Wedding Day

Bennett, Qwendolyn. "Wedding Day." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David L. Lewis. New York: Viking Penguin, 1994. 363-69. Print.

There is a lot that can be discussed concerning this short story, but I want to focus on the way Bennett reverses the dominant and subservient roles of whites and blacks during the scene where Paul and Mary first meet. In France, as a free black man, Paul lives the life of any other French citizen regardless of color. However, because he was originally from America, he holds onto deep-rooted prejudices against white people. Hypocritically, perhaps, he (at first) treats Mary as a white people in the South would have likely treated him. I particularly like the irony of Mary calling out, “please don’t hate me ‘cause I was born white and an American.” (367) The reversal of traditional roles (where the black man/woman would be begging the white man/woman not to judge them by their skin color) is somewhat insightful to the hypocrisy (or, at least, the vindictiveness) of black hatred towards white people. Especially when taken in conference with some of the other author’s we’ve read that do nothing but advocate racial equality, this racism against whites is just as damaging as racism against blacks. The attitude of reciprocity only furthers racial divide, not settles it.

I’m curious to know more about Bennett’s personal views on black racism towards whites. The somewhat caricature-leaning character of Paul leads me to believe that she feels as I do, that racism against whites is foolhardy. However, the fact that she brings the story-arc to the point where succumbing to a white person (through love/marriage) creates Paul’s downfall makes me wonder if Bennett wasn’t herself a bit racist. If not an outright racist against whites, I feel that it is fairly likely that she wouldn’t admonish those who were. A white temptress or she-devil is just as derogatory and offensive as had the races in this short story been reversed, and, since they are reversed, sends a bit stronger of a message to the reader (simply by its uniqueness). I’ve said it before, but equality is a two way road. Vengeance and vindication, or even contemporary ludicrous appeals to past wrongs such as the disgusting affirmative action laws, do nothing but further the race divide. Making whites into pariahs to humanity because of the past is just as bigoted as what white peoples’ ancestors did to black peoples’ ancestors.