EXAMINING THE BLACK BOX

A Review of "The Black Box: Writing the Race" by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

By Guest Contributing Writer Marc S. Friedman

Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s "The Black Box" is a tour de force that navigates the rich expanse of Black literary tradition spanning more than three centuries. In this meticulously crafted narrative, Gates invites readers on an illuminating journey through the corridors of time, unearthing hidden gems and celebrated works alike, all considered in the broad landscape of racism and racial injustice that has shaped Black literary expression.

“The Black Box” is a collection of seven essays derived from lectures the author delivered in Harvard’s Introduction to African American Studies class. Gates develops a powerful metaphor for his discussion of Black literary works – “the Black Box”, a box that has literally and figuratively trapped Black people through their capture in Africa, the Middle Passage across the Atlantic to the New World, slavery, Reconstruction, and the era of Jim Crow, extending through today.

Gates’s fundamental tenet is that there is no one way to escape the “box.”  Nor is there only one way “to be Black.” There has always been great diversity within the Black community. Black Americans thus needed to bloom and flourish as best they could.

In this splendid book, Gates’s focus is on writers, poets, novelists, artists, musicians, and other performers, who, through creative works, expressed their individuality as well as their commonality with the Black population. As Gates convincingly argues, these creators of artistic works sought to dispel the ubiquitous racist view that Black people lacked intelligence, creativity, and industry. 

They also wanted to demonstrate that “the Black Community” was not homogeneous but rather consisted of millions of highly individualized Black Americans, each with their own unique life stories.

“The Black Box” begins with the revolutionary poet, Phyllis Wheatley, who arrived as a seven-year-old enslaved child in 1761. Her Boston slaveowners taught Wheatley to read and write. As a teenager, Wheatley authored a book with twenty-eight poems. Many white people in America and Europe did not believe an enslaved person possessed sufficient intelligence to write poetry. 

However, Wheatley was able to travel to England with her owners’ son where, with the help of a staunch English abolitionist, she finally was able to find a publisher for her book of poetry. Her accomplishment was monumental, becoming at age 19 the first African to publish a book of poetry in English, dispelling the racist myth that Blacks of African descent were incapable of creating literary works.

Wheatley’s literary success refuted the widespread belief, here and abroad, that Black people were less intelligent and talented than whites and suited only for slavery and menial work. This racist trope had been expressed by many renowned “Age of Enlightenment” thinkers like Hume, Montesquieu, Kant and Voltaire, although the latter quickly reversed his position after reading Wheatley’s collection of poetry. 

Thomas Jefferson persisted in his view of Black inferiority, commenting on Wheatley’s poetry, “[t]he compositions published under her name are below the dignity of criticism.”  

Wheatley’s monumental influence continues. In fact, a prominent statue on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston memorializes her enormous literary achievements and lasting influence.

Gates then traces the works and influence of other notable Black American writers who sought to break out of the “box.” These include well-known authors and lecturers, like Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Dubois, and James Baldwin. Gates also highlights lesser known but highly influential Black American writers including Henry Highland Garnet, James McCune Smith, Claude McKay, and Zora Neale Hurston. 

These writers and others unveiled the constraints of the “Black Box” and resisted its confinement. They also celebrated their “Blackness” and the immense diversity within the Black community.

It is important to understand that within the community of Black American writers there were often bitter disagreements and heated debates. Here are examples. What names should “the race” call themselves (William Whipper vs. James McCune Smith)? Should enslaved adults rise in arms against their masters (Henry Highland Garnet vs. Frederick Douglass)? Should Black people return to Africa (Marcus Garvey vs. W.E.B Dubois)? Gates skillfully guides the reader through the different arguments made by authors who disagreed with each other.

As Gates notes, “[t]he freedom to write has a special resonance for Black authors, because for so many of them, that freedom was hard-won.”  Gates then states “’liberation’ and ‘literacy’ were inextricable.” This is precisely why in the 1700’s and 1800’s there were laws, especially in the South, which criminalized the teaching of reading and writing to enslaved people. Fortunately Massachusetts had no such law in the 1700’s when Wheatley learned to read and write.

Gates also focuses on “the freedom to learn” that is threatened by partisan laws and resolutions in various states, like Florida, which regulate what teachers can discuss with their students, “aiming to exclude critical race theory, the New York Times 1619 Project, and even words such as ‘multiculturalism,’ ‘equity,’ and ‘whiteness.’”  In Gates’s view, it is essential to learn what it means to be an American, and this includes understanding the roles slavery and race have played in our history.

“The Black Box” is an important book. With his extraordinary expertise and clear, crisp writing, Gates gifts readers with a treasure trove of influential Black voices that span three centuries. As we continue to reckon with the legacy of systemic racism and strive towards a more inclusive society, "The Black Box" serves as both a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and a clarion call for justice and equality.

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