(ANSA) – ROME, NOVEMBER 05 – We are publishing a preview, courtesy of the Longanesi publishing house, an excerpt on racism from Will Smith’s autobiography, ‘Will’, which will be released on November 9 and will be in Italian bookstores on November 11 , with an unpublished photographic insert. Here is an excerpt from the memoir, over 400 pages, written with Mark Manson, in which Will Smith talks about himself for the first time.
“I’ve heard myself openly called ‘Negro’ five or six times in my entire life: twice by as many police officers, on a couple of occasions by complete strangers, on one occasion by a white ‘friend’, but never by anyone. which I thought was smart or strong. I once heard some of the white children at school ‘joking’ about a day of ‘nigger hunting’, a ‘holiday’ apparently well known in their neighborhoods. In the early 1900s, some community members Philly white women picked a specific day to attack any black people they saw wandering around the neighborhood. Seventy years later, some of my Catholic school classmates still found it amusing to joke about it. But any real experience I have had with outright racism has been. verified with people whom at best I regarded as fragile enemies. win or dodge. As a result, this form of overt racism, while dangerous and omnipresent as an external threat, has never made me feel inferior.
I grew up in the belief that I was inherently equipped to handle any problem that might arise in my life, including racism. A combination of hard work, education, and faith in God would break down any obstacle or enemy. The only variable was the degree of commitment I put into the battle.
The older I grew, however, the more I became aware of certain silent, unspoken and more insidious forms of prejudice because they were always lurking. I got into bigger trouble if I just did the same things my white classmates did.
I was consulted less frequently and felt that the teachers took me less seriously.
I spent most of my childhood straddling two cultures: the black world, at home, in the neighborhood, at the Baptist church and at Papo’s shop; and the white world of school, the Catholic Church and the prevailing culture in America. I went to a church attended exclusively by blacks, lived on a street inhabited only by blacks, and grew up playing mostly with other black kids. At the same time, however, I was one of only three black children who went to Our Lady of Lourdes, the local Catholic school. […]
In Catholic school, no matter how smart and good I was, I was still the black kid. At Wynnefield, no matter how up-to-date I was in music or fashion, I was never black enough. I became one of the first hip hop artists deemed “safe” enough for white audiences.
But black audiences labeled me as a wimp because I didn’t rap hardcore gangsta shit. A racial dynamic, this, destined to give me the torment for a lifetime.
But just like at home, putting on a show and making people laugh became my sword and shield. I was the classic clown of the class, who told jokes, made stupid verses and never stopped making a fool of himself. And as long as I was the hilarious kid, it meant I wasn’t just the black kid.
Funny is a concept that goes beyond racial prejudice; comedy defuses all negativity. It is impossible to be angry, resentful or violent when you are doubled over with laughter. “(ANSA).
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Source From: Ansa
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