Let’s be incredibly cautious about not silencing voices. Whether it’s the voices of student protestors or authors who are people of color or who write about them, we cannot tout diversity while still silencing those who are minoritized.
Donavan Ramon
Welcome to entry fourteen in our blog series, WRITING MATTERS, in which Kelley interviews some of our wonderful authors who share about their books and writing processes. This post features Donavan L. Ramon, author of MUP book STRIKING FEATURES. Donavan is assistant professor of English at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He holds a BA in English from Hunter College and a PhD in English (African American Literature) from Rutgers University. Ramon has published articles in the COLLEGE LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION JOURNAL and PHILIP ROTH STUDIES JOURNAL, and he was a guest editor for SOUTH ATLANTIC REVIEW.
Kelley @ MUP: Donavan, you have published several articles in reputable journals. What inspired you to take your ideas from shorter pieces to a book format?
Donavan Ramon: I view publishing scholarly journal articles as a way to test ideas that will eventually develop into a book. When I was a graduate student, several scholars tried to dissuade me from pursuing racial passing as an area of research; they believed the topic was already covered at length. Thus, I published articles in different venues as a way to test my theories and see what reaction I would get. Thankfully, Philip Roth Studies, The College Language Association Journal, and The South Atlantic Review all published my work on racial passing narratives and the feedback was overall positive. This process helped me see that, contrary to the naysayers, my ideas were nuanced and worthwhile, which convinced me to take my ideas from articles to monograph. Yes, many scholars have written about racial passing, but my focus on passing narratives and psychoanalysis is unique—one I thought I could better untangle through a book project. Moreover, as a scholar of African American Literature, I wanted to advance the field of study by publishing a monograph on racial passing narratives instead of articles.
K: Your subject matter in Striking Features, using psychoanalysis to assess narratives about racial passing, is deeply personal. In your words, what is “racial passing”? Do you think this is still happening today?
DR: “Racial passing” is the act of assuming a new racial identity that differs from the one you are born with. It has been going on for a very long time, but in an American context, it gained prominence due to enslavement, when lighter-skinned African Americans realized they could use their complexion to their advantage by pretending to be white. A slave pass was a written document that enabled the enslaved some temporary freedom away from plantations, while being lighter complected also served as a type of pass that allowed African Americans to be treated better, if only for a short while. During the era of Jim Crow laws when segregation was legal, some African Americans pretended to be white in order to save their lives and demonstrate the illogical nature of anti-Black racism.
Today, racial passing still occurs, but it’s not strictly Black folks pretending to be white for safety. Over the last decade, several news reports have made it clear that academics are now engaged in a type of reverse passing, where the trend is to pass as a person of color. Rachel Dolezal is a white woman who passed as Black, while Jessica Krug is a Jewish woman who passed as Afro-Latina. Most recently, we learned about Elizabeth Hoover, a professor who claimed Native American ancestry but who is actually white. Racial passing will not go away anytime soon, since more and more white scholars are claiming minoritized identities for personal and selfish gain. I should also note that racial passing is only one boundary that folks can transgress today. Boundaries of class, geography, sexuality, and immigration status can be easily crossed given the times we are living in.
K: Why are your studies important for members of the Black community, who continue to strive for equal treatment under the law, fair wages, better school systems, and so many other rights that many white Americans may take for granted?
DR: My book is important so that African Americans can understand the internal motivations and external pressures to pass as white. The reason passing has persisted is because racism continues and will not disappear anytime soon. Yes, African Americans will continue to fight for equal treatment, but as long as this fight continues, so will efforts to jump the color line. Moreover, there is the lingering problem of colorism, to which African Americans sometimes subject each other. I hope my book suggests that colorism is absurd because, to the eyes of many racists in dominant culture, Black folks are monolithic and subject to anti-Black racism despite the colorism that impedes us. [Editor’s note: The term “colorism” refers to prejudice against darker skin tones within the same ethnic/racial group.]
K: Why are your studies important for members of the white community, who continue to inherit the prejudices born from centuries of racism and oppression?
DR: Great question! White folks should find this book important because it details how and why racial passing persists. I vividly recall the New York Times declaring the end of racism after Barack Obama’s election in 2008. It was premature, since the election of his successor reminded us of continued racism, which that president reaffirmed each day. Racism exists in many forms today, and one of the most visible forms is the banning of books by and about people of color. I hope white folks read my book to understand that, as long as racism persists, so will efforts to navigate it through racial passing. Moreover, I hope they understand the absurdity of upholding race as a boundary. If racial boundaries can be crossed so easily, why maintain them in the first place?
K: What makes your scholarly work accessible to average readers?
DR: The highest compliment I received about my book is that my mom, who is not literary by any means, read it and enjoyed it! I ensure that all my writing is clear, concise, compelling, and explains any jargon. Literary studies can be technical, but I try my best to explain the technical language so that average readers can comprehend what I’m saying. This first book was an extended exercise in distilling technical/theoretical ideas for a general audience. I hope I’m successful in this writing and future projects. I always say that if my mama can read it, then I think I’ve done my job! I don’t want my work to be read only by literary scholars with doctorates.
K: In your opinion, what is the best route to celebrating diversity—skin color and hair texture, facial features, different abilities, cultural uniqueness, and more—while honoring all people as worthy of respect, human rights, and opportunity?
DR: Another great question, and I have a lot of ideas that fall under this general category. To summarize, let’s be incredibly cautious about not silencing voices. Whether it’s the voices of student protestors or authors who are or write about people of color, we cannot tout diversity while still silencing those who are minoritized. These two are contradictory. If we are serious about celebrating diversity, then we need to hear from all minoritized voices and not just dominant white ones. This comes in many forms; the most ideal one is to ensure that we hire a wide range of people, which would help to minimize discriminatory practices.
K: How do you approach topics like racial passing with your English students at SIUE?
DR: I tell my students all the time, “all we have are the words on the page.” So we explore racial passing from a literary standpoint. We read canonical passing narratives, including Nella Larsen’s Passing and James Weldon Johnson’s Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, to meditate on all aspects of racial passing, including class, sexuality, geography, and many of the other themes explored in my book. We do close readings of these novels, and others of course, to explore racial passing. I push students to talk about the characters in the texts and not make larger sociological claims about race. I want them to focus on the ways in which Black writers have depicted race on the page, and efforts to transgress it, which provide us with a LOT to talk about. By analyzing the characters, we can see the absurdity of racism and why efforts to circumvent it are so persistent.
K: How did you decide to publish your work with Mercer University Press?
DR: I was impressed by the range of texts in your “Voices of the African Diaspora” series. Specifically, one of my mentors, Dr. Tara Green, edited a fantastic book on African American confinement literature, which inspired my own thoughts on the various ways in which Black folks have been confined since enslavement. When I read that work, and the quality of other texts in this series, I realized that Mercer University Press was the spot for me. I spoke to Dr. Green about the press, and she highly recommended it. As series editor, she put me in contact with Marc Jolley, the director of the press, and the rest, as they say, is history. I have been incredibly happy with Mercer University Press and your treatment of my first book.
K: Finally, can you tell us about any upcoming writing projects?
DR: I have been thinking a lot about violence in African American Literature. The history of Black folks in this country is a very violent one, which has been depicted in our literature from the second Africans were forced onto our shores. My next project will explore some aspect of this violence and how Black writers have portrayed it. I’ll be thinking more on this over the summer and certainly in fall 2024, when I will teach a graduate seminar on violence in African American Literature. My goal is to have my ideas crystallized by the beginning of next year so I can start writing my second book. I will keep Mercer University Press in mind for my future publications!
© Mercer University Press 2024
Click here to order Donavan Ramon’s book Striking Features. Click here to order Tara T. Green’s compilation From the Plantation to the Prison: African American Confinement Literature. Use coupon code MUPNEWS to receive 20% off your order at checkout. Shipping charges apply.
Kelley graduated from Mercer University in 2000 with a BA in English/Creative Writing. After twenty years as a freelance copy editor, including work for MUP, she has returned to full-time work outside the home with the good people at Mercer University Press. She loves to read and also enjoys great TV series, long walks with dachshunds Luke and Leia, and all things nerdy. Kelley is married to John, a “Double Bear” (BSE 2001 and MSE 2010), and they have two teenage daughters, a high school junior and a Mercer freshman.
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