No, My Critique Of White Liberalism Is Not Dividing The Movement

[sheshe2]

I try to avoid comparing contemporary racism to slavery in order to make a point, but American slavery is literally the only thing white people seem to agree is racist aside from B.E.T. And even slavery gets romanticized and downplayed with startling frequency. Recently, NPR and the Washington Post published horrendous headlines describing Thomas Jefferson as being in a “40-year relationship” with his slave, Sally Hemings. Leslie Mac, founder of the Ferguson National Response Network, rightfully countered that “This ‘relationship’ […] consisted of repeated rapes during which Sally Hemings birthed MORE PROPERTY for Jefferson.”

If progressive media outlets are recalling chattel slavery with the fondness of a 90s rom-com, it’s no wonder white society often fails to grasp the grim realities of modern racism. It doesn’t matter that mass incarceration today is essentially slavery on steroids. It doesn’t matter that contemporary schools are more segregated than they were in the late 1960s. And it doesn’t matter that American police and the KKK endorsed the same presidential candidate. To the average white person, the end of slavery was the end of “real” racism, and Black folks today are enjoying a much healthier substitute — I Can’t Believe It’s Not Slavery!™ Which explains why white progressives tend to interpret scathing critiques of modern liberalism as unnecessary and divisive. Liberals, after all, are the “good guys.” Except they’re not.

Last month I published an article about my incredulous feelings towards white women. To the surprise of absolutely no one, lots of folks hated it and labeled me a racist. Bigoted white men descended upon me to point fingers, while proclaiming vindication for the “election” of their new orange king. Indignant white women bombarded me through every avenue of social media to declare, “Not me!” — while simultaneously proving my point. And Black men used the opportunity to shit on Black women and console all the sad Beckies in the comments. I was called a whore, a bitch, and a cannibal — all of which are true. But the most prevalent comments came from white liberals, who were disgusted by the “divisiveness” of a Black woman. They seemed outraged by my failure to quietly embrace their neo-liberal politics and pseudo-progressivism for the sake of unity. But beneath the surface of their outrage, they also seemed frightened.

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As was recently noted by attorney and activist, Marbre Stahly-Butts, “Unity is not the objective; freedom is.” If progressives want to quell divisiveness within the ranks, they need to start examining themselves, not their detractors. Radicals are NOT slowing liberals down. It’s the other way around. Sometimes the enemy of my enemy is still my enemy. Liberals need to stop looking at themselves as inherently good, and begin reflecting on the ways they’re inherently oppressive.


First and foremost, stop measuring your morality in comparison with the far right. You don’t get kudos for being more open minded than neo-nazis and white nationalists. In fact, many marginalized groups are more frustrated with white progressives than they are with bigoted conservatives. And this is nothing new.

Read More:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/your-calls-for-unity-are-divisive-as-fck_us_58c19b3fe4b070e55af9ec79?be6jol8ps7gsc3di&

Just to be clear, the article was written by a black woman...

DiDi Delgado, Contributor
Poet, Activist, Womyn in search of her own truths.

I am a white woman posting this in the African American Group. No, I am not pretending to be black and yes I have been accused of that and no it was not from a member of this group. What I am is an ally and I think DiDi's words need to be read. Minority groups are the strongest of our Democratic base. They are the people that we need to bring in ten fold. They must be our focus. They ARE the Democratic base. Please read what she has to say. We need to listen.