If Black Lives truly Matter to us, then we need to confront every person who wants to rationalize, or make apologies, or minimalize this as an isolated incident.
My heart is heavy this morning, a terrorist has killed 9 people in Charleston, South Carolina. A 21 year old white man went to a prayer service at Emanuel African Methodist Church after which he took the lives of 9 Black people. In the church which was home to Denmark Vesey, in a state that still displays the Confederate flag,racial hatred and white supremacy has stained the country, once again. My soul hurts, as it should.
This is a crucial moment for my people, so-called whites. Many of us will be horrified, many of us will want to be there to support our Black brothers and sisters, and that is great. However, many of those same people will talk about this event in isolation. They will talk about how sick the shooter was. They will say things like “not all white people.” Please, stop with that shit. This incident is not about one person. This is a single manifestation of a system that has always seen Black people as less than human. This is a single manifestation of a genocidal system. Yet, there will be those (Fox News) who try to separate this from our history, from our current situation.
At this time- just as the ancestor Denmark Vesey has been invoked- it is time for us to invoke our ancestor, John Brown. Those of us who truly want to stand in solidarity, who truly want to be a force for good are not without our own models. John Brown gave his life for the end of slavery. He understood it was much bigger than one white slave owner, one plantation, it was system that must be destroyed, a way of knowing that must be erased from that planet.
That fight is still going on this morning. We must have the courage to take up this legacy. To be fearless in the face of genocidal terrorism. If Black Lives truly Matter then we need to confront every person who wants to rationalize, or make apologies, or minimalize this as an isolated incident. In every workplace, in every home, in every church, in every area of government so called whites need to be talking about, reflecting on, and putting together plans to actively dismantle white supremacy. To avoid this is an act of cowardice, pure and simple.
Lastly, this is not a time to police the emotions and reactions of the Black community. We need to be doing our own work: looking at how we are colluding with the system that is taking the lives of Black people. May the spirit of John Brown guide us and may we be brave: “Caution, Sir! I am eternally tired of hearing that word caution. It is nothing but the word of cowardice!”
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Originally appeared on Ryan Williams-Virden’s blog
Hmm another author of great conviction that tosses junk out of the 3rd floor window never to return and discuss anything further. I am used to that by now here.
That is a ridiculous analogy.
But since no one wants to talk about facts, I’ll play. What you are saying is we would go to a cancer benefit and separate out a particular kind of cancer, one that only comprises 13% of the disease as a whole, and ignore the main killer.
We don’t go to a benefit for cancer and say “all diseases matter.” The discussion here is about a certain type of terrorism that has victimized blacks since the beginning of our country.
Fine. if you want to look down and tell those that see things differently using words like “ignorant”, or “fearful”…..all the while assuming those that don’t agree are “angry” and trying to “derail”. Let’s start with statistics in your discussion. You are treating the actions of one very troubled youth to play into your theories on race as a whole. Fine. Let’s start with % of crime, interracial, and go from there. Forget the pills, the ignorance, and lack of opportunity this young man was given, or failed to find for himself, and look at the anger that inevitably comes… Read more »
Nonsense andrew. What you’re saying is that I am burying my knowledge of my supremacy by saying I don’t feel supreme in the least. The nut bags may feel so but I certainly don’t. Not one iota. Am I fearful of minority managers in my town? Absolutely not. Do I fear payback for my collective transgressions that I had no part in. Most definitely because I understand how people really are. Articles like these are generally about how all folks want to live in peace harmony and song. That’s bs as has been proven over the entire history. As soon… Read more »
Ryan- I realize after racist incidents how inept we often are as white people in truly having a conversation about the issue of race and racism. There are attempts, again and again, (as the other comments in this article articulate very well on their own) that what we are socialized with is our own sense of supremacy and perfection. We are moved to avoid any collective responsibility and instead to blame individuals, ailments, or even sinfulness instead of seeing our collective role in our shared experience as oppressors. And I have to say that while I am often horrified at… Read more »
Thank you Andrew for being a voice of reason. I know there are a lot of folks out there like you. I hope that more will have the courage to stand up as you have done here.
A letter to the “white” people. Mhh hmm. Because every time something bad happens in an African American community, the collective of “white” people are the ones who gotta get a memo. Whatever. The system isn’t genocidal. There are a shitload of crazy motherfuckers out there, some who would kill women, some who would kill men, some who would kill gays, or lesbians or transgenders or all of the above. Some might just plan to kill the next person they see- it fucking sucks, and it’s been going on since goodness knows when, long before I was born, long before… Read more »
Ryan Scientist struggle to understand mass killings of the kind you have lots and lots of happening in the US. But suddenly you come up with a full understanding of why and how these things happen? I am not convinced Ryan. To put the blame on all people in America of European,North African and Middle East decent for this killing sound weird to me. They are the people defined as white as far as I know in the US. I do not doubdt there are racism in the US. But I agree with Mark that you are parroting here,and I… Read more »
What’s going on today is eerily similar to the civil war times If yo’t understand that you are woefully uneducated. That started out as states rights as a result of a huge power grab by the federal centrslized government. Sound familiar? It morphed to include slavery as a moral justification but that waz a relatively minor subtext for the overreach and lincoln knrw it too. By that time slavery eaz uneconomocal and eas dying fast, including the idea of human rights. We have the same lind of issues today of the overreach but NOW people WANT it because we’ve as… Read more »
I agree with Marc above. PO article meant to inflame with moral superiority. All lives matter and to accuse the majority of us as being in on the act is horrendous and so wrong. Pockets of hate thought exist and we all must try to dissuade that. Whether that be Westboro Baptist and their irrationality toward gas or skinheads thinking their saving the white race, the normal folks of both black and white know this is not systemic but it sure seems so after all this is all you hear. Don’t add to this flame but seek out ways to… Read more »
I think this might be the worst article ever published on this site. Terrorism isn’t what you apparently think. Words matter, and have meaning. You are just jumping on the “This person’s color matters more than yours” bandwagon. Good for you and whatever guilt you feel, if that helps you make peace with it. If you want to ignore the fact this person was obviously disturbed, using drugs, etc, in order to paint to perpetuate the notion that white people don’t value Black Lives, that is your right and opinion, but to me it would seem that approach only fuels… Read more »
Hi Ryan – Can you please explain what you mean when you say “so called white people”? I am trying to understand your narrative and would appreciate some clarity on that point.
Lot of denial in the replies. Saying All Lives or Not All is dismissive and attempts to water down what’s happening. And black on black crime is the WORST auto-reply to any incident and pattern such as we’ve witnessed recently. It always spins back to when a white person does something it’s because they as an individual are mentally defective but if a person of color does something it’s because of what they are not who. How come we never hear terms like ‘the white community’ or ‘white leaders’? Yet, ‘black community’ and ‘black leaders’ are the first points of… Read more »
Thank you.