On Black Eloquence; or the Elocution of Freedom

Last updated on: November 3, 2017 at 11:33 am by Guest Contributor

On Black Eloquence; or the Elocution of Freedom 2017-11-03T11:33:02-05:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

by Ernest Gibson III

To the young white man who asked me, “Dr. Gibson, where did you get your eloquence?”

I am writing you here, as I am afraid I was unable to be completely honest in the moment in which you posed the question. You see, I have mastered the art of taming my rage, of offering it in such a way that it would not be disruptive. I suppose we might say that it too has an eloquence about it, that it strikes and grabs without bruising, that it touches without a trace. And yet, I am compelled to offer a bit more to the question, as it is one I have received in some iteration for most of my life. Despite this familiarity, I am always puzzled, always caught off guard, for it comes with presuppositions to which I would rather not submit. But here we are, or there we were…

To the question, I am most immediately drawn to the rhetoric of place and retrieval – the “where” and the “get.” When you ask from “where did I get it,” you suppose that eloquence is something that must be gotten, must be retrieved from some foreign place; presuming that it is not something which I might naturally own, that I might locate within myself. If I must answer, and cannot center myself in doing so, as both original possessor and site of possession, then perhaps I might say this: I got my eloquence through a dark bloodline. My great, great, great grandfather stole this eloquence from his master’s tongue. In the silence that slavery gifted him, and understanding how the white world imagined his tongue unfit to hold language so perfectly, he stole it. Stole it back to be precise. You see, his master’s eloquence was a stolen thing itself, something his master’s great, great grandfather stole from his. So, my bloodline stole it back. Planted it beneath their tongues and allowed it to germinate within the darkness of suffering. At night, they would steal off into the woods and the swamp and allow their tongues to stretch into scripted sound… I imagine that eloquence was the phonics of freedom. And since we have always longed to be free, it made sense that when we spoke most authentically, under the cover of night, that it would be… eloquent.

I got my eloquence through a dark bloodline. My great, great grandmother stole it from the white woman whose clothes she washed. She stole it back, to be precise. Tucked it into her apron and fed it to her children when she got home. Her eloquence was gentle, like a whisper, like the wisdom of black women who are creative in spaces of lack. I got my eloquence through a dark bloodline, through my silver-haired grandfather whose voice I never heard, through the religiosity of my grandmother who wove bayou in my blood; they bore southern trickster into my speech.

If eloquence is indeed noted for its fluidity, does it not make sense that black folk be eloquent? Have we forgotten how black folk hold this quiet relationship with water, how we have been forced to fold ourselves into its folds, to breathe without drowning? I suppose that eloquence comes from those places, something about that dark bloodline, something about the water. I hear they don’t sell eloquence like that anymore, but then again, we are in the South and you are asking me this question…

When I turned away from that genuine young white man, I swallowed a bit. I wanted to be sure that I did not allow all of my eloquence to escape. At some point, I’ll need to share it with other black folk, quietly, in the still of the night. I will tell them, “Somebody tried to steal our tongue again… But I kept mine,” I’ll say, “I still have mine…”

Ernest L. Gibson III is an Assistant Professor of English at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. His teaching and research interests include African American Literature, Male Studies, Black Popular Culture and Literary/Cultural Theory.

Donate to the Work of R3

Like the work we do at Rhetoric Race and Religion? Please consider helping us continue to do this work. All donations are tax-deductible through Gifts of Life Ministries/G’Life Outreach, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, and our fiscal sponsor. Any donation helps. Just click here to support our work.

Previous Post

October 20, 2017

“If I Can Help Somebody”: The Rhetorical Influence of #MLK

Next Post

November 4, 2017 Race, Whiteness, and the Gospel

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Amy Steele Andre E. Johnson Book Reviews/Series Brian Foulks Call for Chapters Carol Howard Merritt Classes Conferences Contributors Crystal St.Marie Lewis Daniel White Hodge Earle Fisher Eulogy Fredrick Robinson Guest Contributions Henry McNeal Turner Institutes Interviews Joseph Boston Katherine Whitfield Kimberly Peeler-Ringer Lectures/Roundtables Natalie Bullock Brown R3 Book Series R3 Contributor Rashad Grove Readers Reflections Symposiums Teaching Traci Ellis Travis Harris Uncategorized Video

Select a Month June 2020 February 2020 December 2019 November 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 October 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz