Dead Impacts: Selective Renditions

In thinking about why Turner is buried as a historical figure, we must consider why anyone is buried. With an indisputably impactful character such as Turner, we can safely rule out the justification that he is no longer relevant. If history itself lays claim to the importance and relevance of Turner, the only reason for dismembering him would be those of whom his memory threatens. Two groups, in particular, stand out in this category as those whose motives are hindered by Turner’s legacy: those who support White society and those whose vision of the movement for progress does not include radicalism. For the former, Turner is rejected on the basis that he opposes the authority at the base of White society, attempting to remove power from the hegemonic system and redistribute it in the form of agency and action to those oppressed. As such, Turner is far from the insignificant figure his lack of popularity would suggest. On the contrary, his threat results in the overpowering of his message by discrediting and undermining the figure. The latter group seeks to cover up Turner’s legacy because he contrasts their methodology for social change. By failing to play into the movement’s methods, Turner is seen as a hindrance in achieving progress. This is heavily related to respectability politics in that if a figure is radically defiant of oppression in means outside the accepted realm of resistance ideology, they are thus stripped of their association with the movement so as not to hinder it.

Both of these reactions to Turner are forms of not only suppression, but oppression. Both groups are rejecting Turner on the basis that he is too progressive and therefore unfit to exist in public memory. This creates rifts within communities and societies that forces those who have similar goals within movements to selectively choose aspects of their identity or ideology over others in order to be accepted as a part of the movement at all. As such, the most marginalized people are rarely included in progressive movements as they become increasingly mainstream. People that are too “complex”, too radical, too much are disallowed from groups despite working toward similar goals. This further strengthens the White society that insists that there is a right way to exist. So long as movements dictate the inclusivity of oppressed peoples as illegitimate, the more successful White power is in weakening their forces and subduing power shifts necessary for justice.