Black Power Movement Every Day Use

 

Robert Hamill's sermon explaining black power. Black Power and White Response by Robert Hamill. 1969. 

Dee (Wangero) and the Black Power Movement

By: Maeve McAvoy

    "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker describes the time when Dee came home to visit and how Mama and Maggie navigated her arrival. The relationship is rather difficult between Dee, Mama, and Maggie; Dee basically left Mama and Maggie and came back to visit educated, stylish, and "in-touch" with her culture.  "Everyday Use" includes powerful concepts from the African American Theory, "the importance of people's names and nicknames as a means of connecting them to their culture and to the past and a value system that emphasizes the importance of family, community, and church" (Tyson 225). Alice Walker most likely used those concepts from the African American Theory to show the importance of culture within her story. Since a major part of the story is Dee's new life it is important to understand how the black power movement affected this new life of hers. Dee shows a poor example of the Black Power Movement (BPM) due to her caring less about the political/ true meaning behind it. 

    BPM happened during the 60s and 70s and it had a massive impact on the black community. The National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC) provides an excellent definition of what the BPM actually was: 

They insisted that African Americans should have power over their own schools, businesses, community services and local government. They focused on combating centuries of humiliation by demonstrating self-respect and racial pride as well as celebrating the cultural accomplishments of black people around the world. The black power movement frightened most of white America and unsettled scores of black Americans. (NMAAHC para, 2) 

This quote truly shows the true power that the BPM had for black people. The image shows Robert Hamill's sermon in 1969 which he wrote about why black power is important (Digital Public Library of America).  "Everyday Use" was published in 1973 which is a little bit after the BPM, but its impact still stands true today. During this time period we saw the affect that Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X had on America as a whole. MLK Jr. and Malcolm X were huge activists when it came to black rights which is synonymous with the BPM. 

    An important factor in the BPM is the importance of black power and community. In "Everyday Use" readers only see Dee as someone who makes her culture to be something different than what it actually was for her. The African American Theory highlights the importance of family, which Mama and Maggie seem to understand perfectly due to their strong connection to quilting and doing things the old fashioned way. Dee does surface level appreciation of her culture through changing her name to Wangero and wanting to use family heirlooms for display. Logan researched the history behind black names, he noted that black names came from the BPM and other black movements to further appreciate black culture (para, 3). Logan also notes that black names are important, because it tells people how the black community developed and how the names show someone's culture (paras, 15-17). Dee changing her name to Wangero does not technically align with her own family's culture, "'You know as well as me you was named after your Aunt Dicie'" (350). Dee was named after her Aunt Dicie which shows her true culture, but Dee decided to make it Wangero. Dee mentions why she changed her name, "'I couldn't bear it any longer, being named after people who oppress me'" (350). Dee has the spirit of the BPM, but it doesn't seem like she actually cares for what it stands for. If Dee paid attention to the meaning behind BPM she would understand the culture behind her given name "Dee." Quilting is a major cultural accomplishment for black people. Dee loves the idea of a quilt that was sewn by hand by her Grandma, but she doesn't appreciate the true meaning behind the quilt. We see in the story that Maggie's understanding of quilting is better than Dee's, "'It was Grandma Dee and Big Dee who taught her to quilt herself'" (353). Maggie knows that keeping her family's culture alive is to put the quilts to "everyday use" which Dee on the other hand does not realize that. Dee's true intentions of keeping her Grandma's quilts were to "'Hang them'" (352). If Dee showed a good example of the BPM she would act more like Maggie when it comes to an important part of her culture. 

    When Dee comes to visit Mama and Maggie we see this flashy woman who doesn't seem connected to her culture whatsoever. Mama describes how Dee dresses when she gets out of the car, "A dress down to the ground, in this hot weather. A dress so loud it hurts my eyes....Earrings gold, too, and hanging down to her shoulders. Bracelets dangling and making noises when she moves her arm up" (349). This description of Dee describes how much she had changed over time. It seems as if she completely changes herself to fit into this status that she has made for herself. Dee takes a picture to show where she grew up, "She never takes a shot without making sure the house is included. When a cow comes nibbling around the edge of the yard she snaps it and me and Maggie and the house" (349). To further show off her background she takes a picture to show how far she has come from her old home. Dee only really thinks of BPM as a surface level thing, but she would have to understand that it is the complete opposite. 

    The only time Dee does something that somewhat aligns with the morals of BPM is when she changes her name to Wangero to not have the same name as her oppressors. The other instances in the story show Dee's true colors when it comes to black power overall. Alice Walker was accurately able to show someone who wanted the recognition for caring about their culture, but that person did not thoroughly care about their culture. If Dee truly cared about BPM she would talk about the actual meaning behind it, which was described by NMAAHC as caring about political injustices and her community/family (para, 2). The text proves time and time again that Dee just uses this movement to show off her surface level understanding of the BPM. Dee doesn't realize that she isn't accurately supporting the BPM, but if she were to connect with her family's culture and be more in tune with the politics surrounding it she could possibly support the BPM the right way. 

Works Cited