Falsification of Afrikan Consciousness

7/23/2019 Falsification of Afrikan Consciousness

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1. Falsifcation o Arikan Consciousness & UnderstandingRacism

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Part One of Lesson:

The Falsification of Afrikan Consciousness:Eurocentric History, Psychiatry and the Politics of White Supremacy(Ais !ecture Series" By Dr. Amos N. Wilson

#escriptionThis $ook presents to %round&$reakin% lectures $y Amos Wilson' The first, European Historio%raphyand ppression E)posed: An Afrikan Perspecti*e and Analysis, as amon% the first contemporaryanalyses hich delineated the role Eurocentric history&ritin% plays in rationali+in% Europeanoppression of Afrikan consciousness' t e)plicates hy e should study history, ho history&ritin%

shapes the psycholo%y of peoples and indi*iduals, ho Eurocentric history as mytholo%y createshistorical amnesia in Afrikans in order to ro$ them of the material, mental, social and spiritualhereithal for o*ercomin% po*erty and oppression' -oreo*er, this en%rossin% lectures therelationship $eteen the redisco*ery and reritin% of Afrikan history and achie*ement of li$erationand prosperity $y Afrikan peoples' The second lecture, Eurocentric Political #o%matism: ts.elationship to the -ental Health #ia%nosis of Afrikan People, ad*ances the contention that thealle%ed mental and $eha*ioral maladapti*eness of oppressed Afrikan peoples is a political&economicnecessity for the maintenance of White domination and imperialism' Furthermore, it indicts theEurocentric mental health esta$lishment for enterin% into collusion ith the Eurocentric politicalesta$lishment to oppress and e)ploit Afrikan peoples $y officially sanctionin% these e%re%iouspractices throu%h its misdia%nosin%, misla$elin%, and mistreatin% of Afrikan peoples/01 $eha*ioralreactions to their oppression and their efforts to in their freedom and independence'

See menu for related *ideo



Part Two o Lesson: A er! smart works"o#

Understanding Racism: An Historical Introduction

(This presentation and e)ercise is inspired $y the 2ndoin% .acism Workshop of The People/01snstitute for Sur*i*al and 3eyond'"

Introductions

4' Please say your name and somethin% a$out yourself you ant to share'5' n hat ays do you $elie*e that understandin% racism can help make you a more effecti*e%rassroots social 6ustice acti*ist7

Agenda Review

4' What is .acism7 focuses primarily on racism/01s effect on people of color'

5' Shinin/01 the !ite on White focuses primarily on racism/01s effect on hite people'8' 3oth pieces form part of an analysis of the 2'S' hite supremacy system'9' The analysis is specific to the 2'S'A'' call this session /0;an historical introduction/0 $ecause $elie*e that e cannot understand

ho racism operates today, if e do not kno its history' And if e don/01t kno ho it orks today,e can/01t ork effecti*ely to challen%e it tomorro'

What is Racism? -- A Group Brainstorm

< Ask each person to %i*e a $rief definition or description' Scri$e it on the nesprint' Fill up no morethan one pa%e of print'< After the $rainstorm, ask /0; What do you notice a$out this list of definitions7< There are many different definitions' /0=/0= Fe or none mention the ord /0>race'/01

< ma%ine if e had 8 hours to decide on one effecti*e action to challen%e racism'< f e ha*e 4 different definitions, ho could e a%ree on a common action7

$elie*e that the ina$ility to decide on a common action is the result of a consciously constructedcampai%n of confusion implemented o*er the last 8? years' /01m not a conspiracy theorist' /01mtalkin% a$out people in poer makin% plans o*er coffee, in $oard rooms, on %olf courses' All le%al anda$o*e $oard' A $it of history ill help make my point'

A Campaign o Conusion on Racism

#urin% the hei%ht of the Southern 3lack Freedom stru%%le, in the 4@?/01s and 4@?/01s, peopleere clear on hat racism as' .acism as *isi$le, le%al and institutionali+ed' They called itBse%re%ation'B Across the ocean folks called the same system /0;apartheid'/0 E*ery institution as

separate, uneual, maintained for the clear purpose of su$ordinatin% people of African descent and$enefitin% all classes of people of European descent'

The mo*ement, led $y African Americans, as massi*e and multi/0=racial' And that mo*ementinspired many other mo*ements: li$eration stru%%les of ChicanosD!atinos, ati*e Americans and Asian Americans mo*ements for education reform and a%ainst the 2'S' ar in Gietnam theomen/01s mo*ement, and the mo*ements for %ay and les$ian li$eration' 3ut the price acti*istspaid as hi%h' n the South, for e)ample, hen 3lack people challen%ed racism, they ere often fired,e*icted, imprisoned, raped or murdered' When hite people challen%ed racism, they ere called/0;race traitors,/0 ostraci+ed $y their friends and nei%h$ors, denied opportunities to earn a li*in%,

and occasionally had crosses $urned in front of their houses'

n spite of the o*erhelmin% odds, the poer of or%ani+ed, committed people on some si%nificant

%ains, the most prominent of hich as the end to le%al apartheid' Perhaps e*en more important,people ho or%ani+ed %ot a real sense of their on poer'

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When the 3lack !i$eration -o*ement mo*ed north, acti*ists tar%eted institutions/0=/0= schools,housin%, social ser*ices/0=/0=that practiced se%re%ation in fact, thou%h not $y la' Furthermore, African Americans called for self/0=determination in their on communities, and challen%ed the hitedomination of institutions ithin their communities' -any li$eral hites orked as professionals ithinthese institutions and felt their pri*ile%e personally threatened' 2sin% their discomfort ith the term

/0;3lack Poer/0 as an e)cuse, they a$andoned their solidarity ith the 3lack li$eration stru%%le'

Pro%ressi*e hites a$andoned their solidarity for different reasons' As they $e%an to /0;or%ani+e intheir on communities,/0 a%ainst the ar in Gietnam, for educational transformation, for

omen/01s and %ay li$eration, and for an end to en*ironmental de%radation, they found that it as*ery difficult to mo$ili+e lar%e num$ers of hite acti*ists if the or%ani+ers demanded that theseacti*ists start from a firm anti/0=racist perspecti*e, a lens throu%h hich to *ie their on issues'

SCC (Student on/0=*iolent Coordinatin% Committee, a leadin% %roup in the southern 3lackFreedom -o*ement" had su%%ested that radical hites or%ani+e a%ainst racism in their oncommunities in order to $uild %enuine coalitions $eteen acti*ists of color and hite acti*ists' 3uthite acti*ists simply or%ani+ed in their on communities and said less and less a$out racism' (Thereere many e)ceptions to this racist or%ani+in%: for e)ample, the Students for a #emocratic Society

/0=/0= S#S /0=/0= as the lar%est anti/0=racist or%ani+ation made up of mostly hite students thatthe country had e*er seen'"

-eanhile, the %o*ernment as e)ercisin% its on form of *irulent and *iolent racism' 2nder theleadership of ' Ed%ar Hoo*er of the F3, ith the complicity of police departments all o*er thecountry, the %o*ernment a%ed a ar a%ainst re*olutionaries of color: African American, indi%enous,Chicano, Puertorriueno and Asian American' Hundreds ere imprisoned, e)iled or murdered' TheF3 planted a%ents ithin re*olutionary or%ani+ations, ho spread distrust and often incited incendiaryactions as a ay to entrap acti*ists, and ensure them lon% prison terms' The F3 called this campai%nCTE!P. (Counter ntelli%ence Pro%ram", and many acti*ists $elie*e it is still in effect today'

With li$eration mo*ements in disarray, hite/0=controlled institutions $e%an to redefine the meanin%of the term /0;racism/0 in order $oth to undercut hite support for li$eration stru%%les, and to

a%%ra*ate di*isions amon% acti*ists of color'

Word Poer: A Small Iroup E)ercise

Earlier in this orkshop, e learned one definition of poer created $y The People/01s nstitute:Poer is control of or access to those institutions sanctions $y the state'

o /01d like to introduce another definition, also used $y The People/01s nstitute:Poer is the a$ility to define reality and to con*ince other people that it is their definition' (#efinitioncreated $y #r' Wade o$les"

!et/01s see ho this definition orks in relationship to different meanin%s of the term /0>racism/01that ha*e $een promoted $y schools, the media, politicians, and /0>research institutes/01 o*er the

last thirty years'

4' Please pair up ith the person ne)t to you'5' Each pair ill take one card ith a common definition of racism on it'8' Please analy+e the definition in the folloin% ay:

if a person $elie*ed this definition or description, and chose to take action $ased on that $elief:4' What kind of action mi%ht the person take75' Who mi%ht $e oppressed $y the action78' Who mi%ht $enefit from the action7

2se your ima%ination' f you $elie*ed in this statement, ho mi%ht you act7Please analy+e the definition in the folloin% ay:f a person $elie*ed this definition or description, and chose to take action $ased on that $elief:



4' What kind of action mi%ht the person take75' Who mi%ht $e oppressed $y the action78' Who mi%ht $enefit from the action7

4' .e*erse racism is a form of racism'Please analy+e the definition in the folloin% ay:

f a person $elie*ed this definition or description, and chose to take action $ased on that $elief:


5' .acism is personified $y the TG character Archie 3unker'Please analy+e the definition in the folloin% ay:f a person $elie*ed this definition or description, and chose to take action $ased on that $elief:


8' .acism is the same as pre6udice or discrimination'Please analy+e the definition in the folloin% ay:f a person $elie*ed this definition or description, and chose to take action $ased on that $elief:


9' .acism is the same as race relations'Please analy+e the definition in the folloin% ay:f a person $elie*ed this definition or description, and chose to take action $ased on that $elief:


' Anti&racism is the same as di*ersity or /0;multi&culturalismB'Please analy+e the definition in the folloin% ay:f a person $elie*ed this definition or description, and chose to take action $ased on that $elief:


' .acism is an oppression like other isms: se)ism, classism, or heterose)ism'

An Historical Anal!sis o the Campaign o Conusion on "Racism"

#$ Reverse racism is a orm o racism$

.e*erse racism is supposedly somethin% nasty that people of color do to hite people' The term asfirst coined durin% the 4@J presidential campai%n of arch/0= se%re%ationist Ieor%e Wallace' n orderto in hite orkin% class support in the South, Wallace asserted that %o*ernment pro%rams thatsupported 3lack people ere deli$erately *ictimi+in% hite people' He called this %o*ernmental actionre*erse racism'

n my 8 years of doin% anti/0=racist or%ani+in%, ha*e actually itnessed only one e)ample of/0;re*erse racism'/0 That as hen the layers defendin% the hite cops ho $eat .odney Kin%

played the tape of that $eatin% $ackards durin% the trialL



3ut in spite of the $o%us nature of /0;re*erse racism,/0 it as $rilliant as a campai%n strate%y'

#u$$ed the /0;Southern Strate%y/0 $y electoral analysts, its aim as to in hite orkin% and

middle class *oters aay from the #emocratic Party $y consciously caterin% to their racism' Thestrate%y $ore $itter fruit' Wallace/01s American ndependent Party %arnered 4? million hite *oters,ho $ecame the foundation for the e .i%ht or%ani+ations of the .epu$lican Party hich nocontrol Con%ress and the /0;$i/0=partisan/0 national dialo%ue on *irtually all social and economic

issues'

%$ Racism is personiied &! the '( character Archie Bun)er$

Pop culture did its $it to confuse the hite populace' TG created the ima%e of Archie 3unker, the loudmouth, *er$ally racist, hite orkin% class man ho as funny (to some *ieers" as ell aso$no)ious' The ima%e of Archie the racist promoted se*eral false concepts of racism: it/01s theresult of indi*idual, not institutional, $eha*ior it/01s carried out only $y hite orkin% class men, nothite orkin% class omen or hite middle class men and omen and it is o*ert lan%ua%e that may$e sickenin% and offensi*e, $ut is really 6ust /0;harmless talk'/0

*$ Racism is the same as pre+udice or discrimination$

This definition of /0;racism/0 has $een idely disseminated in pu$lic schools and uni*ersities, so

that many people use these terms as synonyms' 3ut they are not'

Pre6udice is a pre6ud%ment, hich can $e either positi*e or ne%ati*e, a$out a person, %roup, e*ent orthin%, for or a%ainst' #iscrimination is action $ased on that pre6udice' A ne%ati*e pre6udice a$out a%roup of people is often called a stereotype' An action $ased on a stereotype is usually called $i%otry'

What distin%uishes all these terms from racism is that none of them necessarily in*ol*e a poerrelationship as a condition of their e)istence' For e)ample, a person of color can $e pre6udiceda%ainst another person of color or a hite person, $ut that doesnMt make her a racist $ecause she haslittle or no access to the institutional poer that could $ack up her actions'

Why has the misconception of /0;racism/0 as /0;pre6udice/0 or /0;discrimination/0 $een so

idely used in educational settin%s7 Educational institutions ha*e $een a ma6or political $attle%rounda%ainst racism and for community of color self/0=determination since the mid 4@?/01s' Acti*istsha*e challen%ed racist school curricula, teachin% staff, disciplinary procedures a%ainst children ofcolor, trackin% systems, limitations of access to hi%her education, and lack of accounta$ility of schoolsto the community' -y $elief is that populari+in% /0;racism/0 as /0;pre6udice/0 is consciously

used to take all hite professionals orkin% in any capacity in any school systems off the hook' Theyare not implementin% institutional racism, $ecause there is no such thin%L A si) year old child ho actsout can $e $lamed for /0>Nracism 6ust as much as the principal responsi$le for the school that hasfailed to educate him' t/01s not an issue of poer $ut merely of pre6udice'

,$ Racism is the same as race relations$

This definition is, think, a creation of sociolo%ists' .acism isn/01t 6ust a$out the Archie 3unkers'

t/01s a$out ho %roups of different /0;races/0 treat each other' What/01s left out of this

/0;%roup dynamics/0 e)planation of racism is any analysis of the differential poer of the

participatin% %roups' Perhaps this is $ecause the (mostly" hite sociolo%ists usin% this analysis do notchoose to reco%ni+e ho mainstream hite institutions demonstrate preferential treatment to all hite%roups as compared to all %roups of people of color'

$ Anti-racism Is the same as diversit! or multi-culturalism$

Pro%ressi*es ha*e added to the campai%n of confusion' This particular mis/0= definition of/0;racism/0 has $een perpetuated $y social 6ustice educators and trainers' #i*ersity refers to

different kinds of people: %ay, strai%ht, old, youn%, hite, different communities of color, a$le,physically challen%ed, etc' When hite folks use the term di*ersity, they usually mean a fe folks hoare not hite in a predominantly hite %roup' The term di*ersity achie*ed popularity amon%anti/0=racist trainers hen many Fortune ?? companies hired these trainers to run /0>di*ersity/01orkshops for their multi& racial ork forces' Corporate CE/01s kne that they needed to ensure



%ood relations amon% their orkers to keep out unions, maintain production, and increase profits'

-ulti/0=cultural at its $est cele$rates different forms of culture it has nothin% necessarily to do ith/0;races/0 of people, nor ith /0;di*ersity/0 of people' A %roup or institution that endorses

multi/0=culturalism can support racism or anti/0=racism' The issue is not oneDtoDmany cultures $utho has the poer7

As People/01s nstitute trainers ask in their 2ndoin% .acism Workshop, /0;f you ant to ha*e a/0>multi/0=cultural ta$le,/01 hat does hite culture $rin% to that ta$le7/0 The ta$le'

.$ Racism is an oppression li)e other isms: se/ism0 classism0 or heterose/ism$

n the mid 4@J?/01s, many hite pro%ressi*es $e%an or%ani+in% themsel*es throu%h consciousnessof their on oppression as indi*iduals and as part of a %roup, instead of around /0;issues'/0 This

method of or%ani+in% $ecame knon as identity/0=$ased politics' t as a *ery poerful form ofconsciousness/0=raisin% for thousands of people, and $ecame the $asis for many of the social 6usticemo*ements a%ainst se)ism and homopho$ia and anti/0=semitism'

3ut identity/0=$ased politics also has had some ne%ati*e effects, such as:

4' ppression olympics (a term coined $y Eli+a$eth -artine+": endless ar%uments that $e%in ith/0;my pain is orse than your pain/0

5' Fruitless de$ates a$out the /0;hierarchiesNN or /0;eualities/0 of oppression, all of hich

i%nore the historical and institutional interrelationships amon% oppressions8' False analo%ies $eteen racism (usually referrin% to the e)perience of African Americans" andother /0;isms,/0 especially se)ism, heterose)ism and anti/0=semitism' Althou%h all these are

forms of oppression, there is no historical similarity $eteen the sla*ery e)perienced $y people of African descent, the %enocide e)perienced $y ati*e Americans, the colonial ars of conueste)perienced $y Chicanos, Puerto .icans and Filipinos /0=/0= and any forms of discrimination faced$y European immi%rants once they came to the 2nited States'

These false analo%ies also paper o*er the distinct history of racism that has per*aded hite

pro%ressi*e mo*ements of electoral reformers, omen, orkers, farmers, en*ironmentalists,anti/0=ar and ueer acti*ists for the last 5? years'

Finally, false analo%ies mar%inali+e the issues of acti*ists of color ithin these social 6usticemo*ements, and pre*ent these acti*ists from e)ercisin% their leadership potential in $uildin% $rid%esamon% different identity/0=$ased social mo*ements'

A Wor)ing 1einition o Racism

f you take apart the term racism, you %et an /0;ism/0 /0=/0= an oppression /0=/0= $ased on race'

The People/01s nstitute uses this orkin% definition:

.acism euals race pre6udice plus poer'

We/01*e already defined pre6udice' !et/01s e)amine race and poer'

Race

'he Human Race: Born and Bred in Arica

Ha*e you e*er heard a ell/0=meanin% hite person say, /0;Mm not a mem$er of any race e)ceptthe human race7/0 What she usually means $y this statement is that she doesnMt ant to perpetuate

racial cate%ories $y acknoled%in% that she is hite' This is an e*asion of responsi$ility for herparticipation in a system $ased on supremacy for hite people'

3ut anthropolo%ically speakin%, her point is ell taken' Takin% the term /0;race/0 to mean

/0;species,/0 there is only one species of human' All of us $elon% to the human race' And the

human race as $orn, raised and $red in Africa' Africa is the motherland of human ci*ili+ation:



reli%ion, philosophy, art, lan%ua%e, architecture, science, medicine, a%riculture and ur$an plannin%'

People indi%enous to Africa and the Americas ha*e alays cele$rated the di*ersity of the humanspecies' Oou can see that cele$ration in paintin%s of peoples on the tom$ of .amses (45?? 3C" ofKemet (E%ypt" and the four directions of the orld cele$rated $y ati*e Americans' What makesthese representations so different from those introduced $y Europeans is that the former $ear no

itness to any hierarchy of *alue of humans $ased on ethnicity or skin color'

Europeans: Seein% the Human .ace throu%h /0>.ace/0=colored/01 %lasses

3e%innin% in the fifteenth century, Europeans $e%an to see the orld throu%h race/0=colored %lasses' At first, their priests and Popes 6ustified the ne orld*ie as Iod/01s la re*ealed to Christians'3y the 4Jth century their scientists used their racial lenses to construct racial cate%ories for human$ein%s, ith distinct hierarchies $ased on reli%ion, ethnicity and skin color' European sla*e/0=onersin the colonies created a hole le%al system $ased on race' And $y the 4@th century, politiciansasserted that /0>race/01 as the reason Europeans and European/0=Americans deser*ed to runthe orld'

To understand hy and ho this happened, e need to e)amine elements of the history of Europe

and the 2nited States' 3ut first, let/01s start ith a orkin% definition of race, created $y ThePeople/01s nstitute:

.ace is /0;a specious classification of human $ein%s created $y Europeans (hites" hich assi%nshuman orth and social status usin% /0;hite/0 as the model of humanity and the hei%ht of human

achie*ement for the purpose of esta$lishin% and maintainin% pri*ile%e and poer'/0 (.onald Chisom

and -ichael Washin%ton, 2ndoin% .acism: A Philosophy of nternational Social Chan%e' People/01snstitute Press: The People/01s nstitute, 4999 orth ohnson St', e rleans, !A' ?44' SecondEdition, 4@@' pp' 8?/0=84'"

2uropean Race345Colored Glasses

Biolog!: the &lood lens

.ace as a $iolo%ical concept as created in 4th century Spain $y the Spanish nuisition, in 49@5, 6ust as Colum$us as sailin% the ocean $lue /0=/0= and %ettin% lost /0=/0= the Christian kin%dom ofFerdinand and sa$ella succeeded in dri*in% out the -oors (African and Ara$ -uslims" ho had ruledthe $erian Peninsula since 54 A'#'

2nder -oorish rule, Spain had $een the center of European culture' The -oors $uilt 44 uni*ersities,thousands of $ook stores, hot and cold runnin% ater perfumed ith roses, and a system of pu$lic$aths for poor as ell as rich' -oorish cities ere centers of trade ith Africa and Asia' eish peopleflourished durin% the -oorish empire they had ma6or roles in education and commerce, and eretreated more 6ustly than at any other time in European history'

3ut the Christian conuest chan%ed all that' The nuisition demanded that all -uslims and es

con*ert to Christianity or face e)pulsion from Spain' -any con*erted $ut practiced their reli%ions insecret' So the nuisition esta$lished the infamous practice of Blimpie+a de san%raB testin% the $loodas ell as the family tree of -oors and es to ferret out non/0=Christians' ne drop of /0;dark/0

$lood and you ere outL

The tradition of one drop of dark $lood li*ed on in the apartheid South' 2ntil *ery recently, f you li*edin South Carolina and had 4D4 3lack ancestry, you ere le%ally classified as 3lack' f you li*ed in!ouisiana, the percenta%e as 4D85' So crossin% state lines could chan%e your ancestryL

s it a coincidence that nuisitors did their /0;racial $lood tests/0 earin% lon% hite ro$es and

pointed hite hoods7

/0;infidels and Sa*a%es:/0 the Christianity lens

n the 4th and 4th centuries, European conuistadors needed to create a theolo%ical 6ustification for



their conuest of the Americas and Africa' Ho could they steal the land inha$ited and cherished $ymillions of indi%enous people and not $e considered thie*es7 Ho could they kidnap and ensla*e andmurder millions of African peoples and still $e %ood Christians7 Ho could they annihilate holenations of indi%enous people and not %o to hell7

Spain and Portu%al, %ood Catholic countries, sou%ht out the isdom of the Pope ho clarified their

Christian duty for them' t/01s K to take the land of an /0;infidel/0 (one ho does not practiceChristianity" $ecause an /0;infidel,/0 $y definition has *iolated Christian la' f the /0>infidel/01

protests, it/01s appropriate to kill him' t/01s important to ensla*e someone ho is a/0;sa*a%e/0 (one ho does not practice European culture" to teach the ensla*ed person the

*irtues of /0;ci*ili+ation'/0 As a matter of fact, you/01re doin% him or her a Christian fa*or, $y

remo*in% hisDher sinful ays'

African sla*ery could also $e 6ustified $y Christian sym$olism that pre/0=dated any European contactith African peoples' n Christianity, the color $lack is associated ith death or e*il the color hiteith life, %oodness and purity' So hen the li%ht skin En%lishmen met dark skin Africans, theEn%lishmen 6ustified their $rutal treatment of Africans $y the notion that hite /0>%ood/01 asconuerin% $lack /0>e*il'/01 Check out the terms /0;$lack/0 and /0;hite/0 in the dictionary

these a$surd connotations still e)ist'

The /0;Scientific/0 lens

The 4Jth and 4@th centuries ere the hei%ht of European colonialism of Africa' 3y this period,Christianity/01s he%emony o*er European *alues and ideolo%y as $ein% seriously challen%ed $ythe scientific re*olution' European ntellectuals had to come up ith a ne orld *ie to 6ustify theirnations/01 conuest of Africa' So, /0>scientists/01 created the racial cate%ories of -on%oloid,e%roid and Caucasoid and assi%ned them to a hierarchy in the human family: (4" Caucasoid (5"-on%oloid (8" e%roid' These cate%ories are still tau%ht in some 2'S' schools today'

-on%olia as presuma$ly the historical home of /0;mon%oloids/0 or people of Asian descent' f

you check the dictionary you/01ll find that an /0;o$solete/0 meanin% of /0;mon%oloid/0 is an

idiot' (A far cry from today/01s stereotype of /0;the model minority'/0 "

The Caucuses, the steppes of .ussia, as the ostensi$le homeland of Caucasoids or Caucasians'Con*eniently, a skull as found there ith a lar%er cranium than others disco*ered, indicatin% to thescientific racists that people of European descent had more $rain poer than darker folks didL 3uthat a$out e%roids7 Where is e%ro land7 And if /0;ne%roids/0 came from Africa, ho come

they eren/01t called /0;africoids7/0 The anser, think, lies in the ideolo%ical 6ustification for

sla*ery' White people had to dehumani+e people of African descent in order to con*ince themsel*esthat Africans could do nothin% useful e)cept perform ensla*ed la$or'

f a people has no homeland, they ha*e no history, no culture, no ci*ili+ation' They are not really/0;a people'u Hence, their /0;racial cate%ory/0 is not named after their continent, $ut after their

/0>race,/01 & /0;e%ro'/0 (/0>e%ro/01 is the En%lish term for the Spanish ord /0;ne%ro,/0

hich means /0;$lack'/0 Spain as the first European country to institute the trans&Atlantic sla*e

trade'"

U$6$ Race-colored glasses

The orld*ie $ased on /0>race/01 as created $y Europeans in the 4th century to 6ustify andle%itimi+e European conuest of Africa and the Americas, and the %enocide and system of sla*eryhich resulted from this conuest' European Americans added some key aspects to the /0>race/01lens as they coloni+ed and conuered the lands that ere once called /0;Turtle sland'/0

A human $ein% is renamed a /0>sla*e:/01 the economic lens of race

As Eli+a$eth -artine+ pointed out in her essay, /0;What is White Supremacy7,/0 the ealth that

initially made the 2nited States possi$le as an independent nation/0=state as created henEuropean colonialists stole the land of ati*e Americans, kidnaped people from Africa and forced $oth Africans and ati*e Americans into a system of ensla*ed la$or' Stolen land, %enocide and ensla*ed



la$or pro*ided the initial capital of capitalism'

Fe 2'S' history te)t$ooks descri$e the ori%ins of the 2'S' economic system in this ay' or do theydescri$e in %reat detail ho Europeans created the orld/01s first system of racially/0=$asedsla*ery' The Africans ho ere $rou%ht to Gir%inia in 44@ ere /0>capti*es/01 $ut they ere notyet /0>sla*es'/01 Their economic status as am$i%uous: some remained in $onda%e to an En%lish

colonialist for a lifetime, hile others ere freed'

Oet $y 45, the colonists passed a la statin% that the status of a child $orn to an African oman, $utfathered $y an En%lishman, ould $e /0>$ond or free/01 dependin% on the status of the mother'This as the $e%innin% of raciali+ed sla*ery' n another fe %enerations, coloni+ers used the terms/0>e%ro/01 and /0>sla*e/01 interchan%ea$ly, if an African as not ensla*ed, she or he ould $especifically identified as /0;a free e%ro'/0 The implication of this usa%e as clear: the coloni+ers

assumed that all ensla*ed people ere of African descent, and that the only status appropriate topeople of African descent as that of a sla*e'

Race: the lens o 347su&humanit!348

A corollary of *iein% race throu%h an economic lens is *iein% /0>raciali+ed/01 people as

su$humans' f the only possi$le status for a person of African descent is as a sla*e, ho do youaccount f or the thousands of free Africans in the colonial and post independence period7 .educetheir humanity, culturally and le%ally, until it is as close as possi$le to the status of /0;sla*e'/0

n colonial South Carolina, an ensla*ed African ho as manumitted (freed from sla*ery" $y a hiteoner had to lea*e the colony ithin a fe months, or else $e lia$le to le%al re/0=ensla*ement'#urin% the era of acksonian /0;democracy,/0 the ri%ht to *ote as taken aay from Pennsyl*ania

free people of African descent at the same time as *otin% restrictions ere lifted on all ne rishimmi%rants' Gisual ima%es of African Americans often resem$led animals more than humans (see-ar*in .i%%s/01 super$ film, Ethnic otions"'

The notion of indi%enous people as more akin to animals than human $ein%s is at the $asis of 2'S'policy toard ati*e Americans' n 4J9 Ieor%e Washin%ton, famous ndian fi%hter, lar%e landholder

and sla*e oner, ad*ised the Continental Con%ress that it ould $e cheaper for the ne nation to $uyup ndian land than to make ar on ndian people for the land' f you make ar, Washin%toncautioned, /0;the sa*a%e as the olf/0 /0= $oth ild $easts of the forest /0=/0= ill retreat for

ahile and then come $ack to attack you' Washin%ton/01s metaphor stuck' The youn% 2'S'nation/0=state, and all sectors of European/0= American $e%an to *ie the ati*e American as a ildanimal'

(For more on this analysis, see .o$ert Williams, /0;So*erei%nty, .acism and Human .i%hts: thecase for ndian self/0=determination'/0 From a speech %i*en at the 2ni*ersity of -ontana, in April,

4@@9' .o$ert Williams is a professor of !a and American Studies at the 2ni*ersity of Ari+ona'Speech on tape is distri$uted $y Alternati*e .adio Pro6ect' 545@ -apleton' 3oulder, Colorado, J?8?9'"

Race through the legal lens

.ace as created as the la of the land in the late 4??/01s' The %o*ernin% class of the coloniesde*eloped an intricate le%al system to institutionali+e the means $y hich they had created their onealth from stolen land and ensla*ed la$or' The Gir%inia /0;Sla*es Codes, /0; ritten from 4J? to4?, defined a sla*e as either an African or an ndian, a ser*ant as a /0;hite/0 person $anned

racial intermarria%e, stipulated specific forms of punishment for 3lacks or hites ho defied thesystem of raciali+ed sla*ery, and e*en curtailed non/0=$rutal $eha*ior of oners toard their/0;property'/0

(For a detailed study of racial las in the colonial period, see A' !eon Hi%%in/0= $otham, Nr', n the-atter of Color: .ace Q The American !e%al Process: The Colonial Period' e Oork: )ford2ni*ersity Press, 4@J?' pp' 4@/0=?'"

(For an analysis of ho European colonialists 6ustified theft of indi%enous land and e)termination ofindi%enous people, see Francis ennin%s, The n*asion of America: ndians, Colonialism, and the



Cant of Conuest' O: orton Q Company, 4@'"

'he Invention o the 347White Race348

n the colonial period, colonial rulers referred to Europeans ho came to the colonies as indenturedser*ants in a *ariety of ays hich differentiated them from African or indi%enous people' They ere

called /0;Christians/0 to distin%uish them from indi%enous and African /0;heathens/0 or /0;sa*a%es'/0 They ere called /0;ser*ants/0 to distin%uish them from /0;sla*es'/0 They

ere also referred to $y their country of ori%in (En%lish, Scottish, etc'" to distin%uish them from Africans' n early 4th century Gir%inia, le%al codes relatin% to the re%ulation of the orkin% poor of allnationalities, an African as usually called /0;a e%ro,/0 folloed $y a name, hile Europeans

ere simply called $y their first and last names'

ote that these distinctions ere made $y the rich a$out the poor' The land onin% la makers, ho%ot their /0>ri%ht/01 to on land and make las for the Gir%inia colony $y $uyin% stock in the Gir%iniaCompany, had no need to descri$e themsel*es' These stockholders kne ho they ere'

3ut in 4@4, the colonial le%islators created a ne le%al cate%ory: /0;hatsoe*er En%lish or otherhite man or oman, $ond or free, shall intermarry ith a e%ro, mulatto, or ndian man or oman,

$ond or free, he shall ithin three months $e $anished from this dominion fore*er'/0 (Hi%%in$otham,

op' cit', p' 99 talics added'"

2p until this point, the term /0;hite/0 may ha*e $een used in dialo%ue, $ut ne*er in la' And

hen it as used, it referred only to indentured ser*ants' The 4@4 la set se*eral le%al precedentsthat ha*e profoundly effected the concept of race to this day:

< The first le%al use of /0;hite/0 as used to $an racial intermarria%e

< The la focused the punishment on the /0;hite/0 lo*er

< The la created a racial cate%ory, in that it co*ered all hite people, men and omen, $ond or free< The la distin%uished /0;hite/0 from all other inha$itants of the colonies: /0;e%ro,/0

/0;mulatto,/0 and /0;ndian/0

< The la created a ne synonym: En%lish euals hite' 3y implication, hen other European

immi%rants came to the colonies, they could $e included in the ne le%al cate%ory of /0;hite'/0

Thus, a small %roup of colonial sla*e oners in*ented the Bhite raceB'

(For more info, see Theodore Allen, The n*ention of the White .ace, .acial ppression and SocialControl' Gol' 4 and i' e Oork: Gerso 3ooks, 4@@9 and 4@@'"

'he creation o a 347white348 nation

The 2'S' Constitution esta$lished the ne nation as a hite repu$lic' indi%enous and African peoplesere e)cluded from participation in the repu$lic' The first la of the first (hite" con%ress in 4@?$anned all non&hite immi%rants from $ecomin% citi+ens of this hite repu$lic' This la meant thatfirst %eneration immi%rants from any continent e)cept Europe could not on land && the main means of

earnin% a li*in% in the ne repu$lic && $ecause state and territorial constitutions prohi$ited non&citi+ensfrom onin% land'

n the 4@th century, European Americans ran o*er the remainin% lands of indi%enous nations in theWest, made ar on -e)ico and took half her land as ar $ooty /0=/0= no called the Southest or/0;ccupied America,/0 dependin% on your *iepoint of these historical e*ents' These acts of

e)pansion of the hite repu$lic ere called /0;-anifest #estiny,/0 the %od/0=%i*en ri%ht of the

hite 2'S' to conuer nations of color and esta$lish them as colonial territories'

Today e still call the 2'S' /0;America,/0 a lin%uistic e)pression of hite nationalism (a term

coined $y the famous African American scholar ohn Henrik Clarke"' 2sin% the term /0;America/0

to refer to the 2'S' i%nores the e)istence of $oth Canada and all the nations south of the .io Irandehich are also part of the American continent'

2nder the $anner of hite nationalism, /0;America/0 has $rou%ht /0;democracy/0 /0= under



the $arrel of a %un /0=/0=to nations of color around the orld'

6e/ual violence through the lens o 347race348

ne of the most per*asi*e, destructi*e and hypocritical myths to come from the concept of/0;race/0 has $een the $elief that ndi%enous and African&American men are se)ual predators on

hite omen and that all omen of color are se)ual *ampires lurin% hite men'

This mytholo%y comes, $elie*e, from a hite psycholo%ical pro6ection hich le%itimates as ell asco*ers up the socially sanctioned se)ual *iolence $y hite men a%ainst men and omen of color'White men ha*e raped African American omen as a matter of racial prero%ati*e then fantasi+ed that3lack men are rapin% hite omen' The punishment meted out to 3lack men, n particular, for thiscrime committed $y hite men has $een $ar$aric: lynchin%, $urnin% and castration' And hite omenha*e $ou%ht this $ar$arity as the price they pay for /0;safety'/0

(For more on this comple) topic, see acuelyn #od Hall, /0;The -ind that 3urns in Each3ody,/0 in .ace, Class and Iender: An Antholo%y' Edited $y -ar%aret !' Anderson and Patricia Hill

Collins' 3elmont, Ca: Wadsorth Pu$lishin% Co', 4@@5' pp' 8@/0=945'"

Another interpretation of the $ar$arity and per*asi*eness of racially moti*ated se)ual *iolence $yhites a%ainst people of color, and especially a%ainst peoples of African descent, is the theory of thepre/0=eminent African American psychiatrist, lecturer and anti&racist acti*ist, #r' Frances CressWelsin%' n her /0;Cress Theory of Color && Confrontation and .acismDWhite Supremacy,/0 #r'

Welsin% analy+es the root causes of hite supremacy' She demonstrates that the %enes of hitepeople are recessi*e as compared to those of people of African descent' Thus, if hites and African&descended people mate and create children, the family tree ill ha*e more darker skin offsprin%'

#r' Welsin% concludes the the *irulence of hite supremacy stems from hite fear of %eneticannihilation' n other ords, if hiteDAfrican se)ual interrelationships $ecome the norm rather than thestatistical e)ception, in a fe %enerations there ill $e no more hite people' An historical analysis ofthe per*asi*eness of hite fear of intermarria%e, from 4@4 to the present, lends much credence tothis perspecti*e'

#r' Cress Welsin% further asserts that hite people keep this fear in their hite closets' a%ree' Foro*er to decades, #r' Cress Welsin% has $een a featured speaker at African American %atherin%s,and her $ook, The sis Papers, is a $est seller in 3lack $ook stores' 3ut ha*e yet to see her namementioned $y any hite riters on race, or any reference, supporti*e or critical, to her theories' t is asif hite riters ant to hite her out of the discussion on raceL

(For more info, see #r' Frances Cress Welsin%, /0;The Cress Theory of Color/0= Confrontation and.acism (White Supremacy" in The sis Papers: The Keys to the Colors' Chica%o: Third World Press,4@@4'"

/0;.ace/0 is 6ust like ethnicity: the sociolo%ist/01s lens

n the aftermath of the 3lack !i$eration -o*ement of the 4@?/01s, li$eral racists had to de*elopsu$tler race lenses in order to %ain hite mainstream credi$ility' Chief amon% them as athanIla+er, the ell knon sociolo%ist of patterns of European immi%ration' After studyin% the e)periencesof European immi%rants ho /0;pulled themsel*es up $y their $ootstraps,/0 Ila+er then compared

them ith the e)periences of African Americans in the same time period ho did not clim$ the ladderof success' nstead of analy+in% ho %a*e the Europeans their $oots, and kept the people of Africandescent ithout shoes, Ila+er concluded that Europeans ere enterprisin%, hile 3lacks ere la+y'

Ila+er confounded the terms /0;race/0 and /0;ethnicity'/0 Ethnicity comes from the Ireek

ord /0>ethnikos/01 meanin% /0;a people, ith a common lan%ua%e, culture, historical and%eo%raphical land $ase'/0 3ut more mportant, Ila+er/01s theory laid the foundation for the

/0;3lame the Gictim/0 racist ideolo%y, as ell as the hite $acklash a%ainst affirmati*e action

pro%rams' in Ila+er/01s *ie, people of African descent ere responsi$le for their on po*erty andoppression' White America as off the hook'



'al)ing a&out 347race348 perpetuates racism: the li&eral lens

ur historical analysis has $rou%ht us full circle $ack to the ell&meanin% hite person ho says,/0;Mm not a mem$er of any race e)cept the human race'/0 All this talk a$out race is painful to her'

Talkin% a$out race 6ust perpetuates racial cate%ories, she asserts' f e all for%et a$out /0>race,/01 itill %o aay' .eturnin% to the ori%inal metaphor of this essay, Md su%%est that the youn% oman

remo*e her race&colored %lasses'

Anti-Racist Concepts o Race

2p to this point e ha*e $een talkin% a$out racist concepts of race, concepts created and perpetuated$y Europeans and European&Americans' 3ut there are also anti&racist concepts of race, most of hichha*e $een created $y people of color in resistance to this racism' -ost of these anti&racist concepts of race employ hat call /0;creatin% a culture of resistance,/0 that is, takin% the oppressor/01s

lan%ua%e (their poer to define reality and to con*ince other people that it is their definition" andredefinin% it so that the lan%ua%e $ecomes an e)pression of self&determination' A fe e)amples:

Since the 4@th century, African American people ha*e used the term /0;a race man/0 or /0;a

race oman/0 to descri$e any African American ho has de*oted herDhis life to the self&

determination of herDhis people'

n the early 4@th century, .ichard Allen and other founders formed the first all 3lack church' Theyproudly called it /0;The African -ethodist Episcopal Church/0 at a time hen the hite 2'S'

population euated /0;Africa/0 ith /0;$ar$arism'/0 ndi%enous leaders refer to their people as

/0;nations/0 instead of /0;tri$es/0 ith hom the 2'S' %o*ernment ne%otiated treaties as it

ould En%land or France'

ndi%enous scholars and acti*ists remind 2'S' /0;historians/0 that the first %reat democratic

document in hat is no the 2'S' of A' as the /0;Ireat !a of Peace/0 of the rouois

Confederacy, not the #eclaration of ndependence' So much for /0;ndians/0 $ein%

/0;sa*a%es'/0

n the 4@?/01s and early ?/01s, re*olutionary mo*ements ithin communities of color usedterms like /0;3lack is 3eautiful,/0 /0;3lack Pride,/0 /0;3lack Poer,/0 /0;.ed Poer,/0

/0;3ron Poer/0 and /0;Oello Poer'/0 The color/0=coded lan%ua%e of de%radation as

turned into a lan%ua%e of pride and community affirmation'

n response to the hite nationalism of /0;-anifest #estiny,/0 and its current deri*ati*e, /0;ille%al

alien,/0 contemporary ChicanoDa acti*ists proudly ear T/0=shirts ith a map of /0;ccupied

America,/0 o*er the motto, /0;We didnMt cross the $order' The $order crossed us'/0

These are $ut a tiny samplin%' Mm sure you can think of many many more'

9ower

.ace may $e a specious cate%ory, $ut racism is *ery real' And it is deadly, $ecause it is race $ackedup $y poer' The People/01s nstitute defines poer as /0;ha*in% le%itimate access to systemssanctioned $y the authority of the state'/0 (Chisom and Washin%ton, op' cit', p' 8'" ther definitions

hich you mi%ht find useful are: ??? Poer is the a$ility to define reality and to con*ince other peoplethat itDs their definition' (#efinition $y #r' Wade o$les" Poer is onership and control of the ma6orresources of a state, and the capacity to make and enforce decisions $ased on this onership andcontrol'

When these forms of poer are e)ercised a%ainst people $ased solely on the specious and ar$itraryconcept called /0;race,/0 the result is a system of racial oppression' n the 2nited States, the most

si%nificant manifestations of racial oppression are:

< ndi*idual racism< nstitutional racism< Cultural and lin%uistic racism



< En*ironmental racism< -ilitarism as applied racism< Economic racism< Health system of racism

(Thanks to The People/01s nstitute for this material'"

While our actions to challen%e racism ill alays focus on some aspect of the manifestations ofracism, e should not for%et that these manifestations are the *isi$le indications of an entire systemthat is $uilt on the oppression of some peoples, $ased on the concept of /0;race,/0 for the $enefit

of other people, also $ased on the concept of /0;race'/0

Racism and White 6upremac!

!et/01s %o $ack to The People/01s nstitute/01s definition of racism: racism euals racepre6udice plus poer' e)t, let/01s take a look at the /0;manifestations of racial oppression,/0

mentioned a$o*e' Pick your fa*orite mainstream institution, and do a little poer structure research'(See e)ercise on -anifestations of .acism'" n a race/0= constructed system, ho ons or controlsthe institution7 Who are the most pri*ile%ed orkers ithin it7 Whom do the policies and practices of

that institution primarily $enefit7

Documents

Falsification of Afrikan Consciousness