Translating the Inaugural Benediction

January 20, 2009

As I was preparing my post on the inauguration, I found that there was one part that needed more room than the rest and decided to post it in the morning. But after seeing the venom being directed at Rev. Joseph Lowery for his benediction, I thought it better to put it up tonight. Here is the benediction that impressed me so much:
[youtube width="480" height="295"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pEH37JIgBU[/youtube]
Now I’ve been in enough churches to know that a good preacher knows when to inject some humor, and it seemed to me that that’s all Rev. Lowery was doing when he ended the benediction with this:

…we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around [laughter] … when yellow will be mellow [laughter] … when the red man can get ahead, man [laughter] … and when white will embrace what is right.

Rev. Joseph Lowery: An American Visionary

Rev. Joseph Lowery: An American Visionary

Others didn’t see it that way.

It’s interesting to me that so many white folks found this offensive. We’ve certainly got a long enough history of being the oppressor, of not embracing what is right. We’ve demanded that someone who is black sit in back, we’ve told someone who is brown not to stick around. I mean seriously, this is recent recorded history. Is there no collective memory in this country?

But I knew it had to be more than Rev. Lowery just stringing together a few rhymes all on his own. His experience as the Dean of the Civil Rights Movement demands that I give him the benefit of that doubt, so I started digging.

The first thing I found was the song Black, Brown, and White (1951) by blues singer Big Bill Broonzy. This is verse four.

Me and a man was workin’ side by side
This is what it meant
They was paying him a dollar an hour,
and they was paying me fifty cent
They said, “If you was white, ‘t should be all right,
if you was brown, could stick around,
but as you black, hmm boy, get back, get back, get back”.

So yep, here we have a song from right before the Civil Rights movement went into full swing. But maybe there’s more still. Next I found the blog Diary of an Anxious Black Woman and her post from today. In it, she mentions the little rhyme.

For all those who did not get the cultural allusion, and believe that only white people were being chastised for failing to do what’s right, Reverend Lowery was referring to a childhood rhyme about racial hierarchy:

If you’re white, you’re all right
If you’re yellow, you’re mellow
If you’re brown, stick around
But if you’re black,
Get back!

In short, he specifically asked that, in this “new era,” we dismantle the system of white privilege and hierarchy and truly make room for a multiracial America based on racial equality. Unlike those who’ve been calling for a “Postracial” America, in the wake of President Obama, Reverend Lowery reminded us that our goal is really to move towards a “Postracist” America. I’d like to see our first African American and 44th President of the United States committed to the same goal.

YES! I knew there must be more to it! And here we have someone else who knows what it is! I love the internet!!!

(I know this post is getting long, but I think the next part’s worth it. Besides, brevity has never been my strong suit.)
But I still wanted to see more, and I found more in the book Mother Wit from the Laughing Barrel: Readings in the Interpretation of Afro-American Folklore, a collection exploring African American folklore edited by Alan Dundes and originally published in 1973. Use the link on the title to get to the section on Google Books, or use this one to buy it at amazon.com. The following is an excerpt from As Crinkly as Yours by Eldridge Cleaver. (Italics denotes commentary by the editor)

There were deeply imbedded [sic] in the thinking and folklore of the race such adages and beliefs as: “If you’re white you’re all right; if you’re brown stick around; but if you’re black—GET BACK!” And some of these same old sayings are still current in the Negro community.*

Think on it: this was the era of the camera. Negroes saw photographs, paintings and portraits in which the beauty of the Caucasian was extolled saturatingly throughout the land. Negroes witnessed beauty contests in which Caucasian men and women were held up and proclaimed the most beautiful creatures that God had fashioned and placed upon the face of the earth (it never dawning on the Negroes that it was the Caucasians themselves who were pinning roses on their own lapels). Great numbers of Negroes were learning to read and write: and in the books which they read, the process took on a sweeping new dimension. When a Negro retired in solitude to relax and enjoy a great book, it was the Caucasian standard of beauty which was flaunted before him and held up for him to praise—and praise it he did, unable to resist or dispute, having no criterion by which to refute. In the novels, he met heroines with creamy white skin, sparkling blue eyes, and long flowing blonde tresses; and heroes with rugged Roman noses, wavy black hair and perhaps a gentle sun-tan. And then the motion-picture industry sprang into being, and with it, a constant deluge reiterating and indisputably establishing the Caucasian standard of beauty.

* This is invariably quoted as a prime example of “self-hate” folklore. Like all folklore, there is some textual variation. The version in William H. Grier and Price M. Cobbs, Black Rage (New York, 1968), p. 66, is: “If you’re white, you’re right. If you’re brown, hang around. If you’re black, get back.” The version cited in the first pages of Philip Sterling, ed., Laughing on the Outside: The Intelligent White Reader’s Guide to Negro Tales and Humor (New York, 1965), is:

If you’re white, you’re right.
If you’re yellow, you’re mellow.
If you’re brown, stick aroun’.
If you’re black, brother, get back!

Mr. Dundes goes on to reference nine other instances of this rhyme in other books about African American folklore.

Note that (at least the way I’m reading this) this little ditty isn’t about whites, blacks, Indians, Asians, and Hispanics. This is about the hierarchy within the black community once recognized by both whites and African Americans. I’ve heard of the paper bag test before (skin lighter than a brown paper bag denoting a person of relative superior breeding than skin darker than a brown paper bag), and this bit of oral folklore is another artifact of that sad part of our history.

I guess I have two points here, both directed at the white folks in the crowd. First, think before you cry racism. Were you really that desperate for something to be angry about that you didn’t even consider that there might be a gap in your knowledge?

Second, there is a shamefully deep chasm that separates our understanding of African American culture. It’s our job to at least attempt to fix that. Start today. Start with Rev. Lowery. You’ll find that their cultural history is rich and powerful. We could stand to learn a thing or two from their experience.

Let all who do justice and love mercy say Amen!


  • Wendy

    When something has to be translated and this researched to be understood, maybe it should have been left unsaid. Not worth the risk of mis-interpretation on such a widely witnessed historical occasion. Would have made a much better article or commentary written by the esteemed Reverend.

    • http://blog.mattalgren.com Matt Algren

      Welcome, Wendy.

      It took me about two minutes to find the Big Bill Broonzy song through Google. The rest was just confirmation of the history. And really, I didn’t think it was that hard to understand the core of what he was saying.

      • Wendy

        I think a lot of people misunderstood it. It was so ironic that he was saying “white needs to embrace right”, while speaking at the inauguration of our first black president. Many whites voted for Obama.

        I felt very confused. I took the time to google the benediction – that’s how I found you. After reading your blog, it was clear to me what he meant and I agree with it. I also posted your blog on Facebook, for my friends to read. The problem is, that not everyone is going to take the time to research – we’re a sound bite society, like it or not.

        My point was that it may have done more harm than good, and I still hold that opinion.

  • Wendy

    When something has to be translated and this researched to be understood, maybe it should have been left unsaid. Not worth the risk of mis-interpretation on such a widely witnessed historical occasion. Would have made a much better article or commentary written by the esteemed Reverend.

    • http://blog.mattalgren.com Matt Algren

      Welcome, Wendy.

      It took me about two minutes to find the Big Bill Broonzy song through Google. The rest was just confirmation of the history. And really, I didn’t think it was that hard to understand the core of what he was saying.

      • Wendy

        I think a lot of people misunderstood it. It was so ironic that he was saying “white needs to embrace right”, while speaking at the inauguration of our first black president. Many whites voted for Obama.

        I felt very confused. I took the time to google the benediction – that’s how I found you. After reading your blog, it was clear to me what he meant and I agree with it. I also posted your blog on Facebook, for my friends to read. The problem is, that not everyone is going to take the time to research – we’re a sound bite society, like it or not.

        My point was that it may have done more harm than good, and I still hold that opinion.

  • http://diaryofananxiousblackwoman.blogspot.com Anxious Black Woman

    Wendy, you’re so wrong on this point. The point is not that you shouldn’t have to do enough research and translation. Obviously the ignorant response to Reverend Lowery, and mostly from defensive whites, means that there is still an overwhelming ignorance of our racial history in this country and our complete lack of knowledge about each other – thanks to the prevailing segregation that continues in this country in which black and white people don’t interact much outside of work and school (and sometimes not even there!).

    What we need is a leader who can help TRANSLATE our differences, not leave things “unsaid.” My only criticism of Obama’s inaugural address is that he didn’t show himself to be that multiracial “translator.” Had he been, I guarantee you, NOBODY would have been offended by Lowery’s benediction.

    • http://blog.mattalgren.com Matt Algren

      I would argue that having a translator would be great, but until we find one it’s the job of white people to delve into the history themselves, not wait for a black person to do it for them. There will be bumps along the road, but the tools do exist IF we’re willing to do the work. The book I referenced in the post is almost 700 pages of the study of African American folk culture, and that’s just one.

      I agree with you that leaving things unsaid would be problematic. In fact it’s probably what’s behind the misunderstanding of Lowery’s benediction. By not mentioning these kind of cultural elements to each other we’ve opened the door to needless offense.

      And lets’ be honest; people wouldn’t be suggesting that we bury it if this were a piece of white oral tradition. What people are really demanding (once they find out what the verse is about) is that black people become more normal (read:white). Owning up to that is a small but important part of the cultural integration process.

      Thanks for your insight!

  • http://diaryofananxiousblackwoman.blogspot.com Anxious Black Woman

    Wendy, you’re so wrong on this point. The point is not that you shouldn’t have to do enough research and translation. Obviously the ignorant response to Reverend Lowery, and mostly from defensive whites, means that there is still an overwhelming ignorance of our racial history in this country and our complete lack of knowledge about each other – thanks to the prevailing segregation that continues in this country in which black and white people don’t interact much outside of work and school (and sometimes not even there!).

    What we need is a leader who can help TRANSLATE our differences, not leave things “unsaid.” My only criticism of Obama’s inaugural address is that he didn’t show himself to be that multiracial “translator.” Had he been, I guarantee you, NOBODY would have been offended by Lowery’s benediction.

    • http://blog.mattalgren.com Matt Algren

      I would argue that having a translator would be great, but until we find one it’s the job of white people to delve into the history themselves, not wait for a black person to do it for them. There will be bumps along the road, but the tools do exist IF we’re willing to do the work. The book I referenced in the post is almost 700 pages of the study of African American folk culture, and that’s just one.

      I agree with you that leaving things unsaid would be problematic. In fact it’s probably what’s behind the misunderstanding of Lowery’s benediction. By not mentioning these kind of cultural elements to each other we’ve opened the door to needless offense.

      And lets’ be honest; people wouldn’t be suggesting that we bury it if this were a piece of white oral tradition. What people are really demanding (once they find out what the verse is about) is that black people become more normal (read:white). Owning up to that is a small but important part of the cultural integration process.

      Thanks for your insight!

  • http://diaryofananxiousblackwoman.blogspot.com Anxious Black Woman

    One more point here. I’m absolutely offended that it is Lowery who’s getting criticized here when non-gay-supporting Rick Warren gets a free pass. Whatever!

  • http://diaryofananxiousblackwoman.blogspot.com Anxious Black Woman

    One more point here. I’m absolutely offended that it is Lowery who’s getting criticized here when non-gay-supporting Rick Warren gets a free pass. Whatever!

  • Pamela

    I appreciate your tranlsation of the benediction for us “ignorant white folks,” but I’m still left unsure that’s what he was saying yesterday. Where does the “red man” part come in? While the Reverend’s speech may have been alluding to the poems you’ve posted, he also intentionally altered the verbiage, and in turn, the message.

    • http://blog.mattalgren.com Matt Algren

      Hi Pamela. As I quoted Alan Dundes above, there is textual variation in any folklore. I saw a video a few months ago of children at a church singing “Deep and Wide” except they were doing it “Wide and Deep”. Drove me nuts, but that’s what happens when tradition is passed on orally.

      My take is that Lowery, an 87-year-old veteran of the Civil Rights movement, is proud that we’re moving toward the vision that they were believing in back when he founded the Alabama Civic Affairs Association in the early 1950s when the truth behind that little rhyme was so much more blatant in American culture. And truthfully, in a lot of places, it is still more difficult for a ‘red’ man to get ahead, man.

  • Pamela

    I appreciate your tranlsation of the benediction for us “ignorant white folks,” but I’m still left unsure that’s what he was saying yesterday. Where does the “red man” part come in? While the Reverend’s speech may have been alluding to the poems you’ve posted, he also intentionally altered the verbiage, and in turn, the message.

    • http://blog.mattalgren.com Matt Algren

      Hi Pamela. As I quoted Alan Dundes above, there is textual variation in any folklore. I saw a video a few months ago of children at a church singing “Deep and Wide” except they were doing it “Wide and Deep”. Drove me nuts, but that’s what happens when tradition is passed on orally.

      My take is that Lowery, an 87-year-old veteran of the Civil Rights movement, is proud that we’re moving toward the vision that they were believing in back when he founded the Alabama Civic Affairs Association in the early 1950s when the truth behind that little rhyme was so much more blatant in American culture. And truthfully, in a lot of places, it is still more difficult for a ‘red’ man to get ahead, man.

  • http://mad-hare.blogspot.com/ Scott

    i thought Lowery’s benediction was awesome, and struck exactly the right note to bring the ceremony to a close. I especially liked the reference to Micah at the end.

    White folks crying racism should stop & contemplate their ignorance & willingness to spew it towards the Rev. Lowery. People like them make me embarrassed to be white (to paraphrase Edna Turnblad).

    Thanks for this post, Matt.

  • http://mad-hare.blogspot.com/ Scott

    i thought Lowery’s benediction was awesome, and struck exactly the right note to bring the ceremony to a close. I especially liked the reference to Micah at the end.

    White folks crying racism should stop & contemplate their ignorance & willingness to spew it towards the Rev. Lowery. People like them make me embarrassed to be white (to paraphrase Edna Turnblad).

    Thanks for this post, Matt.

  • http://keltic.wordpress.com keltic

    Excellent work Matt! As I watched the benediction on video last evening, a smile came to my face. I wasn’t aware that Rev. Lowery was alluding to poetry and music, but I had the sense that the African American community would recognize his words. I see that your post has generated a lot of discussion which is good.

    Is it up to the minority to edit their words for the comfort of the majority? I don’t think so. If the majority doesn’t understand what’s being said (and for the record, I not only got it, I rejoiced in it!) then those who are baffled need to educate themselves.

    This white boy was not offended, understands that minorities have suffered by oppressive policies put in place by whites, and recognizes that plenty of whites need to get schooled and embrace what is right. But then, maybe I “get it” because this white boy is also gay….

    • Bi11me

      Those most sensitive to the accusation of racism are frequently the most justified in being so, either as victims or perpetrators, often despite protestations to the contrary. Only when we are not merely colorblind, but see only fellow humans, will we be beyond the race question. Isn’t it time we got beyond these “childish things” and into the real needs of the country? Lowrey’s (in my opinion) minor miss-step in an otherwise fine benediction was nowhere near as devisive as Warrens’ pointed disregard for the ecumenicism the occassion deserved.

  • http://keltic.wordpress.com keltic

    Excellent work Matt! As I watched the benediction on video last evening, a smile came to my face. I wasn’t aware that Rev. Lowery was alluding to poetry and music, but I had the sense that the African American community would recognize his words. I see that your post has generated a lot of discussion which is good.

    Is it up to the minority to edit their words for the comfort of the majority? I don’t think so. If the majority doesn’t understand what’s being said (and for the record, I not only got it, I rejoiced in it!) then those who are baffled need to educate themselves.

    This white boy was not offended, understands that minorities have suffered by oppressive policies put in place by whites, and recognizes that plenty of whites need to get schooled and embrace what is right. But then, maybe I “get it” because this white boy is also gay….

    • Bi11me

      Those most sensitive to the accusation of racism are frequently the most justified in being so, either as victims or perpetrators, often despite protestations to the contrary. Only when we are not merely colorblind, but see only fellow humans, will we be beyond the race question. Isn’t it time we got beyond these “childish things” and into the real needs of the country? Lowrey’s (in my opinion) minor miss-step in an otherwise fine benediction was nowhere near as devisive as Warrens’ pointed disregard for the ecumenicism the occassion deserved.

  • Steve Jenkins

    Matt,
    I got to admit, this rhyme has me thrown off completely:

    If you’re white, you’re all right
    If you’re yellow, you’re mellow
    If you’re brown, stick around
    But if you’re black,
    Get back!

    I always grew up having heard it in a different context as a kid living in Northern Ohio with lots of snow. It was imperative that we understand as kids spending hours outside in the snow building snow caves, snow people, forts and all kinds of other things that you commit the following rhyme to memory:

    If it’s white it’s alright (to eat)
    If it’s yellow let it mellow,
    If it’s brown, PUT IT DOWN!!!!

    So now I am very confused as on how I may have misinterpreted that so long ago to have been about people. I thought all this time it was about what color snow was safe to eat.

    I have a lot more to learn than I thought.

    • http://blog.mattalgren.com Matt Algren

      I don’t even want to know what you thought red was.

  • Steve Jenkins

    Matt,
    I got to admit, this rhyme has me thrown off completely:

    If you’re white, you’re all right
    If you’re yellow, you’re mellow
    If you’re brown, stick around
    But if you’re black,
    Get back!

    I always grew up having heard it in a different context as a kid living in Northern Ohio with lots of snow. It was imperative that we understand as kids spending hours outside in the snow building snow caves, snow people, forts and all kinds of other things that you commit the following rhyme to memory:

    If it’s white it’s alright (to eat)
    If it’s yellow let it mellow,
    If it’s brown, PUT IT DOWN!!!!

    So now I am very confused as on how I may have misinterpreted that so long ago to have been about people. I thought all this time it was about what color snow was safe to eat.

    I have a lot more to learn than I thought.

    • http://blog.mattalgren.com Matt Algren

      I don’t even want to know what you thought red was.

  • Clinton W Spence

    Two days before the Inauguration, I heard The Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery deliver the keynote speech for the Martin Luther King, Jr., Celebration at Duke University Chapel, Durham, NC. Dr. Lowery kept his (primarily white) audience laughing for more than half an hour — as he “spoke truth to power” (and a younger generation) in the best tradition of Biblical Prophecy.

    For example, Lowery asked an incoming Obama administration, “When will we stop sending smart bombs on dumb missions?” Likewise, Lowery asked young women, “Why can you not say, ‘Uhn’t huh’ until he says, ‘I do.’ ” In each case, Lowery used colorful comic language to speak against war and premarital sex. (The practices threaten our social, economic fabric.)

    I’m a middle-age white male, but I understand what Lowery (and Obama) seem to be telling the nation. Perhaps, old-fashioned values may be what this country needs, to find our way out of the depression that we’re suffering. Before the last quarter of 2008, a high percentage of adults were already taking prescription anti-depressants, even as the stock market boomed.

    Likewise, a high percentage of our youth were already taking street drugs, even as the job market grew. We have lost our way, due to greed, lust, envy, etc.; now, this economy just reflects a free fall toward a depression, which our earlier psychological, spiritual and ethical symptoms have been warning. (Our nation responded to a message of hope, as the cure!)

    The trite answer to this misunderstanding, surrounding Dr. Lowery’s benediction, would be, “It’s a Black thing; you wouldn’t understand.” A much deeper understanding requires hard work — to understand the Black Church including both Lowery and Rev. Jeremiah Wright — and real empathy. We can learn why the Black community can sing, “We shall overcome.”

    They know about hard times, tight budgets and making do — with hope for a better future.

  • Clinton W Spence

    Two days before the Inauguration, I heard The Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery deliver the keynote speech for the Martin Luther King, Jr., Celebration at Duke University Chapel, Durham, NC. Dr. Lowery kept his (primarily white) audience laughing for more than half an hour — as he “spoke truth to power” (and a younger generation) in the best tradition of Biblical Prophecy.

    For example, Lowery asked an incoming Obama administration, “When will we stop sending smart bombs on dumb missions?” Likewise, Lowery asked young women, “Why can you not say, ‘Uhn’t huh’ until he says, ‘I do.’ ” In each case, Lowery used colorful comic language to speak against war and premarital sex. (The practices threaten our social, economic fabric.)

    I’m a middle-age white male, but I understand what Lowery (and Obama) seem to be telling the nation. Perhaps, old-fashioned values may be what this country needs, to find our way out of the depression that we’re suffering. Before the last quarter of 2008, a high percentage of adults were already taking prescription anti-depressants, even as the stock market boomed.

    Likewise, a high percentage of our youth were already taking street drugs, even as the job market grew. We have lost our way, due to greed, lust, envy, etc.; now, this economy just reflects a free fall toward a depression, which our earlier psychological, spiritual and ethical symptoms have been warning. (Our nation responded to a message of hope, as the cure!)

    The trite answer to this misunderstanding, surrounding Dr. Lowery’s benediction, would be, “It’s a Black thing; you wouldn’t understand.” A much deeper understanding requires hard work — to understand the Black Church including both Lowery and Rev. Jeremiah Wright — and real empathy. We can learn why the Black community can sing, “We shall overcome.”

    They know about hard times, tight budgets and making do — with hope for a better future.