Post-racialism ideology used to discuss racism, Joyner Lucas 'I'm Not Racist,' music vid
In rapper Joyner Lucas's new track 'I'm Not Racist,' you have Lucas rapping both the White (racist) point of view of Black people and the Black rebuttal to the White racist about himself - essentially defending his Blackness.
Joyner Lucas - 'I'm Not Racist' music video
However, there are issues with the premise of trying to understand the point of view of White supremacy: There is no common-ground when it comes to discussing White supremacy. That's like having a debate between a Nazi and a Jewish person about the Holocaust in order to understand each other. There is no common-ground to comprehending a racist. Establishing ideology in race, that separate races exist, was formed by European-elites who deemed themselves as superior. Africanity and Blackness equated to sub-humanness and inferiority. Then, race/racism must be understood as a space of social-control where there are winners and losers; hence, "winning a race," in which actions involved for one group to dominate and benefit over another group as articulated by Dr. Claud Anderson.
In the American context, slavery/legalized segregation (American apartheid)/law-enforcement/profiling/racism is part of the African holocaust. That must be known for the world "to never forget." We must understand that systemic- and systematic-racism was created for the purpose of divide-and-conquer. The problem is not a Negro Problem, it's mainstream societal lack of empathy for the oppressed.
However, what is worse is the internalized-oppression of the self. Part of the issue involves people of African descent who have been conditioned for so long, we don't realize that we still adhere to the conditioning within the white gaze when we try to combat the very issue of racism. In short, we continue to discuss racism in colorblind terms as if White people and Black people, and everyone in the race/color spectrum, are equally affected by race ideology. We are not.
The White man flows were positioned on stereotypes: not all Black people sag, not all Black people kill each other, not all Black people own or carry guns, or come from "broken homes." It must be known that: 1. All White people benefit from whiteness/white privilege regardless of economic-standing. And 2. All Black people are affected by racism, regardless of economic-standing.
Activist-scholar Angela Davis stated it best: I am no longer accepting the things I can not change. I am changing the things I can not accept. What I can not accept is the White fragility which makes White people "get in their feelings," or wilful-ignorance when discussing White supremacy. On the other hand, I am beyond tired of the colorblindness some Black folks continue latching onto because of the ceaseless seeking for validation and wanting to feel "accepted" by mainstream White society. It will never happen. Understand that White supremacy is a project, a plan. A proposal that has a perpetual mission, specific aims, agenda, goals, objectives, a budget and outcomes. The ultimate plan for social control.
I give Lucas an E for Effort, but he needs to rework his flows again.
About the author:
Blair Marcus Proctor, PhD. HuffPost SA - Black Voices contributor, African American and African Studies (AAAS) scholar, Michigan State University (MSU) alumnus
