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(Authors note: Below is an essay I wrote in response to an article in
the August 19, 2005 issue of The Trentonian, a reactionary tabloid newspaper
from Trenton, NJ. The Trentonian is some sort of New York Post of the
Delaware Valley, appealing to the most backwards mentality possible.
Below is what I wrote and I believe that it is self-explanatory. –Dave
Schraeger)
Black Nationalism and the Right to Self-Determination
Dave Schraeger
The Trentonian newspaper of Trenton, NJ has an article, Panthers Ripped,
08-19-05, attacking as "racist" the New Black Panther Party
because it does not accept whites as members. Divine Allah, leader of
the Trenton, NJ Chapter of this organization, refers to it as "Black
nationalist."
I must confess that I do not know very much about the New Black Panther
Party, but my purpose is not to explain them. I have a different purpose
in writing. Some people, especially white people, misinterpret "Black
nationalism" as a form of "racism," which it is not.
As a white man, it is not up to me to support or to attack Black nationalism
or nationalism of any other oppressed minority. That is a question of
self-determination that the members of each group must decide on their
own.
On the other hand, "white nationalism," as expressed by the
KKK, Nazis, Aryan Nations and their ilk, is racist because its intent
is to continue to institutionalize white privilege and to promote the
continued oppression of anyone who is not white.
Given the nature of racism in the USA, it is not surprising to see nationalism
among any oppressed people here. In 1980, Ronald Reagan became the first
major-party candidate for US President to be openly endorsed by both
the KKK and the Nazis. By 1984, Louis Farrakhan began being listened
to by ever-increasing numbers of Blacks because he addressed their pain
and suffering under Reagan. Black nationalism was a defensive response
and reaction to the white nationalism begun
four years prior.
On January 15, 2003, George W. Bush jumped into the fray over the affirmative
action admissions policy of the University of Michigan Law School. The
following day, the White House filed an amicus curiae brief in the US
Supreme Court opposing the university's admissions policy. This is the
first time that any president has personally intervened in a case before
the US Supreme Court on affirmative action and it has been correctly
interpreted as a reflection of hostility towards women and people of
color on the part of the Bush administration.
Black nationalism and other nationalisms of oppressed minorities are
defensive, not offensive in nature. They tend to grow during times of
increased repression and oppression. Black nationalism is not a problem;
it is a symptom of a problem and that problem is racism and racial oppression.
It is not appropriate for whites or The Trentonian to tell Blacks to
stop acting like nationalists; that is patronizing and paternalistic.
Black nationalism and any other type of ethnic nationalism, including
Zionism, grow during times of repression, especially if those who are
being repressed feel that others do not care and are not willing to
stand by them in solidarity to struggle for equality. If anyone's concern
is to fight Black nationalism, the best way to do that is to fight against
racism, which is the real problem anyway. Also, white people need to
understand that all struggles that truly build multi-racial unity must
do so on the basis of full equality and that means accepting Black leadership
and the leadership of other peoples of color and a complete rejection
of paternalism. White people also need to accept the fact that Black
people have the right to self-determination, just as any other people
do. It is not up to whites to tell Black people, or any other oppressed
people for that matter, not to be nationalistic, but it is the duty
of all of us to struggle against racism and to do so on the basis of
full equality.
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