What is Anti-Blackness in Context of Modern America?

  • Submitter Jay
  • Publish date
  • Article read time 11 min read
According to BU.edu, Anti-Blackness is defined as the beliefs, attitudes, actions, practices, and behaviors of individuals and institutions that devalue, minimize, and marginalize the full participation of Black people. At the crux of Anti-Blackness is the belief that the lives of Black people are worth less than the lives of White people. Any actions, practices, and behaviors that negatively impact the Black community are justified as long as they are done to benefit White society.

The average White American has no issue with police brutality because the police make them feel safe and secure at night. The average White American takes no issue with discriminatory banking practices e.g. redlining because it means there is more money in the pot for them. The fact that these practices are damaging the lives of a subset of Americans is irrelevant because the average White American believes that Black lives are worth less than theirs. To put it succinctly, the benefits they receive from the sick and twisted system is worth the price of Black subjugation because once again, there was little value in Black life anyway.

Anti-Blackness mandates that the lowest White man be greater than the highest Black man in the eyes of the people, the law, the media, and every other institution within society. It is why White America has no issue with $700B of their tax dollars going to bailout Wall Street, $2.2T to bailout the richest and wealthiest corporations but reparations for Black Americans (DOACS) is instantly met with "not with my tax dollars". Blacks are seen as sub-human by the average White American and it's not because of a lack of education, it's been their ideology before and after slavery.

America Doesn't Run on Dunkin, It Runs on Anti-Black Racism​

As we all know, the USA has a multi-generational history of violence and racism towards Black people that began with slavery. Anti-Black Racism is built into the soul of the nation, its Anti-Black institutions, and its ideologies. In fact, Anti-Blackness is the glue that holds the country together. An artificially depressed Black America gives the mass of disenfranchised Whites and lapdog buffer class communities a "North Star" to orient themselves to within the economic ocean of America. One way we highlight the existence of this "North Star" is by analyzing "Median Household Income By Race".


median-household-income.png

Source: Statista, Median Household Income in the US by Race

In the above chart we see the median household income in the US by race and the natural conclusion from charts are as follows:
  • Asians are the highest achievers
  • Blacks are the lowest achievers
  • Immigrants are exceptional and rising up the economic ladder
  • Racism is non-existent hence why Asians top the chart (Model Minority)
  • But charts such as this only tell a fraction of the story.
When you remove the word "income" and look at wealth holistically the chart changes dramatically.

avg-net-worth-by-race.png


Source: USAFacts, White People Own 86% of Wealth and Make Up 60% of the Population

What this chart exposes is who truly has the wealth and the power in the USA and it is clearly White America. But not all of White America, there's certain individuals that hold all of the wealth and offer it to the common folk in exchange for their labor. In such an unfair system, a wealth chart such as this makes it easy for struggling working class Whites to identify their oppression. Their "economic anxiety" goes from the workings of an unseen force to a deliberate attack by the hands of an aristocratic class and/or "deep state". But don't worry, here's where Anti-Blackness and prejudice come to save the day.

Pointing the Finger at the Black Race​

You see, when Whites begin to sense their exploitation, the aristocracy throws them a biscuit and says "you're doing better than the negroes, now protect that biscuit before one of those Black thugs come and try to take it". It's a tried and true divide and conquer tactic that gives the every day White American someone to fear, oppress, and to place their focus. The anxiety they feel at the hands of their oppression does not turn into upward pressure on the system, it turns into anger unleashed on Black communities e.g. Tulsa, Rosewood, and hundreds of others that suffered from White violence. Granted, January 6th, 2022 may gave been a turning point but that's for another essay.

Anyways, White people's preoccupation with Black people is what allows their own oppression to persist. No one said it more clear than Former President Lyndon B. Johnson:

“If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.” - Lyndon B Johnson​

Racism allows the "American dream" grift to continue and helps keep the aristocracy in power. However, the prejudice does not just fall on the feet of White Anglo-Saxon Protestants, everyone has taken a piece of the pie.

Immigrants Pledge to Perpetuate Anti-Blackness​

When immigrants arrive to the USA they quickly realize that the system is fueled on Anti-Blackness and they follow suit. For example, Irish thugs murdered, beat, and harassed Black men, women, and children during the New York City Draft Riots of 1863. Anti-Blackness was their way of dealing with and trying to ingratiate themselves into a very anti-Irish WASP nation. Italian immigrants took the same road and clinged to Anti-Blackness to show the dominant WASP society that they were willing to play ball. Overtime both of these groups were accepted into Whiteness to the point that we can't remember a time where they weren't.

Asian Americans are another group that willfully perpetuate Anti-Blackness by serving as willful "minority" marionettes for White puppeteers. When hate crimes towards Blacks and Asians rose during COVID-19, many in the Asian American community were too comfortable with Black Americans being framed as the perpetrators. Fact is, the largest perpetrators of hate crimes against Asian American populations during the pandemic and historically are White Americans. Blacks actually saw a 49% increase in hate crimes against them in 2020 totaling 2,871 incidents reported. When compared to the 279 hate crimes against Asian Americans in the same timeframe, it's clear that Stop Asian Hate was propaganda meant to perpetuate Anti-Blackness.

The Latinx community has also embraced Anti-Blackness, which is often an ideology brought from their homelands in Latin America. A great example of Anti-Black Racism in the Hispanic community was the leaked LA City Council meetup that saw Nury Martinez and other Latinx people working diligently to disenfranchise Black Angelenos. The level of animosity displayed for Black people by this group further affirmed the danger in use of terms such as "Black and Brown" that allude to non-existent coalition. If you want more information read our article: Black Americans, Stop Ignoring Racism in the Latino Community.

In summation, immigrant groups buy into the same racist system that White Americans do. It gives them purpose and a metaphorical North Star they can use to orient (and delude) themselves with. Many immigrants flee chaotic lands with governments that limited their economic viability, come to the USA, and then turn their nose up at Black people in the USA who also live in a chaotic land with a government that limits their economic viability. It is why it's tantamount for Black people (DOACS) to shift the conversation from "minorities" and "diversity" to prioritization of Black people. The other indigenous and "POC" groups do not have an education gap in regards to our struggle, they are subsidized economically and socially by White Supremacy and have an undying loyalty to it.

How Anti-Blackness Impacts Black People in the USA​

The racism that Blacks in the US have to endure on a day-to-day basis actually has tangible impacts on our lives. According to WebMD:

Blacks who endure life-altering instances of discrimination are a third to a half more likely to develop high blood pressure than those who haven't been similarly traumatized, researchers report in the July 1 issue of the journal Hypertension.

"Racism is a public health problem. We have to first of all recognize that and understand that," Lawrence said. "It's killing African Americans in ways that this paper begins to tease out.

"It's not the sudden death of strangulation," Lawrence said. "It's the slow death of discrimination."


Source: WebMD Racism Fuels Hypertension Among Black Americans

Not only is Anti-Black racism killing us physically, it's killing our socioeconomic status. Black people (DOACS) in the USA have double the unemployment rate as White Americans, 1/10th the wealth, 6x the incarceration rates, and a life expectancy rate that is 4 years shorter. It is not by coincidence, it is the result of years of Anti-Black policies that were instituted to destroy Black people and ensure another 100 years of White Supremacy.

Source: Joint Economic Committee, The Economic State of Black America in 2020

So far we have discussed:

  • What Anti-Blackness is...
  • Why it exists...
  • Who it benefits...
  • Who perpetuates it...
We will now cover how Black people encounter Anti-Black Racism on a daily basis.

How Anti-Blackness Manifests Itself Daily​

Anti-Blackness at Work​

Anti-Black Racism in the workplace can take the form of overt racism e.g. denying promotion, lower pay, or hair policing in the case of Black women. But often times Anti-Black Racism manifests itself in subversive ways that leave Black employees psychologically second-guessing themselves with little to no recourse. One notable form of anti-Blackness in the workplace is the purposeful exclusion of Black employees who are rooted in Black experience and culture.

What many Black employees are not aware of is how White employees and "White wannabes" test your ideological convictions on a day-to-day basis. A simple question about Bernie Sanders or Black Lives Matter may seem benign but can often determine how high you will be allowed to rise within that company. It may sound outlandish but every Black person is placed into one of 4 categories:

b612017e-13ad-48bb-8f3a-5f5398b24066.png

Which group you fall into will never be disclosed to you, the fact that you're even being measured will be denied at all costs. But it will impact you during your performance review, it will impact you during reduction of force meetings, and we go into more detail about it on the Hidden Metric Blocking Black People's Promotion. But even if you're cunning enough to play office politics like a pro, you'll run into another issue...the insufferable Workplace Karen. Karens come in many shapes, sizes, and persuasions but one thing they all have in common is their insatiable lust for micro-aggressive behaviors. Black employee are not limited to just doing their job, they have to dodge a minefield of politics that stress, depress, and exhaust them daily. But since they are looked upon as sub-human, the impacts of their mistreatment is not fully studied or respected.

Internalized Anti-Blackness in the Community​

Black people (DOACS) are inundated with racism on a daily basis and as a result many begin to internalize it. They begin to believe the propaganda against them and propagate but it's not always cut and dry like many like to believe. Yes, you can find Larry Elder or Candace Owens speaking White Supremacist narratives plainly and publicly 24/7 but they are not the biggest, largest, or most impactful manifestation of self-hate in the community. In fact, they are ostracized within Black society and branded with terms such as "Coon", "Uncle Tom", and etc which is why they associate mainly with White people.

There's actually a more prevalent and more dangerous manifestation of self-hate where we see Black people actually providing White people and their institutions a level of respect, cooperation and understanding that they are unwilling to provide to other Black people. It is not only the adoption of White Supremacist doctrine, it is the enactment of it and we refer to this as "Subconscious Cooning". To gain more insight on Subconscious Cooning please read the The Coon Next Door.

The dangerous part of this ideology is that it is often unbeknownst and/or transparent to the individual who possesses it. For instance, White Supremacy states that Black people are unable to create respectable and sustainable organizations, Subconscious Coons internalize this, and then behave in Black organizations presuming they are not worthy of respect and thus not sustainable. A notable example is the Turkey Leg Hut which is a popular restaurant in Houston, TX. Individuals would frequent the establishment wearing inappropriate outfits and then engage in lewd and degenerate behaviors and conversation. To put a stop to this, the Turkey Leg Hut instituted a dress code which put the Subconscious Coons in a rage.

Because in their minds they think "who does the Turkey Leg Hut think they are? They don't have the right to run a respectable establishment, they're Black! Black is tacky, decrepit, low vibrational and it's my right to ensure it stays that way." To a Subconscious Coon, respectability and sustainability are reserved for White people . We have developed a matrix that fully highlights how these types of individuals think and respond according to race. In addition, we cover the Turkey Leg Hut incident and the pathology behind its detractors more thoroughly in The Coon Next Door Vol. 2.

The more educated of the self-hate constituency have evolved beyond simple self-hate into a behavior that often presents as skepticism. These individuals possess the same White Supremacy fueled self-hate as Subconscious Coons but they rationalize it by presenting it as a response to Black society's inability to meet their self-mandated moral, ethical, societal, and/or organizational standards.

For instance, both Coons and Skeptical Coons will refuse to frequent Black establishments out of hatred for Black people but Skeptical Coons will attempt to rationalize it by stating "I don't think they have the ability to meet the standards I require". At face value one would be led to believe that the Skeptical Coon is making a decision based on an objective analysis of the Black establishment.

But after further examination, you find that the Skeptical Coon willfully patronizing White establishments that perform below the standards that supposedly made Black establishments unacceptable.

Reparations, Racial Justice, and the of Upholding Systemic Racism​

As cries for Reparations grow louder so do the attempts to co-opt the movement. Within the last year we've seen multiple racial justice measures put in place to try to redirect the righteous fire lit inside the hearts and minds of Black Americans. The reason is simple, a strong Black community threatens the very fabric of the USA. An economically empowered Black America will have the resources required to challenge the American government, its anti-Black institutions, and demand and institute justice as required. But not only will a strong Black community produce upward pressures, it will destabilize the buffer groups who have come here to "better themselves".
  • The convenience stores in Black neighborhoods currently owned by Hispanics, Arabs, and Asians will have to compete with Black-owned alternatives ran by members of the community. It will impact their share of the $66.3B/year generated in the convenience store industry.
  • Koreans will lose grip of the $2.5B Black hair care industry as they will be unable to compete with properly capitalized Black-owned entrants who are more connected to the customer base.
  • Vietnamese would see their dominance of the $6.5B nail salon market in Black neighborhoods fade as Black-owned nail salons would become a viable alternative.
While not comprehensive, the bullet points illustrate how a strong Black community would shift the entire course of the nation. The power structure would be challenged to produce equity while groups that thrive off the current Racial Caste System will find their economic viability challenged and in some cases destroyed.

Ending Racism is Not the Goal​

Racism is an ideology and as history has taught us, an ideology cannot be destroyed. But what we can do is levy consequences on anyone who attempts to act on ideologies that are counter-productive to our right to exist in this world.
  • The cultural changes that need to be made in White America is THEIR issue to fix, not ours.
  • The education system that intellectualizes racism from primary schools to the most prestigious university in the nation is THEIR issue to fix, not ours.
It is the responsibility of White America and other people in this country to look in the mirror and fix their own anti-Blackness. It's not our job to champion DEI and anti-Racism efforts, it's our job as Black people to create new boundaries that make it clear what lines we will no longer allow to be crossed. In the end, whether it be a social construct or not, Anti-Blackness refers to the hatred of Blacks and it is not our problem to solve.
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About author
Jay
Jay
I have a never ending appetite for learning and music.

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I always wondered the psychology of hating people 24/7 i have seen people in bad shape but will not ask a black person for help but any other race
 
Reactions: Jay
I always wondered the psychology of hating people 24/7 i have seen people in bad shape but will not ask a black person for help but any other race
People pick on those who won't defend themselves. It's as old as time.
 
This Black self-sabotage needs to be throughly explored so we can recognize it and replace it with healthy beliefs about ourselves. Without this we can’t truly unify, build and protect one another.
I’m interested in exploring post traumatic slave syndrome more deeply.
Excellent report, y’all. It summarizes all our societal issues.
 
This Black self-sabotage needs to be throughly explored so we can recognize it and replace it with healthy beliefs about ourselves. Without this we can’t truly unify, build and protect one another.
I’m interested in exploring post traumatic slave syndrome more deeply.
Excellent report, y’all. It summarizes all our societal issues.
Absolutely. We need to be experts in regards to our enemies so that we can see them coming from a mile away and be prepared for their strikes.
 
Dr. Claud Anderson wrote Affirmative Action, every black man woman and child should have his library of books he has written in their homes. He has been Ill lately so hope he is doing a little better since this writing
 

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