Ricky Jones: White supremacy, say its name!
It has become popular for protest leaders to mightily shout “Say her (or his) name!” at rallies seeking justice for the growing number of victims of anti-Black violence in America. Their comrades respond with the names of the fallen. To be sure, it is not wrong to call out these names in attempts to humanize them and preserve their memories. But the callings are incomplete if the name of what is really at the heart of American anti-Blackness is not spoken.
Saying this name will be difficult. Saying it will make some uncomfortable and drive others to outright anger. Saying it will prompt tired attacks claiming that merely uttering it “divides us” and makes the utterer a “racist.”
Alas, none of that changes the truth. If this country truly wants change (and many are not wholly convinced that it does), we will say the name of the demon sitting at the root of our suffering. We will say it because everything from attacks on Black bodies by police in the streets and in our homes to attacks on the minds of Black children in American classrooms across the country all are tributaries flowing from the same befouled river. Don’t be afraid. Be brave, honest, just and true. Say its name, softly at first if needed but louder as your courage grows. White supremacy!
More: Louisville must use the DOJ report to act but also to help our community heal: Opinion
True white supremacy is about white people feeling they know what is best
Be clear, the white supremacy of which we are speaking is not of the elementary or cartoonish sort. It is not the Ku Klux Klan burning crosses on Black citizens’ lawns or atop Stone Mountain in Georgia. It’s not tiki-torch bearing white nationalists marching through Charlottesville, Virginia chanting, “You will not replace us” and “blood and soil.” It is not the Proud Boys or other white supremacist organizations that have grown exponentially in America in recent years. We see those ghouls coming from miles away.
No, this monster is much more insidious, sophisticated and dangerous. It is omnipresent, but constantly denied. It is simultaneously obvious but cloaked. The white supremacy in question here is the belief among a good percentage of a single group of people that they, and only they, ultimately have the right to know, think and decide because of the color of their skin. True white supremacy is about white people feeling they know what is best, are the most capable of thinking through legitimate options, and have the right to make the final decisions on all matters of consequence in America.
More: Why reading is the greatest civil rights issue of our time: Opinion
That is white supremacy. Say its name!
Look around you. How many spaces do you occupy, outside of anomalous exceptions, where white people are not the terminal decision makers? Whether it’s politics, business, education or sports, who really has the power to make final decisions? Who is really in control? Who must you go to with supplications for understanding and mercy? That is white supremacy. Say its name!
America has been a white supremacist contradiction from the beginning. Its founders declaring “all men are created equal,” but owning slaves; white supremacy. The killings of Gabriel Prosser, Denmark Vesey, Nat Turner and so many other resistors who only sought freedom; white supremacy. White man’s burden; white supremacy. Manifest destiny; white supremacy. Say its name!
Dred Scott; white supremacy. Black codes; white supremacy. Grandfather clauses, literacy tests and poll taxes; white supremacy. The Hayes-Tilden Compromise; white supremacy. Plessy v Ferguson; white supremacy. Jim Crow; white supremacy. Confederate statues and monuments; white supremacy. Lynching; white supremacy. Redlining; white supremacy. Wilmington, Rosewood, Tulsa and others; white supremacy. Gerrymandering; white supremacy. Say its name!
White supremacy isn’t just about the past. It has morphed and disguised itself, but it continues today. Say its name!
A Department of Justice report that says Louisville, Kentucky police disproportionately target and abuse Black community members; white supremacy. The same findings in Ferguson, Missouri and other American cities; white supremacy. Quickly moving on from talking about it or simply explaining it away; white supremacy. Say its name!
Saying, “We didn’t know it was this bad and must do better” in 2020 and then maintaining the same racial power dynamics; white supremacy. Demonizing any movement or organization that seeks to reaffirm Black humanity; white supremacy. Say its name!
Continued voter suppression; white supremacy. So-called anti-critical race theory laws and attacks on teaching the true history of American racial oppression; white supremacy. Attacks on affirmative action; white supremacy. Gaslighting and punishing stronger Blacks overtly or covertly while elevating weaker, fearful ones who make you comfortable; white supremacy. Denial of reparations; white supremacy. Supporting, normalizing and electing racially retrograde political madmen (and women) across the country; white supremacy. Say its name!
Populating diversity, equity, and inclusion positions from corporate America to higher education with Black puppets who are afraid to mention their own people; white supremacy. Hiring capable Black diversity, equity and inclusion officers and then under-resourcing and undermining them because you didn’t really want to change anything in the first place; white supremacy. Say its name!
There is much and more to say but no space to say it. If you care and dare, I encourage you to distribute this brief missive and have honest conversations across lines of race about it.
It is appropriate to close with James Baldwin who said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” Are you willing to face the truth of white supremacy? If so, say its name . . . and work to end it.
Dr. Ricky L. Jones is professor and chair of the Pan-African Studies department at the University of Louisville. His column appears bi-weekly in the Courier-Journal. Visit him at rickyljones.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Ricky Jones: White supremacy, say its name!
