Black People Are Having a Phenomenal Year Thus Far
Last Wednesday, terrorists ambushed the Capitol, acting as pawns in the interest of commander-in-chief and fascist President Donald Trump. The incursion happened amidst congressional procedures that would certify the accrual of enough electoral votes to declare Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election. Forty-five invoked his troops to intimidate and disrupt the count in the name of avenging the “stolen” election. Perhaps, this is the moment he instructed Proud Boys and alt-right extremists to “stand back” and “stand by” for during the presidential debate? Either way, Black people and Black Twitter, more specifically, were relieved to be able to look on in amusement.
Not even an entire twenty-four hours before the attack at the Capitol took place, Georgia’s Senate runoffs were decided and Democratic candidates, Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, made history— winning both of the state’s Senate seats and creating a filibuster in the United States Senate that is generally settled by Vice President-elect, Kamala Harris’ deciding vote when only a simple majority is required to pass legislation.
This is a celebratory time! We deserve to marvel in the historic wins within our nation’s leadership, because major cities with high concentrations of Black voters are responsible for installing the Democratic majority. Yet, our victory has been tainted by what is being referred to as one of the “darkest moments in our nation’s modern history”.
Um, excuse me?????
Yes, beyond the jokes and memes, the implications of Jan. 6 are grim. It’s far deeper than white people (and company) losing their minds and testing the boundaries of their privilege; these acts are representative of the behaviors that have been wrongfully permissible for the past four years and how that entitlement has emboldened an entire coalition of Trump-sponsored thugs to erupt in violence. But to diagnose the anarchy displayed on that day as one of “darkest” days we have seen in modern history is tone-deaf and dismissive of the people that continuously put their lives on the line as they demand justice for Black men and women that were unjustly slain.
Last Wednesday’s failures to appropriately castigate the rioters at the Capitol made one thing decidedly clear—even though unity was forged between both sides of the aisle, the source of angst regarding the events remained starkly different.
Black people are frustrated because we were beaten, bloodied, and crucified in pursuit of our right to live! And, along with the rest of the world, we watched as law enforcement, inexcusably unprepared for the insurrection occurring at one of our nation’s most sacred buildings, delivered a halfhearted response to domestic terrorists storming the building. These people were armed and hostile; defacing and stealing from the chambers and offices of elected officials. Only 52 people were arrested on the day.
The privilege of their actions can be seen in the dichotomy between the motivations behind Trumpism and the Black Lives Matter movement. White supremacists breached a government building to challenge democracy; while we were fighting for survival.
To this point, I think one of the most disheartening images I saw from that day was Black maintenance workers cleaning up after the building had been desecrated by homegrown terrorists. (Whew, the irony.)
I don’t think it gets more un-American than committing acts of sedition and treason; yet the rioters were dubbed “patriots”, and Black Lives Matter protestors were “thugs” and “agitators” that deserved to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. White supremacy only acknowledges the law and order that persecutes Black and Brown people. They are the only “legitimate” arbiters of justice. They want us to be complicit in our genocide, while they fight tooth-and-nail to preserve bigotry. And, just so we’re all on the same page, this has absolutely nothing to do with democracy and everything to do with r-a-c-i-s-m. To their dissatisfaction, the governmental apparatus is becoming more representative of the heterogeneity that encompasses the nation, and they are pissed about it. What we witnessed was the animus associated with consequences of Black votes being cast.
Something about this prompts me to think back to when I was a child, and my friends and I grew weary of playing the same ol’ games over and over again so someone would be ingenious enough to create a new one. The creator of the game would fill everyone in on the rules, and then the fun would commence. The one principle that was never addressed but always expected is that the game’s architect would reign victorious every time. And if it was presumed that they may not win based on the direction of the game, they might suggest a new interpretation for a rule or change the rules altogether. Essentially, “rigging” the game in their favor. Anyone critical of the game’s rules and/or operation was discouraged from playing, of course. Now, suppose they didn’t win at their own game? Well, they’d challenge the execution of the game and cite failure to adhere to the rules as they were “written” until it was indisputable that something unjust had occurred and the results of the game could not be acknowledged or certified. Sound familiar?
The game of democracy wasn’t intended for our participation. But even with the blockages that continue to bar many of us from engaging, we managed to play and win.
My last message to people of color is to feel your feelings all the way through, whatever they might be, but remind yourself that is okay to be remiss about the riot. Give yourself permission to be removed from chaos and complicit in peace.
