I have heard arguments against the Black Lives Matter
movement that basically say Black people should get their shit together. They go something like 'what about Black on Black crime?', 'what about derogatory
lyrics in rap?' and say we should focus on those things instead of police
brutality and white supremacy. I'm not going to dive into the power dynamics of
gas lighting and deflection as tools to detract from an issue - that's a whole
other can of worms, but suffice to say deflection and gas lighting are very
well known and powerful tools commonly used by abusers in order to perpetuate
abuse.
What I will say is that in my experience talking about and
teaching about racism, when comments like these occur it is usually from the
mouths of people who do not have a deep understanding of the issue.
In order to comprehend why we got to where we are now, you
must know the history. This is a crucial foundation. Study the history of how
Black people were brought to this country. Study and study it some more. I've
been studying deeply for at least 20 years and I'm still learning. Learn about
Jim Crow, segregation and red lining. Learn about the 'war on drugs'. For Nova
Scotians, learn about the Black Loyalists, learn about Africville, learn about
Whitney Pier’s Black community – one which the government's treatment paralleled
what that of Africville.
Learn about environmental racism, racism in health care,
racism in education. Learn about the power of stripping a people of their
heritage - I've heard often throughout the years 'well you guys have a Black
history month, why don't we have a white history month?'. Short answer to a
complicated question: we don't have a 'white history' month because white
values, history and culture are reflected everywhere and in everything in North
America. It is interwoven into the fabric of this culture. The fact that we
have a month to celebrate Black culture is, in my opinion, not a win. It is a
beacon that shines on a very large problem - Black culture, history and
achievements, on a societal level, are routinely ignored except for one month
out of the year (and the shortest, coldest one at that!). We should not need a
Black History month. The history and achievements of Black people should be
taught, celebrated and acknowledged every day of the year, as should those of
all cultures. Another answer to that question - I have seen lots of
celebrations, clubs and organizations that laud white culture, but the term
'white' is not used because, by and large, white people have the privilege of
knowing their exact roots. For example we don't say 'white day' we say 'St.
Patrick's day" - a day to celebrate elements of Irish heritage. The privilege
here being that Irish people know where their ancestors came from. Black people
in this country do not have the luxury of knowing exactly where our ancestors
came from. We know a continent - Africa - but not a country. If we could say
Nigeria or Chad or Ghana, we would. But we cannot. That was stripped away
during slavery.
But I digress.
Once you have a deep understanding of the history and
current issues, take it a step further and learn about abuse. Learn that abuse
is not just physical.
Learn about emotional abuse. Learn about the abuser / abused
dynamics. Learn about the cycles of abuse. Learn about brainwashing,
deflection, denial, dismissal and gas lighting.
Learn about how abuse is used to control. Learn how
isolating and stripping someone of their identity is used as a means to
control. Learn and apply these principles back to slavery and our current day
situation regarding systematic racism.
One pattern I have noticed is that unless something huge
happens in someone's life, they will continue on whatever trajectory they have
been going on. You see this all the time in stories that basically go - I was a
drug abuser and headed on a downward spiral and then (insert life changing
event) happened. Is it that much of a stretch to apply this to issues facing
the Black community? Add generations of abuse with a lack of knowledge of and
therefore pride in ones culture and therefore one’s self and then add on top of
that a system that actively seeks to oppress, and you will begin to scratch the
surface of answers to questions like 'what about Black on Black violence' (side
note, have you ever noticed when a white person kills another white person it's
not called white on white violence? The media engine is at play here
influencing how we view crimes perpetuated by Black people) and why there is an
issue with drugs in the Black community, single parent Black homes etc.
That said I would contest that these issues also plague
white homes and communities, but the media would have us believe that these are
issues that affect Black communities moreso than white communities.
Let's get into the history.
During slave times, calculated efforts were made to break
slaves. You don't break a person physically, you break them mentally. You break
up strong family structures and ensure they cannot be formed. You pit people
against each other. You make people hate themselves. When you break a person
psychologically, you set in motion a longstanding chain of events.
We've all heard the phrase 'hurt people hurt people'. This
applies. If a person is broken, if they hate themselves, if they are constantly
fighting an uphill battle and being broken down time and time again, wouldn't
it stand to reason that that person's parenting would be compromised? If a
broken person raises a child, wouldn't it stand to reason that the child would
have additional issues? All parents are broken in some way - they are only
human - but my point here is the additional trauma placed on Black people makes
the struggle even harder in all aspects of life.
The thing is, in order to fix something that is broken, you
have to first acknowledge that it is broken, then know how it was broken and
then work your way backward to begin to unravel the complicated tangles that
keep someone or something (in this case, society) bound to a trajectory that is
no longer working.
So in saying 'what about...' you must understand that those
things exist today as a direct result of the machine of systematic racism that
was designed to and continues to keep Black people broken. You must also
understand that the BLM movement is in place to begin addressing some of those
issues in order to fix them.
Learn. Start with Willie Lynch's instructions on how to
break a slave and apply what you've learned to current events.
And for those who think - well those days are long past.
Pull yourself together already; think about your own life journey. Self
improvement is one of the hardest things anyone can achieve in their life. Imagine trying to work on yourself and improve yourself in a hostile
environment that has things in place to keep you down. Also consider this, people who are under attack enter something called Fight or Flight mode. People who are in survival mode will have an even harder time improving their life circumstances.
In order to know where you're headed, you've got to know
where you've been.
Know thy history, know thyself.
Some resources to start:
Willie Lynch - the making of a slave
Willie lynch - the making of a slave speach
Light Girls documentary
Dark Girls documentary
The racist legacy of breastfeeding
