Rutgers alum, author Donavan Ramon speaks at book launch

On Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of Global Racial Justice (ISGRJ) and the Allen and Joan Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life hosted a virtual book launch for "Striking Features: Psychoanalysis and Racial Passing Narratives."

The event featured a presentation and conversation between author Donavan Ramon, a Rutgers alum and assistant professor in the English Department at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and Michelle Stephens, a professor in the University's English Department and the Department of Latino and Caribbean Studies as well as the founding and executive director of the ISGRJ.

Ramon opened the event by sharing experiences from his childhood and his undergraduate education at Hunter College that culminated in "Striking Features." 

He specifically spoke about an occasion when he was asked about whether he was of Garifuna descent. It was the first time he had heard the name, which he said is used to describe Nigerian people escaping enslavement who were displaced in Central America.

Ramon said that when he asked his mother about this identity, she found it offensive, which prompted him to do more research on the topic. He said he believes his family may have ancestral ties to Nigeria but did not want to push them to talk about the topic.

"I'm not gonna blame my mom," Ramon said. "But I think that she's heard over the course of her long life that maybe we should not affiliate with the Garifuna because of the African roots, because of the connotations about African-ness in Central America. And that just stayed with me."

When he later attended Hunter College, he said he took a class on Black literature that provided him with more information about ethnic passing, which he defined as surpassing any border based on racial identity.

Passing is not solely confined to skin color though, Ramon said. Passing can also be related to gender, nationality, sexuality and socioeconomic class.

"Though my book is exclusively about racial passing, I talk about boundaries that have been lost, say with class and sexuality, with geography," he said.

When Ramon attended Rutgers, he took a graduate course in psychoanalysis that helped him solidify the relationship between psychoanalysis and understanding racial passing, leading him to pen "Striking Features."

Ramon also discussed the work of Sigmund Freud, a neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis. He said Freudian theory contained exclusionary practices, such as leaving out identities of color or individuals that were not men.

Ramon said he took a closer look at how race and religion played a role in the work that Freud produced. He said Freud, who resided in Europe, withheld information about his Jewish roots due to the religion's perceived relationship with African heritage.

"In the late 19th century in Europe … to be seen as Jewish meant to have African ancestry," he said. "To be seen as Jewish was racialized. And you think about the logic of one drop — that meant if you were Jewish, you had one drop or more of African ancestry."

He also related the influences of childhood trauma in Freud's work to that of W.E.B. Du Bois in the U.S. He said for both scholars, being mistreated in their respective classrooms due to their race shaped their work in adulthood.

Ramon then shifted to discussing his definition of race learning, which appears in the earliest parts of his book. He said race learning is the role race plays in trauma associated with early childhood education.

"My theory of race learning dictates that racialized beings learn about race for the first time in the classroom," he said. "The classroom is a trauma for those of us who are dark-complected … If you are Black throughout the diaspora, and you enter a racialized space, like the classroom, you're going to understand what race means."

He referred to the text "The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man" by James Weldon Johnson as an example of racial awareness, where the main character, a light-skinned boy, is first introduced to his Black identity when he stands up after his teacher tells every white student in the class to stand up.

"He stands up, and the teacher says, 'No, you need to sit down,' because he's actually Black," Ramon said. "He didn't realize he was Black. And that's a scene that has always stayed with me."

Additionally, Ramon talked about instances of non-Black people passing as Black, referencing figures like Rachel Dolezal and Jessica Krug, both of whom are white but claimed Blackness.

He said people should uplift causes like the Black Lives Matter movement rather than feigning a Black identity or occupying resources intended for Black folks.

Within the context of the recent decision to remove affirmative action from higher education, Ramon said applicants may increasingly lie about being Black to obtain resources, such as scholarships.

"Nobody said to (Dolezal and Krug), 'Well, you actually don't look like you're Black.' Nobody's gonna say that," he said. "And one of the reasons they were able to pass is because we cannot ask, 'Hey, are you Black? Are you white?' on the applications when you're submitting for fellowships, for research funds, et cetera, et cetera."

The launch concluded with a Q&A forum and Ramon giving thanks to all who attended.