Unpacking the knapsack of race privilege

It's several weeks after Black History Month; have you checked your racial awareness recently?

My own awareness received a sharp and exhilarating little jolt when I read an article by Dr. Peggy McIntosh in a journal published by the National Association of Women and the Law.

When you're struggling with a difficult new concept, sometimes a lively metaphor brings everything murky into vivid focus. That's what McIntosh, the associate director of the Centre for Research on Women at Wellesley College, has done for the concept of systemic racism.

Her idea came to her as she tried to convince her male academic colleagues to introduce more material about women into their courses.

"I have often noticed men's unwillingness to grant that they are over-privileged in the curriculum, even though they may grant that women are disadvantaged," McIntosh wryly notes in her article.

Author Walter Mosley on Writing Mystery Novels, Political Revelation, Racism and Pushing Obama

Today in a Black History Month special, we spend the hour with the award-winning author Walter Mosley, who many people were introduced to when Bill Clinton praised his book while running for president. Mosley has published 37 books, including a series of bestselling mysteries featuring the private investigator Easy Rawlins. The first novel in this series, set in 1948 and called "Devil in a Blue Dress," was made into a film starring Denzel Washington. Mosley has been hailed for his use of the popular detective novel as a vehicle for confronting racism across multiple decades. "When I started writing Easy Rawlins ... I was trying to talk about my father’s generation, black men and women who moved from the deep South to different parts of the world," Mosley says. "Here’s these wonderful stories about these people who have moved here and who make a big difference here. Let’s include them in the literature." Mosley’s latest novel, "All I Did Was Shoot My Man," follows the modern-day private eye Leonid McGill as he navigates a world filled with corporate wealth, armed assassins and family drama. His writing has spanned many genres, from young adult to science fiction, but he is less known for his non-fiction works that address the pressing political issues of our time. Mosley’s most recent work of non-fiction, "Twelve Steps Toward Political Revelation," starts on a deeply personal note, then expands to a call of action for people to organize against wealth inequality. Regarding his continued support of President Barack Obama, Mosley notes, "We can’t blame a guy who, you know, got elected, and he’s sitting there alone in the White House... I agree, he has a lot of power, but he doesn’t have enough power without us."

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Source: Democracy Now!
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Afrikan Liberation Month: Beyond heritage and history

With all the struggles we face as Afrikans both on the continent and in the diaspora, it is unequivocal that we take time to reflect on these issues; the sinister manifestations of white supremacy, capitalism and their imperialist expressions. Afrikan Liberation Month (ALM) is dedicated to this task of reacting and reflecting not solely on our "Black history" or "heritage," but ultimately to continue working for our liberation. This remains a necessary and compelling goal in light of the 500 plus years of the denial of our existence as full persons.

For the last 50 years in this part of the world, the month of February has been commemorated as Black History Month (BHM), and it is a period dedicated to acknowledging particular types of contributions that have been made by Afrikan peoples in their various locations. While BHM has sometimes proven useful in creating forums to reflect upon our global experiences and contributions, more often than not it has become co-opted by the state, corporate institutions and other civil society organizations. These entities have sought to "multiculturalize" Afrikan experiences and practices, and have contextualized Afrikan histories through the lens of white supremacy. This state of affairs has allowed for situations such as when Afrikan children at schools are taught that their struggles are in the past, their hardships mere "heritage" and "history", which do not necessarily inform, and that are not situated within current and collective liberation struggles.

What's Left Out of Black History Month Celebrations

Last week marked the beginning of Black History Month. This year, we have twenty-nine days during which we will celebrate the many contributions of African-Americans to our nation’s history. This is a month when we make heroes of people who overcame real, systemic and often legal oppression. We lift up, in President Obama’s official proclamation, “a story of resilience and perseverance” to inspire and educate the public about a part of this nation’s history that wasn’t told a generation ago.

But in all of the celebration of a selective highlight reel of history, too often we overlook the reality of our present and how far we have yet to go to realize a better future where we all have enough to thrive—not just survive.

In his last book, Where Do We Go From Here, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, “A society that has done something special against the Negro for hundreds of years must now do something special for him.” I don’t think Black History Month is what he had in mind.

He was probably taking a cold, hard look at our nation’s history and thinking of the terrible oppression and injustice that black people endured—first under slavery, and then under legally sanctioned segregation in the South and informal segregation everywhere else. The sad fact is that the vast majority of our nation’s history (from the Declaration of Independence right up until the legislative victories of the civil rights movement) constitutes that “something special against the Negro” that King mentioned. That long history of discrimination has a direct impact on the black community today.

Why Black History Month should be called African Liberation Month

We are now in February and for Africans in North America it is a significant month. It is usually observed as Black History Month.

It is taken as an opportunity to acknowledge African people's struggles, achievements and commemorate significant moments in the fight against white supremacy, capitalism, sexism and other forms of oppression.

Some of us use this month to reflect and rededicate ourselves to the revolutionary or radical African political tradition.

In the spirit of collective self-criticism, are we at the point where Black History Month is due for a name change and focus?

Names are quite important to resistance. It was no accident that the enslaved Africans who were taken across the Sahara Desert ended up with Arab names and those who went by way of the Atlantic Ocean had European names imposed on them.

Denying a people their name is a classic method of colonization and cultural imperialism. It is used to weaken collective consciousness, which is critical to building a resistance culture.