Happy MLK Day: It’s Not On Black People To Fix Racism
Try as we might, try as we have, fixing racism just isn’t on us. Of course we’ve been reduced to fighting racism since the end of slavery some hundred and fifty-plus years ago because what else can you do? When those sworn to protect us, fail to do so, repeatedly. Yes, Black Lives Matter. The fact that we have to repeatedly remind you is the problem. Your instinctive reaction to #BLM should not be All Lives Matter, we recognize that. But understand, #BLM is a rally cry, a reminder to YOU that Black Lives Matter, too because our bodies are so frequently violated, many of you seem to forget. In that vein, now more than ever, we need to remind our allies — specifically our white allies, that racism is your burden to fix.
On this historic day, I cannot believe my eyes as I see Congressman Paul Ryan REPEATEDLY tweeting about MLK, Jr. as he actively looks to rob people of healthcare — a basic right; something MLK, Jr. was most certainly against. And on today of all days, when I see comedian Rob Schneider being critical of CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST/HERO/LEGEND/Congressman John Lewis, I can’t be silent. I will not stand idly by and witness as MLK, Jr. is weaponized against a fellow civil rights leader and reduced to a “peaceful protestor.” As Brian Addison wrote:
“White folks love to talk of King’s “peaceful” approach to everything but often ignore his hard truths that ranged from harsh criticisms of the military-industry complex to support for living wages…”
As you spout off repeatedly, shouting King-Did-This here and King-Did-That there, your mediocre level of truly caring is nothing short of outright weakness — and misusing King as the backbone to your very distorted conception of what his work was and what it achieved in order to defend your white fragility is even worse.
No one ever quotes passages from his later work but they really should. In his last book, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote:
Whites, it must frankly be said, are not putting in a similar mass effort to reeducate themselves out of their racial ignorance. It is an aspect of their sense of superiority that the white people of America believe they have so little to learn. The reality of substantial investment to assist Negroes into the twentieth century, adjusting to Negro neighbours and genuine school integration, is still a nightmare for all too many white Americans. White America would have liked to believe that in the past ten years a mechanism had somehow been created that needed only orderly and smooth tending for the painless accomplishment of change. Yet this is precisely what has not been achieved.
It’s hard to believe that he wrote that in 1967 and not in 2017 because it all still very much applies. Dr. King, Jr. continued:
These are the deepest causes for contemporary abrasions between the races. Loose and easy language about equality, resonant resolutions about brotherhood fall pleasantly on the ear, but for the Negro there is a credibility gap he cannot overlook. He remembers that with each modest advance the white population promptly raises the argument that the Negro has come far enough. Each step forward accents an ever-present tendency to backlash.
This is what it is like to be black in America in 2017. You hear much talk of equality, your President is black (for a few more days at least) after all but there is an ever-present tendency to backlash — or as Van Jones so eloquently put it, whitelash, which no doubt helped deliver us Trump. Jamelle Bouie wrote:
“For millions of white Americans who weren’t attuned to growing diversity and cosmopolitanism, however, Obama was a shock, a figure who appeared out of nowhere to dominate the country’s political life. And with talk of an “emerging Democratic majority,” he presaged a time when their votes — which had elected George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan — would no longer matter. More than simply “change,” Obama’s election felt like an inversion. When coupled with the broad decline in incomes and living standards caused by the Great Recession, it seemed to signal the end of a hierarchy that had always placed white Americans at the top, delivering status even when it couldn’t give material benefits.”
With this in mind, I am forced to think on the illuminating New York Times profile of the female Trump supporters and some of the (mis)information, which solidified their support for Trump:
- “[President Obama] didn’t support law enforcement the way he did the community that felt they were being unjustly treated. I think he could have done a better job instead of pointing blame. Instead of saying we need to educate people on how to behave when they’re being pulled over by the police.”
- “I feel the last eight years have been a joke. Obama was out for himself. I don’t think he really respected the office. I think it was more about him being a celebrity than a president.”
I ask you now, what are YOU going to do about it? How will you push back on this? I’m sure, you have a pit in your stomach, you’re thinking, “Not me though! I’m not racist! I have black friends!” Sadly, this is no longer about YOU feeling slighted, feeling offended that someone had the audacity to challenge race relations in this country, in your neighbourhood or community. Dry your tears, comfort your white fragility and move past those uncomfortable feelings into action.
This is now about the reality of the situation. Which is to say, white allies are going to need to step up and get involved in spotting racism and calling it out, especially in Trump’s America where white supremacists and hate-mongers have an actual seat at the table of power. Listen, read, educate yourself. Challenge your family and friends, inaccurate concepts and misinformation. Get involved.
Do as Dr. King, Jr. suggested fifty years ago and start reeducating yourself out of racial ignorance.
