Hustler Masculinity in African American Culture Lamar J
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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2009 "Can't Knock the Hustle": Hustler Masculinity in African American Culture Lamar J. (Lamar Jordan) Garnes Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES —CAN‘T KNOCK THE HUSTLE“: HUSTLER MASCULINITY IN AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE By LAMAR J. GARNES A Disse tation submitted to the Depa tment of English in pa tial fulfillment of the e.ui ements fo the deg ee of Docto of 0hilosophy Deg ee A1a ded: Fall Semeste 2 2005 Copy ight 6 2005 Lama J. Ga nes All Rights Rese ve The membe s of the committee app ove the disse tation of Lama J. Ga nes defended on August 202 2005. __________________________________ Je ilyn McG ego y 0 ofesso Co9Di ecting Disse tation __________________________________ Ch istophe Shinn 0 ofesso Co9Di ecting Disse tation __________________________________ Ma:ine Jones Unive sity Rep esentative __________________________________ Ma:ine Montgome y Committee Membe App oved: _____________________________________ Ralph Be y2 Chai 2 Depa tment of English The G aduate School has ve ified and app oved the above9named committee membe s. ii I dedicate this to Johnt el2 De ek2 my mom2 Nana2 and Aunt Leno a and to D eams and D eame s ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Fi st and fo emost2 I 1ould like to thank the c eato fo being the e even 1hen I thought He/She 1asn‘t and 1ithout whom none of this 1ould have been possible. I 1ould like to thank my family fo thei suppo t. I could have not completed this p oject 1ithout the help2 guidance2 and dedication of D . Ch istophe Shinn2 D . Je ilyn McG ego y2 D . Ma:ine Jones2 and D . Ma:ine Montgome y. Thank you all fo believing in me and my p oject. I 1ould also like to thank the Flo ida Education Fund fo p oviding financial and academic suppo t and mento ship th ough the McKnight Docto al Fello1ship. I 1ould like to thank the late D . Cha les Hegla of Albany State Unive sity fo continuing to believe in my abilities and fo being a g eat mento . I 1ould also like to thank D . Joan B. Holmes2 di ecto of the Unive sity of South Flo ida McNai Schola s 0 og am2 and M . Be na d Batson of the Unive sity of South Flo ida fo believing that I could do this befo e I did. Addie2 Antonio2 and Tama a thank you fo being thei 1hen I needed you th ough the p ocess of completing this p oject. And to all othe s 1ho listened to me g ipe2 1o y and talk my 1ay th ough this p oject2 I thank you fo you ea and you time. Thank you. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .............................................................................................. v INTRODUCTION: —DIGGIN‘ THE SCENE WITH A GANGSTA LEAN“: THE AFRICAN AMERICAN HUSTLER IN URBAN AMERICA 1 1. —AND SHINE SWAM ON: FROM THE 0LANTATION TO THE SILVER SCREEN .............................................................. 14 2. CLAUDE BROWN, —0USHER MAN“ IN THE 0ROMISED LAND .......................................................................................... 2A 3. —DON‘T BELIEVE THE HY0E“: MALCOLM C‘S JOURNEY FROM HUSTLER TO BLACK LEADER OF THE DIAS0ORA 4D 4. —LADIES FIRSTE“: ELAINE BROWN VYING FOR 0OWER IN THE BLACK 0ANTHER 0ARTY ........................................ D4 5. —THE (BIG) 0AYBACK“: THE BLACK HUSTLER FROM HERO TO COLOR9CODED COMMODITY ............................ AD E0ILOGUE: —BRIDGING THE GA0“: THE NEW GENERATION HUSTLING ................................................................................. 105 WORKS CITED ........................................................................................ 111 BIOGRA0HICAL SKETCH ..................................................................... 122 iv ABSTRACT “Can’t Knock the Hustle”: Performances of Black Hustler Masculinity in African American Literature and Culture2 einte p ets the Af ican Ame ican social movements of the mid9to9late 15D0s and ea ly 15I0s2 emphasiJing ho1 the cont ove sial pe fo mances of black men as black hustle s cont ibuted to them. Reading the Black 0o1e movement as a youth9 d iven eaction not only to the elde s in the Civil Rights movement but also to the 15D5 Moynihan Repo t that defined black men in te ms of c iminal deviance2 I demonst ate ho1 young black men sought to etain the masculinity2 1hich they felt thei elde s had been st ipped of, by becoming hustle s themselves. This study also claims that the selected te:ts should be p ivileged as hustle na atives2 d a1ing attention to the function of the hustle as pa ticipating in a 1ide Ame ican t adition of up1a d class mobility. In the p ocess2 the black hustle hype bolically emulates2 c iticiJes2 and ejects o est uctu es such concepts of individual K ags9 to9 iches‘ capitalism and/o middle class espectability in o de to achieve his o1n status and define his o1n te ms fo the const uction of alte native black masculinities. Chapte One econnects the black hustle to the badman2 a he o in the Af ican Ame ican folk t adition, and inte ogates ho1 the fede al gove nment and the film indust y espectively demoniJed and commodified it. Chapte s T1o and Th ee illust ate ho1 hustle masculinity in Claude B o1n‘s Manchild in the Promised Land and Malcolm CKs The Autobiography se ves as a social c iti.ue of ace and class in the inne 9city and a gue that the ( e)establishment of cultu al2 political2 and/o spi itual communities a e necessa y fo black males pe fo me s to t anscend hustle masculinity. Chapte Fou e:amines Elaine B o1n‘s A Taste of Power and discusses ho1 and to 1hat e:tent she could lead the Black 0anthe 0a ty 1hen hustle masculinity plays a la ge ole in the o ganiJation and function of elationships in the pa ty. Chapte Five demonst ate ho1 the commodification of the black hustle in the semi9 autobiog aphical and fictional na atives of Icebe g Slim and Donald Goines along 1ith the p esentation of the hustle figu e in Bla:ploitation films cont ibuted its p esent denig ation and sensationalism. The Epilogue add esses ho1 hip hop pe fo me s such as Ice Cube2 NWA2 Nas2 Jay9L2 and 50 cent2 amongst othe s2 a e ecove ing and ecupe ating the figu e of the black hustle to its ep esentation p io to the ea ly 15I0s. Such 1o k is needed because it assists in v developing an unde standing of ho1 young black men lea n to pe fo m masculinity in pa ticula kinds of u ban communities and also to complicate ho1 1e unde stand black masculinity in te ms of 1hat Michael E ic Dyson called the —politics of espectability.“ vi INTRODUCTION “DIGGIN’ THE SCENE WITH A GANGSTA LEAN”: THE AFRICAN AMERICAN HUSTLER IN URBAN AMERICA1 "Can't Knock the Hustle": Hustler Masculinity in African American Culture e:amines the function of an oft9maligned2 yet comme cially popula 2 pu ely Ame ican cha acte : the black male hustle . This 1o k seeks to e:plo e ho1 the figu e of the black hustle functions fo young black men in poo u ban a eas as a conduit fo pe sonal t ansfo mation2 1hich can be obse ved di ectly in the autobiog aphical and fictional na atives of Claude B o1n2 Malcolm C2 Elaine B o1n2 Icebe g Slim2 and Donald Goines. In each of the te:ts2 hustle masculinity eflects the social const uction of black manhood th ough 1hat has been conventionally pe ceived to be a confidence game of deceit2 a tifice2 and cunning2 1he eby the self9styliJed st eet hustle 2 1ho sees himself as a lone 1olf in a p edato y 1o ld2 gains money o p estige often by illegal means such as by dealing in d ugs2 gambling2 and p ostitution2 as 1ell as by so9called —legitimate“ means2 i.e.2 typical —st ong9a m“ business p actices. As a esult of his e:ploits2 the hustle gains a ce tain eputation and noto iety th ough his actions and th ough his t adema k flashiness and ability to subve t the dominant acial and class systems that 1e e meant to dest oy him. Hustle s t ansfo m othe young black men in sea ch of masculinity into community pa iahs2 yet in some instances2 they can also i onically help to build and maintain communities by indi ectly p omoting the values of self9 eliance2 calling attention to the impo tance of c eating mo e independent and self9sufficient communities 1hich then tu n hustle s and thei follo1e sMf om Malcolm C to Elaine B o1nMinto st ong black leade s2 cultu al p oduce s and business p ofessionals. This disse tation demonst ates ho1 the black hustle can be a potentially edeeming figu e athe than a pu ely negative cha acte because he teaches young black males about 1 Most of the chapte titles efe to the title o ly ics of a popula song2 including the title of the enti e disse tation. Each title sets the tone of the chapte . The disse tation takes its title f om the Jay L song of the same name2 1hich appea s on his debut album2 Reasonable Doubt (155D)2 1hich is based on his lived and imagined e:pe iences as an inhabitant of B ooklyn‘s Ma cy 0 ojects and as a d ug deale .