Punkonomics (@DearBalak)

Ta-Nehisi Coates and the Danger of the Black Cultural Tour Guide by Pascal Robert

In mainstream media, both print and televised, there are certain Black folk who serve a role that is historical – going back to Booker T. Washington – and consistent, but still profoundly damaging to the sensibilities of the Black masses, particularly the Black poor. That person is the black cultural tour guide. The name “Black cultural tour guide” is often too benign a description for this ilk. In reality they sometimes act like the zoo keeper taking the nice sub-urban White family into the exhibit of all the REAL DANGEROUS animals. The lions, tigers, bears, and gorillas. They interpret the signs and signals of these species for the White onlookers, let them know when certain movements mean danger, and also inform them when it’s safe to toss a banana or piece of fruit at the big ape with the scowl. This often is how their depictions can be translated in the worst and most racist extremes in their attempts to convey “authentic blackness.”