“The Congo”
The author is emotionally overcome by the inherent irony in the poem “The Congo.” The irony is situated in the circumstances of its creation. Written by a white American male, the poem is subtitled “A Study of the Negro Race.” What the poet had intended to be taken sincerely as a serious study of racial differences, Margo Jefferson views as irony so obscene as to be comparable to pornography.
Passing
One controversial element of Black American society existing both within and without the borders of Negroland is a lifestyle choice known as “passing.” It describes the ability by those within the Black community with light enough skin to “pass” as white who choose to interact with white society while not divulging the racial group in which they have been medically or legally classified. A distant relative of the author was classified as Black but successfully passed for much of his life before finally integrating fully back into Black society. This decision led to an example of ironic humor when it was noted of his return “It was just around this time that my great-uncle Lucious resumed his life as a Negro.”
Advertising
The desire to assimilate into mainstream white American society offers abundant opportunities for the ironic contradictions that that define capitalist culture. Such is the case with one particularly egregious advertisement for a hair product marketed directly toward Black consumers which was routinely featured in editions of Ebony magazine. The outrage of the irony is fully captured in the author’s tone of disbelief when she later recollects “Why did I never notice the Ebony ads for Kongolene Hair Cream when I was growing up? They’re inescapable, irrefutable. Kongolene Hair Cream for Men: Logo KKK: (KONGO KONGOLENE KHEMICAL).”
Suicide
One of the most remarkable examples of intentional authorial irony is Jefferson’s identification of the one “privilege” which Negroland failed to extend to its feminine inhabitants. The irony lies in the definition of what qualifies as an example of class privilege. That one singular opportunity freely enjoyed by her white peers but denied to Black women is a condition known as clinical depression with attendant suicidal tendencies. In other words, suicide was considered a white privilege to which Black women should not aspire.
White Riots/Black Uprisings
When perusing this final example, keep in mind that this book was published in September of 2015. Another way of phrasing that fact is that it was published sixty-five months—give or take a week or two—before the violent insurrection which took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The image of a flood of white faces beating up police officers and vandalizing government property is worth keeping in mind for the full effect of the irony inherent in the author’s desperate plea for some semblance of equitable treatment as she writes about the response to protests by Black Americans: “The media wants to call them riots, but they’re uprisings. Why should Black people behave well to get their rights? White people don’t behave and they get all the rights they want.”
