And so, like the two great 19th-century thinkers in whose paths we humbly tread, we insist that we have invented nothing, but merely seek to give a name to a historical movement going on before our very eyes. Although it has sometimes been difficult to maintain a clear distinction, we do not see it as the job of the journal to monitor development in the black community. Whiteness, like royalty, threatens to arrange human society by the rules of animal breeding. It reduces the scope of close relationships by eliminating all those considered black from the universe of possible lovers, even comrades, for those considered white. But the barriers to human engagement prove in practice to be less than universally effective.
People seek out denied possibilities.
They embrace love when it is within reach. They look for inspiration where it is nourished. To their credit, some say yes. We have been advised, and we hope we have heard the words well, that, for whites, the willingness to borrow from black culture does not equal race treason. Nonetheless, we are convinced that widespread borrowing hints at the possibility of something larger and more powerful than fashion decisions.