Can Black People Be Racist?
Racist: (noun/ adjective) “A person who shows or feels discrimination or prejudice against people of other races, or who believes that a particular race is superior to another.”
D’Shandi Coombs
True or false: Black People Cannot be Racist. FALSE!
If you identify as a human being capable of cognitive thought and introspection, you in fact, can be a racist.
To say that only white people can be racist because we live beneath a power structure where the leitmotif of white superiority is jammed down our throats in such covert manners that it’s almost perfunctory, is not only bullshit, but an intensely crippling mindset to have. By believing this, you have subconsciously, if not blatantly, insinuated that you are beneath every white person in existence, simply because they share the same skin color as President Cheeto Puff and his Congressmen.
Racist: (noun/ adjective) “A person who shows or feels discrimination or prejudice against people of other races, or who believes that a particular race is superior to another.”
(“Racist | Definition of Racist in English by Oxford Dictionaries.” Oxford Dictionaries | English, Oxford Dictionaries, en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/racist.)
Before you start, yes, I am well aware that the governing body and linguistic specialists of Oxford Dictionary are comprised of an obnoxious majority of white folk. That being said, we cannot, and we shall not, pick and choose which words this equivalent body of melanin deficient individuals are competent enough to define. Moving along…
“Black people cannot be racist because they do not have power.” As a black woman with career goals, connections, and above average academic prowess, I highly disagree. Black people have been at the forefront of every civilization, life- changing inventions, groundbreaking legal movements, and food seasoning. I refuse to speak life into any political, social, or economic structure which negates these truths.
Let us understand, to say that black people are capable of being racist does not:
- a) Make all black people racist
- b) Falsify institutional racism (NOT a synonym for racist by the way)
What it does however:
- a) Allows us to stop making up words to describe when black people do and say some racist shit
- b) Allows us to effortlessly break barriers in the face of adversity (because this is what we do) INSTEAD OF blaming “The White Man” for all of our troubles; because let’s face it, that gets us nowhere.
If we’re going to blame “The White Man’ every time we fail, are we not then obligated to sing his praises when we triumph? Also, let us not forget that black people are not limited to the United States of America. We are not the minority. We have built entire civilizations, and continue to run entire countries. Therefore, it would be foolish and incorrect to make such a rash statement applicable to a global community.
Disclaimer: That is not an invitation to begin saying that only black people in the U.S.A are incapable of being racist.
Okay class, let’s review: Your colorist friend…. A racist. That aunt who always has something negative to say about black people at Thanksgiving dinner…. A racist.
Yes, even if they’re black.
