OPINION: The African American task of destroying racism in America must become a serious, all-out war
By Ivory Phillips
JA Contributing Editor
Since their arrival here as enslaved people in the late 15th Century, there have been numerous efforts by African people to overthrow the racial oppression foisted upon them by European Americans. The efforts to end the oppression have sometimes been planned over long periods of time and sometimes been spontaneous; sometimes by just a few people and sometimes by large numbers; sometimes broadly publicized and sometimes secretly developed.
What one can see in it all is that the task of African Americans ending racism in America has been a colossal, a gigantic, an almost impossibly difficult one. It is the dream of which Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke in 1963 at the March on Washington. The dream has been shared by many others before and after him. This shows the persistence of racism and the enormity of the task.
Rather than give up on trying to fulfill the elusive dream or achieve this difficult victory, African Americans must truly accept the overall goal and then proceed to attack each individual racist manifestation forcefully and consistently. As in the case of any all-out war, African Americans and their true allies must account for both the end goal and the periodic set-backs. Fighting racism in America must become an all-out struggle in order to destroy the culprit.
What follows here is a list of several of the key impediments that must be accounted for and overcome. While others may advance fewer by collapsing some on the list, or find more by dividing or adding to the list, this list is crucial for consideration because of the socio-cultural environment in which African Americans find themselves.
(1) From a purely human standpoint, it is virtually impossible for an individual to devote himself or herself to fighting racism 24/7. There has to be time to care for and interact with the members of their families and attend to personal and social needs. Those needs should not be neglected. On the other hand, because of the nature of White Supremacy, the enemy against which they struggle, is staring them in the face during each public endeavor – be that in shopping, working, and other economic matters; during recreational and leisure activities; while at political and religious functions; and at educational, child-rearing, or other healthcare visits. Racist people and/or institutional practices are there to re-enforce White Supremacist ideology and policies. Thus, in order to be successful, African Americans must be able to master the art of relaxing and being normal human beings in environments where their race is not being exposed to any form of oppression or put-down, but at the same time being ever on-guard and superhuman warriors in environments wherein their race can be exploited, put-down, or otherwise oppressed.
(2) Racism cannot be viewed as just a matter of individual actions. In America, it has been built into the system and into every institution in this society. It is not a matter of whether or not an individual European American acts or appears to be fair minded. The resulting outcome is what matters when it comes to the educational, economic, political, or other encounter. If the laws, policies, and practices are skewed against one group or favors one group, all that the individual European American has to do is follow the law, policy, or practice and we will have racism in reality. African American people and those European Americans who truly desire to be non-racist must keep that in mind and do all in their power to change the laws, policies, and practices that uphold White Supremacy. Yes, there are kind-hearted European Americans who are liberal in every other way, but if they are unwilling to and in fact are not striving to change the system in ways that treat every group with justice, equity, and equality, then they are still a part of the racial problem.
(3) A third factor that is an obstacle/impediment in fighting racism or White Supremacy is Black powerlessness. The ideology of White Supremacy and the practice of American racism have remained as strong as they have because the educational institutions and the media outlets have perpetuated and promoted them. The actions of many homes, churches, schools and colleges, radios, movies, televisions, and other platforms become like a seamless garment, propagandizing European Americans, African Americans, and the larger world. For several brief periods, Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement, the process was interrupted. In recent years, however, the country has witnessed a ferocious turn against the public teaching of anything other than the White Supremacist version of history. All of this weakens the social/cultural power and position of Black people. African Americans and others who understand the truth about civil and human rights must mount a defense and launch a counter-attack that destroys racism and White Supremacy, as they undercut those aspects of Black cultural power.
Those efforts need to, and to some extent, do depend upon the political and economic power that African Americans and their allies develop around the country. As their political power is attacked in some areas, African Americans in other areas must see that as their fight and come to the rescue with economic resources, with protests and boycotts, and with counter political proposals and acts. These measures obviously also call for the development of Black businesses and the support of such by Black consumers and call for Black entrepreneurs to support Black politicians, Black educators, and Black educational institutions.
Black power can be had. It just depends upon African American peoples’ willingness to come together and to wean themselves from dependency upon white wealth, white cultural dominance, and white political supremacy. Furthermore, Black cultural, economic, and political power is the only final antidote to the power of white power and supremacy.
