By KAYLA DEMICCO
Opinion Editor
For the record, I am a Latina woman and while I don’t face the oppression and hardships that Black people do, I speak as an ally for the Black community.
It is the month of February and that means it is also Black History Month, also known as National African-American History Month. During Black History Month, it would make sense to take this month to recognize and celebrate the lives of influential African-American people as they play such a significant role to American history. According to National Day Calendar, Black History Month was created by twentieth-century historian Carter Woodson, who believed black Americans were not adequately represented in the study of American history. Carter Woodson hoped for the day when black history would be accepted as a part of American history. In 1976, Black History Month was declared an official celebration by President Gerald Ford.
Big brands and companies such as Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Nike, Target, Hulu, Coca-Cola, Lyft, Spotify and more have been showing their support for this annual observance by recognizing their Black employees, selling products that honor influential Black figures in history and creating separate sections for Black artists and their works, creating special features so that Black users can feel special and celebrated and so much more for the entire month of February. Hulu created a section specifically for “content celebrating black voices and themes on [their] platform” called “Celebrating Black Stories.”
Unlike all these brands doing the smart thing and talking about something that is relevant, the American men’s magazine, Esquire, published an article on Feb. 12 titled, “The Life of an American Boy at 17.” The article tells the life story of an average white high school boy from Wisconsin named Ryan Morgan written by Jennifer Percy published for the March 2019 issue for the magazine, released in February.
The tagline for the story is “What it’s like to grow up white, middle class, & male in the era of social media, school shootings, toxic masculinity, #MeToo, and a divided country.” Looking at the condition that the country is in right now, most white males have not made the best name for themselves within the past few years with all the controversies and violence. This the privileged perspective that nobody has really asked for and I personally do not see the appeal or relevancy in a story like this, especially during Black History Month.
Many Twitter users were outraged, disgusted, confused, and describing it as “satire” on why a story like this would be written and published during Black History Month. White males have been talked about and have been given attention over so many since the beginning of time.
“While there’s no question that being a child in today’s cultural climate is difficult, this reporter and many people on Twitter were confused as to why the magazine chose to profile a white boy in lieu of, say, any other American teenager. There are countless narratives of white men in history. Why, in 2019, are we adding yet another?” commented Jenna Amatulli, from The Washington Post.
Twitter user @TalbertSwan said, “Run this one @esquire… “The Life of an American boy who was murdered at 17” Remembering Trayvon Martin & what it’s like to grow up Black, middle class, and male in the era of police brutality, racial profiling, white supremacy, Trumpism, and a divided country.”
Also talking about Trayvon Martin is Twitter user @zara915 saying “Imagine this same ‘American Boy’ headline with someone who looked like Trayvon talking about what it’s like to have your mother sit you down to tell you how to stay alive in your own city during Black History Month. Just imagine. Shame on you, @esquire.”
“Like all seventeen-year-olds, he thinks a lot about what he wants to do with his life, because everyone keeps telling him he’s supposed to have it figured out. He’d rather just talk about his girlfriend or cool sneakers or the Packers. But life is never that simple,” Percy writes.
The Washington Post summarizes the story as “a rundown of Morgan’s day-to-day, which includes his retelling of an altercation with a female classmate, an AP exam, interactions with his girlfriend, Kaitlyn, and his feelings.”
The piece says that Morgan was raised surrounded by Republican views and a quote from him saying, “Everyone hates me because I support Trump? I couldn’t debate anyone without being shut down and called names. Like, what did I do wrong?”
While talking about the #MeToo movement and Trump, Morgan says, “I don’t think [Trump] is racist or sexist.”
This average teenage white male clearly doesn’t understand oppression or discrimination and has the privilege to not involve himself in the world of politics.
