“Racism, I feel, is the backbone of all the ills this country has…” ~Ferrel Winfrey

“Slavery will not be in the past until the day when the lingering effects are recognized and justice is done. This is a profound time for white Americans. Will we pass on to our children a burden of unearned, undeserved privilege and wealth at the expense of others? Or will we pass on to them a legacy of justice and equality from which to gain strength and inspiration, and upon which to build a better world? ~Ida Hakim

Reparations, Slavery and Racism

Any discussions on these topics that veer off the worn and beaten (mainstream) path frighten folks and are strongly discouraged even in forums of melanin-rich people.

Not only is sharing too much detailed information on these sanctioned topics amongst ourselves forbidden, the meeting itself is prohibited.

How many people know that?

Did you know that gatherings where Caucasians are not present are labelled as “contraband (illegal) meetings” all around the world?

Like most taboos, the system of white supremacy could be equated to the proverbial “elephant in the room” that everyone is desperately trying to ignore.  This is the situation despite the presence of a black face in the White House.  The peculiar “race problem” that modern society is built on is not just in the US or South Africa, but rather, is a global phenomenon.

Welcome to Babylon

Dr. Neely Fuller claims that until we have a deep understanding of white supremacy, we cannot truly comprehend any of the events in today’s world and this includes circumstances or situations that govern our day-to-day, moment-to-moment activities.

“I’ve never seen a sincere white man, not when it comes to helping black people. Usually things like this are done by white people to benefit themselves. The white man’s primary interest is not to elevate the thinking of black people, nor to awaken black people…or white people either. The white man is interested in the black man only to the extent that the black man is of use to him. The white man’s interest is to make money…to exploit.”— Malcolm X

 

Is this statement still accurate in the “modern age of information”?

People from lower income, segregated communities like Bedford-Stuyvesant, Compton, Soweto, or Salvador (Brazil) have very limited opportunities to interact with whites on a human level.

But they know all about the subserviant roles of cleaning their houses or perhaps being arrested by them.  So it is easy to see how someone from a perpetually disadvantaged situation could draw this broad conclusion about all Caucasian people.

Is the white man the devil?

Many will say yes (at least in private); others, no.

Some will say that white people are individuals and therefore should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

It becomes more challenging to see the human side of whiteness when the few examples in history of genuine brotherhood by whites toward Asiatic, original people have been expunged by labels of “insanity” that were placed there by white doctors, scholars and historians specifically to discourage any such “irrational” behaviour.

The message is clear: original, melanin-rich people are the enemy and any alliances with them or their efforts to liberate themselves is classified as deranged, maniacal and psychotic.

So even if the grand stories about John Brown are true (including if he was really white), western scholars are teaching that he was “out of his (white) mind” and, therefore, is not to be taken seriously.

The Minority Myth

A “minority” infers that a person is not yet an adult (child, teen) or, that a person is part of an outnumbered group.

Why then does the overwhelming majority of the world population refer to themselves as a minority?

Could this be said to be a form of “mind control”?

Put another way, since the lion’s share of the people around the world suffer from the identical system of brutality that is being administered by the same, small group of westerners, by definition, shouldn’t the larger, oppressed group be addressed as the “majority”?

Or, perhaps a “totally deceived majority” would be the most accurate tag.

Solutions

This peculiar problem is not going to disappear by itself one day no matter how much it is ignored or people claim that it does not exist.

So, what is next?

The only thing that is certain once we have clearly identified that the problem exists is that no one person or group has the solution. For any real change to occur, it will take a global, collective effort.

So, what role do white people play in this effort for positive change?

We are all-too-familiar with the tired, white politician, pastor, or missionary with all their “expert” opinions, advice and plans “to help the struggling, helpless natives.” We also see these same types of bleeding heart liberals making appearances at Hiphop events, Latino TV/radio shows or even at relief efforts in Somalia or Darfur.

We also know about very popular relief efforts led by Europeans? Are these white people in organizations like the Red Cross and MSF (Medicins Sans Frontieres) sincere in their efforts?

If so, why is it that none of the impoverished nations where these organizations are based ever improve?

Hmm…  Are these humanitarian organizations just a form of “window dressing” while all of the countries’ natural resources are being smuggled out the back door?

You be the judge.

But we do know that a person will have very little success trying to convince a starving 10-year old boy in the Congo who just received a hamburger and some fries from a smiling, white volunteer that MSF is, in fact, an evil organization.

Recently Tim Wise (author of White Like Me) and some other Caucasians have made a splash in the mainstream by teaching whites about their innate advantages in a system that was created for and by them.

Could Europeans be the CURE?

Caucasians United for Reparations and Emancipation, or “CURE“, has an on-going “dialogue with white America” about reparations, education and advocacy. The following is a quote from the document entitled “Whites Respond to the Call for Black Reparations”.

This is also known as the “Anthology by Members of CURE”:

“The question of why white America should support black reparations is in many ways the wrong question. It is the wrong question because it places the burden of convincing the nation to live up to its creed on those this nation has systematically brutalized and worked to do away with. In other words, the responsibility does not lie on those historically and contemporarily oppressed by American society to educate white America about that oppression. Instead, the burden lies on those of us who are white to justify why reparations and justice are not due.”~Mark David George

There are many respected people, both black and white, who don’t feel that reparations is a part of the solution.  That said, if whites are supposed to be in the majority, perhaps they should step-it-up and re-allocate the land/resources themselves without any discussions or encouragement from anyone.

If whites were truly leaders in this paradigm AND they were really about justice and brotherhood with the rest of humanity, how could they continue to exploit and lie?

The time has come for the entire western world to stop pretending that they don’t understand the situation.  It is a time of reckoning.  Either stand up and earn some respect or, quietly take a seat in the bleachers, out of the way, and set the true majority free from the bondage of neo-colonialism.

In either case, the dragon gets slayed and we regain our rightful place in the sun.

Oil spills, hurricanes, global warming, economic collapses…

2012…the Age of Aquarius…

Take your pick. Like it or not, change is upon us.

The only question that remains is:

What does this change mean for YOU?

Stay tuned for the 4th Edition of AfroAsiatic Perspectives…Peace!