The PBS Blog

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What do Mariah Carey, Jagged Edge, Bow Wow, Criss Cross, Da Brat, Xscape, and Anthony Hamilton have in common?

Jermaine Dupree.

From Criss Cross “Jump” to Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” and Usher’s “Nice and Slow,” this man has had 11 #1 Billboard Hot 100 records.

And I am going to tell you why this struck me today.

My Black historical work largely focuses on the lives and legacies of others.

Many times, people (and by people I mean experts in their fields) have tried to tell me that I need to show my face more, talk about me more, and be more physically present.

Here is why I have not wholly heeded this advice.

I say wholly because, in some cases, sure. I pop in and out. Everyone should do it every once in a while. In the age of AI, people need to know you are a real person. It’s also really cool to know the person behind the work.

At the same time, when it comes to my work, this ain’t really about me.

At least not directly.

Telling the stories of my ancestors requires me, in most instances, to decenter myself.

What most people miss, though, is that this decentering does not mean to make myself smaller.

It is not a diminishing of self, but rather, an understanding of when my voice should lead and when it should make room.

It is an understanding that humility is not self-erasure.

In a world that encourages us to be lovers of self, I believe we often forget that legacy is not always about us in the literal sense of the word.

As in Jermaine Dupri, you may be known not for what you have produced for yourself, but what you have produced for others.

Your work may require that you are not the face in front of the camera, but the one behind it. And back there? You might make an even greater difference.

Jermaine Dupri wrote some of our favorite songs, and he could have kept them for himself.

But I believe Dupri realized something I think is lost in today’s world.

The power of decentering himself, for in doing so, he could make a much more powerful impact through others than he could have ever done for himself.

And the point of it all..

Decentering myself in the study of Black history is an act of respect, not self-rejection. I cannot approach the past assuming that my perspective, my interpretation, or even my present-day understanding should occupy the center.

Sometimes the work requires me to step aside so that the people whose stories were marginalized, distorted, or silenced can take their rightful place at the center.