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Discussion Groups / English Usage / November 2009origin of stay black and die
Hi Does anyone who does this quote came from " The only thing I have to do is stay black and die!? > Hi > > Does anyone who does this quote came from " The only thing I have to > do is stay > black and die!? I have never heard that quote, though I don't challenge its meaning. Where or when (or from whom) did you hear it? The expression I have heard is "I may as well lie down and die", or "give up and die". Your quotation certainly has the feel of someone who has reached a depressing moment or sense of futility. It may be an expression that some US black person has stated, though I think among US blacks there is a PC kind of feeling that improving themselves does _not_ mean trying to grow out of their blackness. > > Hi > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Where or when (or from whom) did you hear it? My friend said this to me two or three days ago. She is Canadian African. I did some googling, and this expression has been used by many people including Bea in her interview she gave to Pride magazine. "PM: Why keep going? BT: I think we are all expected to do something with the life you have been given. My favorite line is: “The only thing I have to do is stay black and die.” Everything else is an option so what do you do with the options a higher power has given you? You make the most of them while helping others along the way." Pride Magazine interview http://tinyurl.com/ya9rkpw > My friend said this to me two or three days ago. She is Canadian > African. "African American" is apparently supposed to mean "American of African descent". So does "Canadian African" mean "African of Canadian descent"? Bill (the confused) in Kentucky > > My friend said this to me two or three days ago. She is Canadian > > African. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Bill (the confused) in Kentucky According to Wiki: "Black Canadians, Caribbean Canadians and African Canadians are designations used for people of Black African descent who reside in Canada. The terms are used by and of Canadian citizens who trace their ancestry back to people who were indigenous to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority have relatively recent origins in the Caribbean, while some trace their lineage to the first slaves brought by British and French colonists to the mainland of North America. A minority of the population have recent African origin. Many Canadians identify as Black even though they may have multi-ethnic ancestries." Her ancestor are from the original Uncle Tom's Cabin. Oops: I messed up the Subject in my previous post. It should have been "Re: origin of stay black and die". I apologize. Bill in Kentucky >> My friend said this to me two or three days ago. She is Canadian >> African. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Bill (the confused) in Kentucky Folk only get hyphenated if they are Keebeckers, or just plain stupid !  SignatureThe Canadian Curmudgeon (in Calgary) Fix the biosphere - eliminate people > Hi > > Does anyone who does this quote came from " The only thing I have to > do is stay > black and die!? A quick wander around Yahoo suggests it was Langston Hughes in the late 40s or early 50s in this poem: Necessity Work? I don't have to work. I don't have to do nothing but eat, drink, stay black, and die. This little old furnished room's so small I can't whip a cat without getting fur in my mouth and my landlady's so old her features is all run together and God knows she sure can overcharge- Which is why I reckon I *does* have to work after all. SignatureJohn Dean Oxford |
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