SOME THOUGHTS
Uncle Baldwin said “one of the paradoxes of education was that precisely at the point when you begin to develop a conscience, you must find yourself at war with your society. It is your responsibility to change society if you think of yourself as an educated person. “
Growing up, I always asked “Why”. Each came with a direct slap right to my mouth - Three degrees, many Uncle Baldwin teachings, and loads of lived experiences later I would argue that was actually the beginning of my “Awakening.” My ability to question the structure and authority around me was a super power I did not quite know I had yet.
I remember the first time I came in contact with my “Americanism” - The first time where my status, US currency, passport had no power. My Haitian culture and kind heart held no value. Instead, my existence in Cuba just carried residual pain; pain caused by imperialism, corruption, capitalism, and power. I was participating in a government and did not know how to engage, and the “language” was not my barrier. My American ideals had me handicapped, I did not know how to just be human without filtering through my “learned American behavior.”
I was carrying toxicity that was deeply rooted in Capitalism. It was the moment I began to identify my self as an Internationalist and took my power of “Observation” to another level. It was the first time I had to carry the weight and pain of this country in a way that was “for a moment” separate from my “blackness.” Separate from the issue categorized as “White Supremacy”, I am arguing we are missing the root cause of this problem. Global Capitalism, the blind spot we are not addressing heavy enough. Now how do we dismantle that? “collaboratively.?”
Every movement needs a catalyst, an event that captures people’s experiences and draws them out from their isolation into a collective force.
So my thoughts on Black Liberation are as follows;
Unfortunately the violent acts towards us are just the surface level issues with Racism and White Supremacy in this country - Capitalism IS White Supremacy! The fundamentals of how this country was founded, currently governed, and socialized is White Supremacy. It is exactly why Baldwin left, and why Maya found happiness outside of this place we call the “Land of the Free” - White is a metaphor for power, and that is simply a way for describing Chase Bank”
We are pressuring businesses, influencers, and white counterparts to be Loud. Now what if I told you businesses are showing and “supporting” to preserve future profit margins. We are championing people and large businesses for “Shifting” their funds to Black Orgs and Businesses, again a strategy to preserve future profit margins. Now let me remind you that this simple “supply and demand” chart sits against the backdrop of BLACK HUMAN LIFE! Now please help me reconcile how fundamentally fucked up this country is.- We are also pushing for Strict Black Consumerism, let me just add that the last time the black dollar remained black was against the back drop of Jim Crow and Segregation. Yikes, Now how does that fix the fundamental underpinnings of racial inequality?
Racism in the US has never been just about abusing Black people for the sake of it. It’s always been a means by which the most powerful White men in the country make their rule and make their money. Capitalism is contingent on the absence of freedom and liberation for Black People. Baldwin and Angelou wrote it, Malcolm preached it, Bob Marley sang it. Castro challenged it and overthrew it. Oh and Assata will never return.
Just like COVID has forced us to adapt to new ways of living, one we’ve already begun to call our “new normal.” - We need to adopt new ways of THINKING and BEING. Michael Dawson calls for “Pragmatic Utopianism” - How can we start with where we are and begin to imagine where we want to be, can we possibly create an entire different America? Is this the best society our human species can come up with?
“One has not learned anything about Castro when one says, “He is a Communist.” This is a way of his learning something about Castro, something about Cuba, something, in time, about the world. I would suggest to him that his is living, at the moment, in an enormous province. America is not the world and if America is going to become a nation, she must find a way – and this child must help her to find a way to use the tremendous potential and tremendous energy which this child represents. If this country does not find a way to use that energy, it will be destroyed
by that energy.”