[Picture taken on the site where Michael Brown was killed on
August 9, 2019, in Ferguson, MO. Brown, an 18-year-old black man, was shot by
Darren Wilson, 28, a white Ferguson police officer.]
Clarence Thomas messed
it up for black people. Put another way, I miss the good ole days.
Back in the day, way
before today’s “woke” generation, it was assumed that black people had a
collective agenda. It felt good standing behind the virtuousness of a black
monolithic expectations. For all that plagued black life in America, there was
comfort in believing the brother/sisterhood were on the same page.
Clarence Thomas changed
all of that by giving new meaning to Frantz Fanon’s book Black Skin, White
Mask. Fanon sought to present a
historical critique of the effects of racism and feelings of dehumanization
inherent in colonialism. Thomas introduced the reality of Black Skin, White
Soul.
When Thomas was
confirmed to the United States Supreme Court on October 15, 1991, it uncovered
black America’s secret. Not all black people are progressive thinkers. There
are black republicans, some of the most conservative ilk, who fight for causes
and support people independent of the supposed black agenda.
Nothing has been the
same since that day. Black pride and power came with a new verbiage to explain
incongruities. He’s not really black. She’s not with us. They’re not our
people. They can’t come to the family reunion. You can have her.
She’s not “woke” is
another way of distancing the Clarence Thomas type black person from others who
identify with the unwritten agenda of black solidarity. Black unanimity was
understood and celebrated as part of the black cultural experience. It’s what
happens when black people, from coast to coast, gather at family reunions and
line dance to the music of Frankie Beverly & Maze. It’s the festivity of
getting down with the get down during homecoming at an Historically Black
College and University (HBCU). It’s the black homecoming long before Beyoncé’
introduced black culture to white Americans
It’s a black thang, and
you wouldn’t understand is jargon intended to address the people who agree with
Clarence Thomas. Not all people get it. Not all black people understand it. Not
all black people care about being black.
Being “woke” is another
way of saying you’re not down with causes that impact black people. “Woke” is black
talk aimed at censuring black people who don’t care about being black. It also
applies to the embrace of viewpoints outside the purview of the unwritten,
national, black manifesto.
You’re either with us
black or seduced into a deep sleep. You’re either down with the televised black
revolution or protecting the master’s property like Uncle Tom on the
plantation.
Being “woke” is black
talk. It is created, adapted, endorsed and inspired by cultural variance,
nuances and concerns of black people confronted by the ongoing influence of
white supremacy, institutionalized racism and assumptions of white privilege.
It’s a black thang, you
wouldn’t understand.
White power, white
supremacy, and all of its side demons are managed by the influence of cultural
appropriation – the inappropriate espousal of customs, practices, ideas and
language of black people. White people have taken “woke” and named as their own
creation. White people have taken the continuing movement of black people to
obtain and maintain progress and named it a progressive movement.
The search to undo the
outcomes of slavery, post-reconstruction, Jim Crow legislation, voter
repression and the ongoing quest to maintain white domination is the work of
black progressive movement. Progress is the goal of the unwritten manifesto of
the black collective vision.
Black progress is about
sharing the wealth, getting our share and being outspoken about what black
people deserve after years of deprived progress. What the black delegation
doesn’t need is a gang of white progressives defining what progress means.
These are labels created to assert power and privilege defined by white people
who have stolen the language of “woke” to separate themselves from other white
people.
Step back. Take notes,
and please back away from asserting high levels of cultural appropriation in
declaring the merit of black people. We got this. We’ll keep our folks in
check.
In the meantime, check
your white folks.
We good?
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