Both Benjamin Banneker's letter to Thomas Jefferson as well as Frederick Douglass's Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave are examples of mature criticality, which is “criticism and world knowledge from one’s own subject position or autonomous agenda” (Stewart). Criticality is when people question the norm and create a plan for change, which then leads to activism which takes this idea for change and exposes unjust and unfair ideas and/or actions. Both Douglass and Banneker demonstrated criticality as they identified problems and suggested change, but Douglass’s embedded criticality of the system he was enslaved to was more successful because it encouraged physical activism in response to the identified issues.
Banneker was the grandson of indentured servant Molly Welsh and her slave Bannka, who decided to marry and have a daughter, who then married a free black man, and had Banneker (Stewart). He ended up teaching himself subjects such as astronomy and math, and ended up becoming a well educated black man. In his letter to Thomas Jefferson, Banneker mentions that Jefferson instilled the idea of equality for all in the Declaration of Independance, but he was also the first to suggest that black people are inferior to white people (Stewart). Banneker expressed his discontent with Jefferson by writing, “...you publicly held forth this true and invaluable doctrine, which is worthy to be recorded and remembered in all succeeding ages” (Banneker). Not only is Jefferson the man that created the idea that all men are created equal, but he was also a slave owner, which only adds to the hypocrisy that Banneker was trying to expose. This letter was an example of mature criticality, because of his ability to question ideas and perspectives that are shared by the world, as well as his ability to embody the criticism he makes on Jefferson (Stewart). Since Jefferson believes that the intellectual capacity of a black person is less than that of a white person, as explained in his Notes to Virginia regarding the fact that he knew of few black people that could understand the teachings of Euclid. Banneker challenges this idea as a black man that is an astronomer, mathematician and surveyor, by sending Jefferson an almanac he made, which requires very extensive knowledge.
Douglass's narrative gave insight to the system of slavery that he experienced which helped the audience connect to the life of a slave on an emotional level. His first-hand account of the brutality and physical punishments that he and many others went through during his enslavement changed when he learned to read and write. When he became capable of reading, he explained, “The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers. I could regard them in no other light than a band of successful robbers, who had left their homes, and gone to Africa, and stolen us from out homes, and in a strange land reduced us to slavery” (Douglass, p. 35).He began his path to self-emancipation shortly after he became an educated man, because that is when he began to realize that slavery is immoral and its dehumanizing nature is something that needed to be changed. Douglass demonstrated embedded criticality, as he lived in the system of slavery, and he wanted to change the way of things and did so by demonstrating resistance and noncompliance. His narrative gave insight to Americans in the North about the conditions that slaves were subjected to, which led to anti-slavery legislature as well as informed and inspired abolitionists. He ended up joining an abolitionist movement and gave speeches that encouraged the end of slavery (Stewart).
I believe that Douglass’s criticality is more effective because he exposes the conditions and harsh realities of slaves to the world, which allowed him to go from being intellectually critical and proposing the need for change, to his ultimate ability to participate in physical activism. Although Banneker also used criticality and eventually turned it into activism, his form was limited as he wrote his letter showing and explaining what should be changed, but it ultimately did not motivate people do take action, unlike Douglass’s narrative which reached the audience and touched them on an emotional level.
An example of criticality and activism today is what is currently happened in Ferguson, Missouri. Michael Brown was a young black man who was walking home with his friend, when the white police officer Darren Wilson shot him six times for no apparent reason. Dorian Johnson gave his account for what happened, but the police are refusing to credit him as a witness. This created an uproar from the Ferguson civilians who demanded that justice would be served. But instead of encouraging peace, the protesters were teargassed by the local police. This is an example of a form of criticality that Douglass used, where he identified the problem and proposed a change, and then physical activism followed. The citizens of Ferguson identified the fact that the black young man was shot with no probable cause, and now they are standing up and protesting for their rights as black people in America and how they are constantly reminded that white people believe their lives are inferior to theirs. Both the black people of Ferguson and Douglass have first hand knowledge of the racism that they experience in their lives and both take an active part in changing that.
Link to video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlMjhoYPmZ8
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