maybe we should rethink that old chestnut. The Folly of Medical School Admissions

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There are several problems with Afro-Pessimism.

First, reality is nuanced and complex. No one’s existence is 100% negative. The despair of Afro-Pessimism doesn’t accord with reality and is suspect for this reason alone. There are more black students at Ivy League colleges than at any time in U.S. history. Most black applicants to medical school will have an easier time of admissions than non-black candidates., Where is the eternal despair? We have had a black U.S. President, a black First Lady and several black governors. There are several black U.S. Senators, unlike the case a hundred years ago. There is a black female on the U.S. Supreme Court and a former black female of Harvard University. There is plenty to be grateful for in the progress of Black American history. All is not negative.

Second, if one repeats a lie long enough, the gullible and impressionable will believe the lie. Sadly, Pessimism runs rampant in Ethnic Studies departments across the U.S. California was at the forefront of black achievement in American history. One would not know it from a review of the state’s Ethnic Studies curriculum. Black students are not taught about all of the rich positive pioneers, just revolutionary activists. Forgotten Black History

Third, there is no room for the individual in Afro-Pessimism. If there are over 40 million Black Americans, there are over 40 million life stories, experiences and perspectives. There is no one structural story to explain the lives of over 40 million people. What Afro-Pessimism does is to dehumanize black people in the name of God knows what. It is dangerous folly. Why? A dehumanized people are easy to manipulate towards manipulated ends. Moreover, no self-respecting person should want to be dehumanized. Who wants to perceive oneself as a “black body,” an instrument of oppressors? I don’t buy it and we need more people to speak up and reject dehumanization. Be a dissident. Be a refusenik. Do it if you really care about young people and our future. The 500 If just 20 percent of black Americans would stop the double think, stand up and express their true thoughts, the rebirth of free thought would have a fighting chance.

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There is a much stronger case for Black Optimism. What are the arguments for a more joyful state of mind?

First, it is exciting to view the world as one’s playing field. One has the power to choose what to focus on, who to read, what to believe, how to perceive oneself and one’s family. Why give that power over to some sour-faced ideology? Have you noticed dogmatists never smile? They never laugh? They always appear bitter and angry and resentful. Position thoughts produce positive people. Negative thoughts produce, oh, I don’t know,…negative people?

Second, people like to be around positive people with positive thoughts. Who wants to be around a law professor who last had a positive thought back in college at the University of Virginia? Students may parrot your pessimism because you have the power of grades and recommendations. They also have an incentive to tell you one thing and believe another.

Third, examine the pioneer black lawyers from 1844 to 1875. To a man, these were all positive people who were driven by goals. They lived in self-reliance. They set goals and achieved their goals despite all manner of obstacles and hardships. Black Optimism has a track record of success. Where are the legions of black achievers who became professionals while living in Pessimism? There are none. Success and Pessimism cannot co-exist.

Fourth, optimism produces an internal locus of control. Studies have consistently shown that those who believe they can control fates and destinies are happier, healthier and more content with life. Black Optimism results in a happier black people, not a sour doom and gloom tribe. Have you ever noticed how some people on social media are so unhappy while living in Pessimism about the world? Small wonder.

Finally, I believe the typical black student and faculty member at Howard in the 1950s was happier than the typical black student and faculty member at Harvard today. I do not have studies and evidence to back up my intuition. It stands to reason, however, that those in the 1950s could feel the coming of a better time. A focus on reparations for American slavery is backwards looking in the year 2024. We cannot change the past. What is done, is done. A hyperfocus on grievances from two and three centuries ago guarantees demoralization. The more Harvard devotes to reparations talk about slavery, the more the souls of black folks are drained dry.

Conclusion: It is good to cherish the good in life. The incipient movement of Afro-Pessismism does the exact opposite. What should be honored is forgotten. The Forgotten History Those who should be emulated are erased. Howard University President Mordecai Johnson The strong are not remembered. John D. Webster, Esq. And the human condition is lived unsung. The Burbank Happening

If we all have faith in the coming of a better time, let us live in optimism. We honor our ancestors as we turn our backs on Afro-Pessimism. The Slavery Blockers Are On Me A Prescription of Slavery Blockers