“Supposing the abused, the oppressed, the suffering, the unemacipated, the weary, and those uncertain of themselves should moralize, what will be the common element in their moral estimates? Probably a pessimistic suspicion with regard to the entire situation of man will find expression, perhaps a condemnation of man, together with his situation.” - Nietzsche
“I have just seen a most beautiful thing
Slim and sill,
Against a gold, gold sky,
A straight black cypress,
Sensitive,
Exquisite,
A Black finger
Pointing upwards.
Why, beautiful still finger, are you Black?
And why are you pointing upwards?
The Black Finger - Angelina Grimke
Pointing upwards, those who feel abused, oppressed. Those who suffer… who are unemancipated and seek the common element in their moral estimates and find a pessimistic suspicion with regard to the entire situation of man, but yet continue to point upwards.
The Black being,
A hopeful few inside of a mass
Experiencing an epistemic pessimism
Negritudal deficiencies.
A lack of possibilities.
But still finding the strength to point upwards.
Beyond the scope of collective condemnation of man.
Pointing upwards, toward the possibility of freedom. The tattered fabric of American liberty, unable to cover the entire body politic. Sections of the population uncovered. Those not willing to compromise their need for protection from the harsh coldness of American hegemony.
Broken and bound,
Deceived and tied to the ground,
Lost in a thick mire of nihilistic contention.
Treated like broken pieces of filament
Unable to procure and identity
Kept from tapping into healing abilities.
Pointing upwards, moving forward into a place of healing and awareness. Away from the people who create the conditions that deny the Black being the ability to grow. That which diminishes the strength to point upwards… towards the possibility of freedom.
Nietzsche, F., & Norman, J. (2001). Beyond good and evil. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511812033
Locke, A. L. (1925b). The New Negro: An Interpretation. Cosimo Classics.
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