I know this sentiment really shows my age, but I just haven’t cared much about the Grammy’s since Michael Jackson (the still brown, one-gloved, zippered jacket version) and Prince (the purple-clad, high heeled, pompadour version) stopped being the central attractions. But I watched Sunday night. Most of it was forgettable, but I liked Kanye West’s performance. I like him because he is from Chicago, appreciate him because he said “George Bush doesn’t care about black people,” and feel sympathy for him because he lost his mom this year. 

Still, while I was watching his “Stronger” performance I wondered if the lyrics of the chorus are true.  Is it true that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger? 

I worry that black folks celebrate strength too much.  We have survived some serious adversity. In the aftermath of slavery, Jim Crow and our continuing realities of inequality; I am impressed that we make any sense at all! But I’ve got to believe that character, culture, morality, and humanity can be developed without the workout of surviving oppression.

After all, much of what has failed to kill us has made us weaker, not stronger.  We are less healthy, less wealthy, less educated and less secure than we would have been with a more egalitarian history.  I get that we have resisted. We have innovated and improvised, which is how we made Jazz and Hip Hop.  But there might be some danger is celebrating the struggle.  I wonder if it makes us less willing to dismantle the structures of oppression.

What about people who are crushed? What about folks who can’t fight back? What about those who become victims instead of survivors? Does our celebration of strength make us more judgmental toward them?

Marc, I know Kanye’s “stronger” song is not this deep, but it got me to thinking.  What’s your take?

Melissa Harris-Lacewell is Associate Professor of Politics and African American Studies at Princeton University.