[Will]

The term ‘shine’ orginated with the shoeshine business. A shine was a black person who shined shoes. Another term was ‘boot black.’ Perhaps the person did not hear the word ‘sun’ in the term. It’s really a play on words. To call a person a shine is to call them ‘boot black’ as in skin color. In the segregated days, to be called black was tantamount to being called a nigger or, worse yet, an African (because of the stereotypes prevalent in the ’30s and ’40s via the Tarzan movies). Also, in those days they had products that supposedly could ‘lighten’ the skin, thus adding to the fear and apprehension of being called ‘black.’

Also, many advertisers used blacks as images for their products, such as Aunt Jemima, Gold Dust washing powder and Niggerhead tobacco. The images were people black as night, with big lips and protruding eyeballs. Of course blacks did not wish to be associated with such images, so many called themselves colored or negro.

The term ‘shine’ is a throwback to those days when our image of us as a people was distorted, and it caused us great anguish and shame. Perhaps the person who felt insulted remembers the shame but probably not the reason he/she felt ashamed. I’m reminded of a song by James Brown called, ‘Down and Out in New York City.’ In it, one lyric goes, ‘Here’s a dime, boy, give me a shine, boy!’

User Detail :  

Name : Will, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 45, City : West Los Angeles, State : CA, Country : United States, 

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