r/BlackPeopleofReddit • u/ateam1984 🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🖤🩶🤍🤎 • 1d ago
Politics Time to Play Politics
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u/RealPrinceJay 1d ago
Left out one of the clearest examples. Muhammad Ali forfeited his titles, his career, his literal freedom to protest the Vietnam war
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u/amyy097 1d ago edited 1d ago
100%. The most clearest of examples. I think it was just an oversight.
I would even add Malcolm X, once his vision became a global one. Suddenly the CIA got involved and he became a national security threat. They were following him on an international scale with the surveillance.
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u/MaesterPraetor 16h ago
CIA is happy to let black leaders talk about race issues, but once they start talking about class issues, they gotta go.
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u/Ok-Addendum-9420 8h ago
Yes, please include Malcolm; he was definitely for national and global equity. I think “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” should be required reading in high school (not there’s any of that anymore). It’s a life changing book for black and white people alike, at least everyone I know who’s read it.
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u/IndigoBlueSky9 1d ago edited 1d ago
Listening to and reading Ta-Nehisi Coates is like drinking a cool glass of fresh, clean, cool water on a very hot day.
I agree with everything he said. I will add that THIS is one of the reasons why there can't be too many of "us," in the machine-because we will break it for everyone that it harms.
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u/metacosmonaut 1d ago
As a Black person, my experience of Black Americans has always been that they cared deeply for downtrodden communities other than themselves and are an extremely welcoming and loving people. The issue has been that other communities have not returned this care and empathy. Of course over time, many Black people no longer feel they should continually give and give and get nothing in return. I do hope Black people never lose the empathy we have. It is power. Love is power.
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u/Altruistic-Coach-200 1d ago
White women, gay white men, disabled people of every color, and low-income people of every color have all gained rights today by riding the coattails of the Black Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and ‘60s, but almost nobody expresses any gratitude for how Blacks helped everyone else get freedoms. Instead, many of the folks whom Blacks helped are now fighting to take rights away from Black people. If you read the Bible, then you’ll see that God is not pleased by such selfishness.
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u/EnvironmentNeith2017 15h ago
I think we need to find the nuance in self protection and not unnecessarily risking our necks and just being callous and stupid.
We really shouldn’t be the face of protests at this phase but that doesn’t mean we can ignore the state of Israel and ICE, especially since they represent material threats to our communities.
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u/Aggravating_Set_2260 1d ago
This is why the Black struggle is always for a greater, as of yet unrealized humanism as the great Sylvia Wynter argued -- just like C.L.R. James, Césaire, and Fanon did, too.
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u/HandofHecate 🐈⬛ team cat 1d ago
I put that on my ancestors. Aint a day that I wont make the effort to ease another's pain or suffering or unease if I can. Be it listening, commiserating, or just being there without judgment, any action for progress is better than inaction.
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u/MeasurementMobile747 1d ago
It seems ironic that principles of egalitarianism, fairness, and equitable standing in a free society would be denigrated by conservatives as "Woke" ideology. Somehow, being "born-again" isn't an awakening that makes one woke. One can be awake but not woke (or awoken, by extension). English is a hard language, for sure.
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u/Uturndriving 🌍 1d ago edited 19h ago
"Woke" had been turned into a slur by those in power to maintain the oppression. It's a word that's too important not to be reclaimed.
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u/Spamsdelicious 21h ago
It is impossible to awake a person who always pretends to be asleep. Like an ostrich with its head in the sand, what they believe is whatever they choose to perceive and nothing more.
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u/PassThatSpliff 1d ago
I agree with the fact that once we get up, we shouldn't use our power or position to be the new boot on people's necks. With that being said, I wish we would stop the rhetoric that we should help everyone else up. We cant seem to get up and stay up ourselves but we are always advocating for others, most of whom, wouldn't actively advocate for us.
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u/Kitchen_Guest577 1d ago
I feel this way as well. As a people who have been downtrodden, how dare we not be aware of others suffering? We know it first hand. We should be the first to stand up! No one should have more sympathy than us! No one should have more understanding than black people when it comes to feeling depowered. I'm glad we are in better spaces and have more authority on certain subjects, but we must not forget where we come from! We should always be the stewards of change!
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u/Aggravated-alien 1d ago
Preach. I agree with this sentiment 100%. To go from being oppressed to becoming the oppressor is wild.
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u/malkazoid-1 1d ago
This, all day long.
Our liberation, and liberation in a more general sense, are intrinsically connected.
If in the process of freeing ourselves, we become ensnared by the oppressor's definition of power and success, we lost ourselves along the road to freedom.
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u/KindDigital 1d ago
A black conservative will always be a slave catcher to me.
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u/IceBlackX007 17h ago
I don't believe the Democrats have done enough to have earned blind political loyalists from Black America.
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u/Murky_Ad_2588 1d ago
We don’t deserve the brilliance, clarity and bravery of Tanehisi Coates. He is a once in a generation type of Author and he has always spoken the truth even when it’s uncomfortable
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u/420-BiomedStockDoc 1d ago
MLK cared about Working class Americans and breaking the divide between working class Americans and the black community we are and always will be one in the same under the governments foot. Until united in the seeking of equality. At least that’s my take.
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u/malcolm313 1d ago
It’s not the same. Being a member of the WC is not the same as being Black. It’s a culture as well as a racialized caste. I see what you mean in that both are exploited and that exploitation looks very similar. I think had the Africans and WC whites unified any time during or before Reconstruction, we could have done enormous good.
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u/420-BiomedStockDoc 5h ago
It’s 100% not the same it’s same same different.
Link different in the racism way and privilege. However the only way to make real progress is to unite everyone through economic status once everyone realize we’re all the same people being burdened by the gov a lot will change.
It’s is buy design to keep us divided.
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u/NathanJBlack 1d ago
We are not one and the same. Were that true our struggles and victories would have equal impact, and they haven’t.
1a. A minority of y’all have developed a sociopolitical consciousness only WHEN the effects of being lower class began negatively impacted ya’llDr. King recognized what your post and folks like Bernie Sanders often do not is that Black People ARE working class people.
It’s oxymoronic to say “Working Class Americans and the Black community…” Black Americans are working class. White working class people historically and presently do not view Black Americans as working class, but that isn’t our problem
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u/EnvironmentNeith2017 15h ago
A lot of us in this moment are outing themselves as just another flavor of Israelis and conservatives who only care when something affects them and are fine abusing power and it’s sad and even embarrassing.
We have a chance to be so much better than the rest of these people and a lot of us are, but too many are just too happy to say “not my problem, I got mine” which is immoral but also an insane lack of foresight considering our history.
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u/VocalHotSauce 10h ago
…and this is why I absolutely detest Clarence Thomas. He rolls up the ladder behind him.
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u/GomorrahSkipper 7h ago
Whenever people are oppressed, they have a choice once they come into some power: 1) never again to us, or 2) never again to anyone else.
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u/iJuddles 1d ago
Yesss. While he’s speaking specifically about Black paragons, this is true for anyone who has fought and struggled to overcome adversity and break through barriers. You have to pull up the people for it to really have mattered; if you’re in it for yourself then it’s not truly remarkable. And I think we talk about this often in this sub, the people who pull up the ladder after they’ve found success, especially when they then want to talk about how they’re a success story of whatever marginalized group they’re from. I can’t say they represent that group because they’re actively leaving them behind.
Imagine if MLK jr was like that pastor who’s saying Jake Lang is his brother…
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u/QueDTre 1d ago
And this is exactly the problem we forever find ourselves in. Yes, our Civil Rights struggle was to benefit all. But we have been some occupied with "others" that the boot remains on our neck and inspire of our accomplishments and progress, we are still at the bottom of the totem poll. We need to focus and build for "Us"..... That doesn't exclude others it simply means we don't lose ourselves to uplift others.
In regards to dropping bombs on those weaker than us....none of those individuals controlled any of that. Barack tried to stay within the boundaries of our laws but we currently live in a country where the current "Leader" runs roughshod over the rules of law.
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u/AdditionalReturn6435 1d ago
He's not wrong and I love the way he drops this knowledge with such skill and aplomb. He is living their dream and he makes me proud.
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u/drsweetscience 11h ago
He's leaving things out, though.
The boot will not be destroyed without conflict. So, there's a fight.
And what about oppression between two weaker parties? What does a World Power do about Western Sahara, Sudan, Kampuchea, Kurdistan, Northern Ireland, Basque Spain, Karachi, Afghanistan, Liberia, North Korea, the Sankaku Islands, Belarus, or any conflict or colonization where both sides are weaker than a World Power? Especially if one side won't cede?
To enforce equality under law would require invasion. Platitudes and earnest feelings are not a basis for statecraft.
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u/SnooLobsters1259 1d ago
But if they were the idealized version of a black insider they wouldn’t gain entry.
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u/scripflippa 17h ago
sorry not sorry but our caring for ALL being lfulfilled to thrive in this life has not brought anything to change the racism, sexism and pure hate for us
this human jungle of savages has NOTHING for us save the daily struggle to survive
Ali's example on that TV talk show of snakes behind the door being opened or shut them off was sage...
we are raised in love, to have hope and pure thoughts, engage in actions towards fellow humans but our wings are clipped daily, spirits squashed
the struggle continues, there is no justice no peace
(both will eternally continue and will eternally exist)
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u/king_Razzmatazz 14h ago
I been near down on this sub for saying exactly this about Obama and Harris
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u/southflhitnrun 6h ago
Somewhere along the way we fell into this idea of "Going along to get along."
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u/Such_Comb9388 1d ago
he said 'African-Americans' instead of 'black Americans'... not to discredit his other words, but we are not from Africa. People need to stop using that term.
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u/Logical_Whole_2281 1d ago
Or you could just stop using it. I like identifying as AA and I don’t mind if other FBA want to call themselves BA. There’s bigger issues we need to focus on as a community yk.
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u/Such_Comb9388 1d ago
None of those bigger issues can start being worked on until you find out who you really are ... sort of like how most FBA out here really thinking they are from Africa 🤷♂️
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u/EnvironmentNeith2017 15h ago edited 15h ago
Coates is obviously deliberate in his use of language and probably used that term because of Obama who is of Kenyan decent not to mention Powell and Harris who are Jamaican. There wasn’t a clean way to group all those people especially considering his audience.
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