Law Prof Explores Race, ‘Selling Out’

Klein Professor of Law Randall L. Kennedy provoked a dynamic discussion about collective racial and ethnic identity—centering on the term “sellout”—with a group of about 15 students in the Dunster House Junior Common Room last night.

Kennedy defined “sellout” as a term used to describe and stigmatize African Americans who are said knowingly or negligently to act against the interest of their communities.

Philip G. Parham ’09, a member of the Black Men’s Forum, said that every black student who goes to elite institutions like Harvard could be seen as a sellout by others.

“The fact that they have aspired to something which white culture has held up so high in itself is a sellout,” he said.

Kennedy, who is working on a book about movements against minorities perceived to have lost their roots, is the bestselling author of the controversial books “Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word” and “Interracial Intimacies: Sex, Marriage, Identity and Adoption.”

He also cited some examples of figures who have been labeled as sellouts—such as Christopher Darden, an African-American prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson case, Clarence Thomas, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and himself.

“The idea of racial betrayal has been and remains a significant force in African-American life,” he said.

Kennedy opened up the floor for student input, especially on the colloquial use of terms like “keeping it real” and “acting black.”

A third-year law student and Dunster non-resident tutor who co-organized the event, Daniel J. Urman, said he supported Kennedy’s view that common sellout rhetoric among people who exalt the idea of group solidarity is indeed a pressing issue.

The group also focused on the complications of defining “sellout.” There was a general consensus that the term covers a wide range of experiences and is often misused.

Kennedy argued that people should not label others as “sellouts” or “racial traitors” merely for the effect of emotive value and stigmatizing power.

“Why not say that they’re wrong for the following reasons?” he asked.

Martin S. Bell ’03, a law student and a pre-law tutor for Dunster House, also helped to organize the event.

Bell, who is also a Crimson editor, said that he thought Kennedy would be a good guest speaker because the discussion could influence his research.

“This is an unusual and exciting event in that it is also a brainstorming session of sorts for Professor Kennedy,” Bell said. “He’s looking to learn and be inspired and provoked by your thoughts on the subject as much as he is eager to share what he’s found.”