2. @rgay reminds me of something that once happened to Samuel Delany when he first won Nebula Award from Science Fiction Writers association
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Replying to @HeerJeet
3. After Delany picked up award, he was shaking hands. Isaac Asimov joked, "We only gave it to you because you are black."
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Replying to @HeerJeet
4. Now, Delany and Asimov were friends (Delany would later dedicate a book to Asimov). And Asimov was politically quite anti-racist.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
5. So, why did Asimov make his stupid "joke"? Social unease, I think. First time black writer wins major s.f. award was moment of change
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Replying to @HeerJeet
6. Asimov's "joke" was his attempt to register that moment, using jibbing he used with friends to mark moment & also put Delany in place
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Replying to @HeerJeet
7. Another story. Gwendolyn Brooks served as judge for National Book Awards. Later, Wallace Stevens was at an NBA event.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
8. Stevens was shown photos of NBA judges, saw Brooks in one photos and asked, "Who's the coon?"
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Replying to @HeerJeet
9. The people around Stevens were visibly uncomfortable by the question.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
10. Stevens noticed discomfort and said, "“I know you don’t like to hear people call a lady a coon, but who is it?”
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