Anti-White Supremacy Agenda

A Call for an Anti-White Supremacy Agenda 

    The frustration and horror for me, as I watch the killing of George Floyd, is watching Derek Chauvin. His faceless expression, which expressed a blatant disregard for human life, and more specifically, Black life. There was a coldness or detachment in that faceless expression, which ignored Floyd’s plea that he could not breathe. This pleading for breath, for his life, reminded me of Eric Garner’s untimely death. Again, here was this white male, Chauvin, and those around him, who took a vow to serve and protect, yet with total detachment, dishonoring that vow and seem to be functioning from a historic creed where Black men ended up brutally murdered: burned alive, hung, or victims of another method of lynching. Numerous questions flowed through my mind after watching the wasting away of this Black man, and Chauvin’s dispassionate expression. Unlike the historic lynchings of Black men and women that were witnessed by a few onlookers, this time millions of global viewers witnessed Floyd’s plea for his life; like thousands before him did. 

    For 8 minutes and 46 seconds, I wondered what was going on in Chauvin’s minds during those fading minutes of Floyd’s life? Did he harbor personal anger and hatred towards Floyd, Black men, and Black people? Angry at the Black body’s resilience throughout time, thus hated its existence; its modern-day capabilities and potentialities? At what point did his anger and hatred become radicalized or weaponized? Did he wake up every day prior to this tragedy waiting on the opportunity to express his loyalty to this anger and hatred? Or, did he just wake up that day, May 25, 2020, motivated to cause harm against a Black life – to kill a Black man or women; looking for the opportunity to exploit his power as an officer of the law and, most importantly, exploiting his power and privilege as a white male over a Black life? How long did he harbor these feelings of anger and hatred? Was this his grand opportunity to express his supremacy – white supremacy – over a big Black man? In expressing his supremacy – white supremacy – was Floyd’s death his reward; his validation; the final test of his loyalty? Was this a childhood burden he carried until May 25, 2020? Was he jealous of George Floyd for some reason; despising this Black body?

    Questions continue to flow through my mind while trying to make sense of this senseless act. Trying to understand this moment requires placing it within the context of a long history of Black lives not mattering. White supremacy is built on this notion of Black lives not mattering. The reoccurring terrorism that has plagued Black lives in this country sustains this lie of supremacy. Thus, I believe the root cause of many global injustices (see diagram) originates from imperialism, which has manifested itself in the form of colonization, and more specifically white supremacy. White supremacy has utilized various methods to maintain its existence (second layer outward), which produces many forms of social injustices (outer layer). Many social justice scholars and other activists have approached the methods or symptoms of white supremacy in hopes of dismantling the root cause, and rightfully so. Their efforts seek to bring about social justice; more specifically, emancipatory justice. Emancipatory justice requires a multi-level approach in efforts to excavate and depose of the root cause of social injustices. It begins with developing and promoting an anti-white supremacy agenda: exposing the lie, dethroning its authority, deconstructing its ideologies, and interrogating its existence.

    Since white supremacy is the root cause of many global social inequalities, developing an anti-white supremacy agenda is fundamental. Having an anti-white supremacy agenda ultimately begins with the following steps. However, they are extreme measures and necessary if we desire to be totally emancipated from this disease:

1. To make “America” great again or transition to greatness requires giving it back to its original owners – the handful of indigenous people who have survived the genocidal exploits of white supremacy. 
2. Reparation for all formerly enslaved people. This includes not only governmental reparations, but reparations from corporations, institutions of higher education, religious institutions, etc., that benefitted from the slave-kidnapping and selling of enslaved Africans, and the billions of dollars generated by enslaved labor.

    The pragmatism and likelihood of the first two steps hinge on revolutionary measures; step one will require extreme revolutionary measures. Step two is possible but only with revolutionary legislation, as a result of a shift in political ideology. If the first steps cannot be accomplished, other steps include addressing how the second layer of the diagram can be altered, to facilitate an anti-white supremacy agenda. This layer consists of mechanisms that assist with the implementation and institutionalization of white supremacy. For example, regarding the police state, reform is needed. For many Blacks, due to our interactions with the police and our ultimate relationship with this country, we have inherited the perception that the U.S. is a police state. We feel our movements, freedoms, rights, are monitored, limited, and at times restricted. Because of our Black bodies, specifically, there has been and continues to be an over-policing of our existence mainly by white officers and especially in white spaces; recent examples include George Floyd and Eric Garner. 

    On a more global scale, we must be mindful of how the white supremacist military regime has been and continues to be used against nations of brown and black-skinned people, with the goals of controlling and exploiting the natural resources of these countries. Police brutality is simply an extension of militaristic behavior exerted throughout the world in the name of white supremacy.

    Laws that address the outer layer of the diagram must continue to be created and strictly enforced. This is generally where most of our focus has been – on the manifestations of white supremacy. Thus, we have been addressing the symptoms, but not necessarily the root cause of the illness. This isn’t an indictment, but an observation. These efforts have provided some temporary relief. For example, women's rights movements, Civil Rights movements, human rights movements, etc. have advanced the rights for various marginalized groups. They have increased access and opportunities through the creation and enforcement of laws that have worked to reduce sexism, racism, classism, and other expressions of prejudices and discrimination. Therefore, we must continually work on this layer, with the goal of abolishing the core.

    All mechanisms used to sustain white supremacy and all manifestation of white supremacy cannot escape intense scrutiny. The educational system that institutionalizes inequalities and disseminates propaganda that reproduces social inequalities must be reformed. The persistence of cultural hegemony, where the myth of Americanism and democracy are euphemisms for white supremacy, must be demolished to give way to a more inclusive ethos. The ways in which religion, more specifically, European Christianity, have been pervasive in undergirding white supremacist expansion will require continual interrogation. Also, continual reproductions of scientific racism that discriminate, deny treatment and perpetuate health disparities, especially evident during the COVID 19 pandemic, have to persistently be exposed.

    Ultimately, the steps or measures employed to eradicate white supremacy are most effective when market disruption is part of the process or an outcome of the process. In capitalist societies, market disruption gets the attention of the corporate elite and politicians; thus, encouraging them to act because of their economic interests, and basically their fear of economic loss. History has proven that the threat to economic gain, prompts capitalist elite and politicians to seek concessions that appease the participants who are imposing the threats. Interest convergence has typically been the political practice used to re-stabilize markets and restores social equilibrium. Thus, if we are willing to reap the fruits of a post-white supremacy world, we must endure the tilling of the soil and the disruption of our comfort zones. 

Diagram – The Global Diffusion of White Supremacy

The First Step, White People, in Your Anti-racist Efforts

The First Step, White People, in Your Anti-racist Efforts

The acknowledgment of support, public statements, marching against racial violence with us in solidarity, and denouncing anti-Black racist practices are meaningful and commendable. Given the repeated anti-Black murders, these are worthy acts to continue the dialogue to recovery and healing. We all know that the first step in any form of recovery is admission and acceptance. In the case of anti-Black racist acts of crime and murder against Black people, it is time for White people to wake up, admit, and accept they are a part of the problem, directly or indirectly. 

I have heard and read enough from my Black brothers and sister about being tired, angry, frustrated, etc., about the senseless murders of Black men and women; and rightfully so. I have to admit that some of my rage might be evident in the tone of this blog. But where is the white rage, anger, and more importantly, the admission and acceptance (not intellectualizing the race issue) from individuals in high places and in secure positions – I welcome all references, blogs, vlogs, etc. Admission and acceptance that you are a part of a system of privilege that has created and sustains a range of White individuals: from white liberal antiracists to anti-Black racists (e.g., Trump or a Derek Chauvin). Just like Black men, specifically, are a part of a system that created and sustains a continuum of Black individuals: from the black brute or super predator (the image that undergirds the criminalization, incarceration, and murder of the black people), to an Oprah or Obama-type (the image of a Black person who is articulate, politically astute; you know, the approachable and tolerable Black person you are probably “friends” with – the credit to their race types). I have to admit and accept that every day of my life whenever I enter white spaces I am continually viewed on this spectrum, thus, I am vulnerable to either experiencing the horrors of a George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery, or reaping the benefits of affirmative action, minority incentives, or some other form of white guilt. These are the conditions in which Black people live under every day, especially in the U.S. Like a job description, this is a life description many of us learn at a very young age. I learn it early growing up in the segregated south, where your life depended on you recognizing certain Black social norms that were in place to preserved your life, especially when you lived in close proximity to anti-Black terrorist groups like the Klan, for example. 

There is a lot to discuss, deconstruct, muse over, process, etc., but, for the sake of brevity, I believe part of the process of admission and acceptance is for white people to begin making statements of admission and acceptance – similar to the land acknowledgment statements we rightly make for the sacred lands of indigenous people. Therefore, whenever a white person stands before a multi-racial audience, especially Black folk, or writes a letter/email to address a multi-race audience, especially Black folk, to present their thoughts on race, they should acknowledge that they are benefactors of a system of white supremacy that has achieved the following without remorse: killed and displaced a nation of indigenous people; kidnapped, enslaved, and exploited the physicality of African people; detained and denied access to Latinos seeking opportunity in the land of opportunity; and consistently terrorizes and murders people of color because white supremacy has created, condoned, and concealed these practices. 

For example, Roger Goodell’s public statement of denouncing racism should have read as follows: “I would like to first acknowledge that my presence here today is because this nation, under the auspices of white supremacy as a tangible asset has: murdered and displaced millions of indigenous people, kidnapped and exploited millions of Africans for its economic prosperity, detained and denied access to Latinos seeking opportunity in the land of opportunity and consistently terrorizes and murders people of color because white supremacy has created, condoned, and concealed these practices. I would like to acknowledge that my $40+ million dollar salary and lavish living experience are because of the predominant Black athletic labor force that undergirds this league, and it provides other predominantly white administrators and owners with similar benefits. With my acknowledgment of how white supremacy has afforded me with white privileges, thus life privileges, We, the National Football League condemn racism…..” This is the preamble to a meaningful letter of support or denouncement.

Finally, to let you in on a little insight, a truth many Blacks learn early on, in some form, is that white’s economic security and success that breeds Black economic exploitation and dependency is not because of their moral or intellectual superiority. We know the secret, the deception is clear, therefore, owning up to it can be the first step. Reaping the benefits of white privileges does not make you a bad person, but believing the lie and acting accordingly prevents authentic antiracist work. I believe all antiracist efforts should begin with this type of acknowledgment. Then, the stage is set to work towards racial healing. 

Zion Williamson: An Example of the Colonial Relationships

Zion Williamson: An Example of the Colonial Relationships

It should be of no surprise to those with an understanding of the colonial relationship why Zion Williamson decided to return to compete with the Duke Basketball team after suffering a near career ending injury when he made a cut to elude a defensive player causing his Nike shoe to rip apart under the pressure of his weight. The outcome of this maneuver could had resulted in a catastrophic career ending injury costing Williamson the opportunity to make millions, potentially billions at the next level, given his ability to capitalize on key endorsements. This episode, which caused Zion to miss several games, cause much debate on whether Williamson should return and compete in the remaining games and vie for another Duke national title. It also re-ignited discussions around the long-debated topic of paying college athletes in revenue generating sports, especially like men’s basketball and football. My long-held view on this topic has always been that college athletes, who receive an athletic scholarship, are already being paid. Thus, the question is not whether they should be paid, but should they be paid equitably in relation to the revenue they generate. Therefore, should men’s basketball and football players whose athletic labor generate millions of dollars for their respective athletic departments have a bigger piece of the revenue sharing pie? I cannot help believing that this is an ongoing debate because the highest percentage of the athletic labor class at these institutions are Black male athletes. If white male athletes made up the higher percentage of “starters” and players, in general, compensating them equitably would not be an issue, simply because institutions in the U.S. have been constructed by Whites, for Whites, with the sole purpose of benefitting Whites; institutions of higher education are not excluded. 

Since the desegregation of athletic departments at many of the predominantly white NCAA Division I Institutions, especially those representing the “Power Five” conferences, athletic departments are reporting budgets over a $100 million while conferences have reached the billion-dollar level in generating revenue from a combination of television monies, tournament and Bowl Game appearances, ticket sales, corporate endorsements, etc. The major beneficiaries of this explosion in revenue, besides the institutions themselves, are coaches, senior level athletic administrator, and conference commissioners. However, what has also increased at the institutions is the presence of the Black athlete. Institutions that once adhered to ultra-segregationist and anti-Black policies, like Alabama, Kentucky, etc., could not have reached the pinnacles of economic and athletic success they have obtained without the athletic labor of the Black body. Many of these universities’ athletic teams are comprised of all-Black or predominantly Black starting lineups, despite their historical allegiance to segregation and resistance to desegregation.

The recruitment and extraction of Black athletic labor is analogous to the colonial relationship, where a colonizer initiates contact with individuals who are eventually colonized; thus, creating a colonial relationship for the sole purpose of economically benefiting the colonizer. Though history is not without many examples of revolts by the colonized to remove the shackles of oppression and exploitation, yet the long tenure of the colonial relationship throughout the world speaks to its success. It also speaks to the notion that the colonized are at the mercy of the colonizer and the colonial relationship for their identity, value, and worth. There emerges, in some cases, a sense of loyalty and a paternal connection where the colonized blindly accepts his/her role of being exploited economically. They choose to remain in this relationship, again, because their identity, value, and worth is created by this relationship. In the case of the Black athlete, their athletic identity defines and limits their ability to make decision independent of the system that shaped their identity.

Williamson decision to return has been framed and explained within the athletic jargon of “not wanting to let his team down”, “not wanting to let the coach or university down,” whatever the explanation, the colonial relationship lay at the core of this arrangement. And, it is this relationship that will continue to bind the Black athletic body and these athletic departments into a perpetual relationship that relegates the black body to that of athletic servitude.

Shut 'em down – The Co-Opting of Black Revolutionary Rap

Shut 'em down – The Co-Opting of Black Revolutionary Rap 

Who count the money in the neighborhood
But we spending money to no end, looking for a friend
In a war to the core, ripping up the poor in the stores
Until they get a brother kicking down doors
Then I figure I can get bigger
Look 'em dead in the eye and they wince, defense is pressurized
They don't really want it to be another racial attack
In disguise so give some money back

I like Nike but wait a minute

The neighborhood supports, so put some money in it

All corporations owe, they gotta give up the dough

To my town or else we gotta shut ‘em down.

- Verse 3 of Shut ‘em Down by Public Enemy

            Wait a minute. Let me get this straight, how did the enemy of the public get co-opted by one of the public’s notorious corporations, NIKE. I need to know how much money exchanged hands? What was the threat to Chuck D? Who’s broke? Did Flava Flav own the rights to this song and just as he tried to make a career comeback with VH1’s Flavor of Love, he gave up the rights to this song like he gave up the rights to being enemy of the public. Listen, I love Public Enemy. I grew up being motivated to do scholarship in the area of Black liberation because of politically conscious brothers like Public Enemy, KRS1, The Roots, Dead Prez, etc.

            So, when I saw this Nike commercial with a young Black male gazing into his basketball future, with Shut ‘em Down playing in the background, I was baffled, dumbfounded, left undone. There were several stereotypical assumptions about this ad, like the prophetic gaze of this young black male that places him in the NBA, where statistically speaking, he has less than a one percent chance of making it the pros. He was playing with LeBron James, which would make LeBron about 50 years old when this kid leaves junior high school, play interscholastic basketball, and finally plays collegiate basketball (even if he did a one and done, i.e., playing only one year). One positive aspect of the ad is that he envisions himself playing for Duke University; not too shabby of an basketball school, most importantly they are great academic institution.

Anyway, regarding the co-opting of Black revolutionary rap, how did the focus of this song, shutting down transnational media corporations and transnational sport merchandising corporations, convert to shutting down a basketball team with a last-minute dunk? Listen, I was moved by these lyrics to economically boycott every corporation that does not invest in Black communities; which also includes Non Urban Dictates, NUDs – those companies that are not interested in the Black consumer. The enemy of the public was spot on regarding where Black people should spend their money, and that we should be more critical in investing in those corporations that are willing and proactive in investing in Black communities.

Nike is smooth though,  so smooth that one could easily miss how this Black revolutionary rap song has just been co-opted by the marketing genius of NIKE. We can easily get caught up in the big dreams of this young Black male making something out of his life, becoming socially mobile, and leaving the city streets, which haunted the background of this ad, all the while, the fat beat of Shut ‘em Down, concocted by Terminator X, no doubt, and the voice of the rap revolutionary lyricist himself, Chuck D, is looming large and motivating and projecting this youth to greatness. It is not a far stretch of the imagination, since too many young Black males have been socialized and preoccupied with making it through the avenue of sport. The media is saturated with Black male athletes at the college level generating revenue and as professional getting paid. So, for many young play males who are consuming this sport media content, a daydream to entertain and a logical conclusion to draw is that athletics can be their ticket to a better life.
Well, this is not the first act of co-opting the movement by capitalist and/or the white establishment. It was only a matter of time before the machine of capitalism absorb radical forms of protest and either co-opt them to mean something else or something less. So, shutting down corporations that distort the reality of Black life or profit off of Black communities without investing in those communities has been muted because one of the most powerful corporations in the world through the most powerful media platform in the world, TV, has hijacked the meaning and purpose of this song.

I would like to think that Chuck D would not have signed off on the use of this song in this manner, where the meaning of this song has been co-opted and converted into a capitalist advertisement jingle. So, I had to follow the ownership trail, where the record label Def Jam is owned by Universal Music Group (it was MCA records during the recording of this release of the album Apocalypse 91…The Enemy Strikes Back), which is a subsidiary of the French media conglomerate, Vivendi; which was founded in 1853 by Napoleon III. In a capitalist society, Black owned does not necessarily mean owned by Black, or exclusively Black owned.

So, the question becomes, who really owns the rights to this song and the right to use it for whatever purpose they desire, even if the desired use is contrary to the original meaning of the song? Well, this trail was enough for me to further question who really owns the revolution, at least the revolution that is played out in rap music? What happens when capitalist own the instruments used in the liberation movement? If the current social movement is dependent on social media, who controls the social movement; or who can determine the reach and effectiveness of that movement? Did the visionary lyrics of Gil Scott Heron in The Revolution Will Not Be Televise, inform us that the “real” revolution will not use conventional means or the tools of the master to proceed and succeed? The Black Liberation Movement (BLM), a movement to emancipate Black consciousness, is an ongoing movement. So, stay woke and consume media content critically.

Billy Hawkins, Ph.D.

Black NFL players “doth protest too much?”

Black NFL players “doth protest too much?”

“…..that our flag was still there.
O say does that star spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave….”

Despite the notion that the players who kneel during the playing of the National Anthem are disrespecting this nation’s flag and all those who fought for the freedoms that it represent, inherent in the lyrics of this anthem is that the flag and the ideals it represent has the ability to stand the test of protest. “That our flag was still there,” denotes that after the toils of battle it yet stands, thus the principles and ideals it stood for remained.   

Now we have this group who are in an uproar because, initially, one Black male, Colin Kaepernick, kneeled during the playing of the National Anthem. Now it has birthed a moment where others have joined him in solidarity, in other sports, and at different levels of competition. Those in an uproar are complaining that it is unpatriotic, it is disrespectful, or a public forum like sport should not be used to make a political statement. First, sport and sporting events are ideological outposts. Therefore, we cannot assume that they are sanitized and apolitical activities and spaces. Furthermore, regarding the idea of political compartmentalization, the subjects of oppression, whether we were survivals of the Atlantic Slave Kidnapping, the Holocaust, racial genocide, Jim Crow segregation, lynch mobs, KKK terrorism, etc., we can not compartmentalize our political expression or activity. Our very existence is political and politicized, and when we show up after surviving these human atrocities, we make a political statement. Whether we kneel or stand as Black people or subjects of oppression we are making a political statement. We are putting America on trial. We are demanding that she own up to her ideals, make good on her promises, and truly represent what it means to be “the land of the free.” Inclusive of this ideal is religious freedom, freedom to peacefully protest, and/or freedom from inequalities rooted in race, gender, physical disabilities, or class.

Furthermore, it is interesting that the words of this song (the song itself is problematic, but more about that later) suggest that the very flag itself stands “guard” to protect the freedoms of its people (“Oh say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, o’er the land of the “FREE” and the home of the brave”). Who is really FREE then? Well, certainly the author of the song did not have Blacks in mind when this song was penned—as evidence by the verse that wishes death upon the free black who takes up arms—and quite frankly, the freedom of Blacks is still in question when any kind of peaceful protest elicits this much visceral venom and anger. Moreover, the US government, in the current administration, has not only shifted its focus and resources away from white supremacists, but now decided to focus on “Black Identity Extremists,” a remix of COINTELPRO of the 1950s. Athletes do not shed their experiences of oppression at the 50 yard line. If their “fans” truly support them, they would take a knee too. No, what these (white) fans support is the commodification of the Black body. And this is further evidenced by America then stripping these Black bodies of their CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT to protest (even the resident of the White House has stooped to calling them out of their names). This divisive rhetoric has been a continual practice from an office we look to in providing national and international unity. And the Constitution doesn't stipulate that citizens can protest when it is comfortable or expedient for others. That wouldn't exactly be protest, now would it? It makes sense logically (and morally) to protest where one has the largest platform. Actors and entertainers do it. Michael Jackson did it with “We are the World.” It seems that protest is okay as long as white people don’t have to be reminded that their tacit and overt acceptance of the benefits of skin privilege and the oppression of those in Black skin is the very REASON for the protest. And isn’t it interesting that a large mass of white folks who have never walked a mile in the shoes of a Black (or Brown) person, who have never experienced America's commodification of Black bodies (beginning in slavery and continuing through today, most prominently evidenced in sport) speak so passionately about HOW and WHEN we can protest a society that from its inception (or, more appropriately, colonization) has been set up to oppress people of color (beginning with Indigenous Natives and the holocaust inflicted upon them, through the African holocaust, segregation, Jim Crow, white supremacy post reconstruction, shootings of unarmed Black men, overrepresentation of Black and Brown children in exclusionary discipline in schools and in special education, and the overrepresentation of white children in gifted classes, and on, and on) and privilege those with white skin. And those very privileged people then want to tell those who are oppressed, don't protest--that right is NOT yours. Maybe we are still only 3/5 of a person?

So, what is more patriotic than reminding Americans that there is progress to be made in becoming a great nation; a nation big enough to incorporate and nurture diversity in all forms without fear? Patriotism is taking part in our legal rights to peacefully protests behaviors, like police brutality, that have disproportionately harmed the lives of Black men and women in this country. It is unpatriotic to allow these acts and others to go unchecked until they weave themselves into becoming our new normal where we simply expect Black men and women to die at the hands of police officers or that we expect criminal activity to be the norm in Black communities.

Well, back to our original point: if this nation’s ideals, which the flag symbolizes, can not stand up to protest, then we should not vilify and demonize the protesters, but reevaluate whether the values this nation purports are capable of being achieved by ALL its citizens. Currently, the hypocrisy of Land of the Free, Home of the Brave lives on (incidentally, we’ll NEVER agree with this song or the homage we pay to it - it was written by a racist who wished death upon freed Blacks - how patriotic is that?).

Billy Hawkins, Ph.D.

April Peters Hawkins, Ph.D.