That’s about white: ‘Dear Culture’ breaks down Capitol siege
This week, theGrio's flagship podcast explores white supremacy and the Capitol insurrection
From the attempted Capitol coup and social media companies removing Donald Trump’s accounts to flight companies banning Capitol rioters, the new year started out with a BANG.
That’s why on the Dear Culture podcast, theGrio‘s Shana Pinnock and Gerren Keith Gaynor take this week to discuss and unpack the Capitol insurrection. The duo are asking the pertinent on our minds: “Dear Culture, how come the police and president helped white militias siege the Capitol?”
“These cops [held] peoples’ hands as they walked down the Capitol steps!” remarks Pinnock to Gaynor.
Pinnock wants to set the record straight. This isn’t a GOP issue, for her, this is clearly a white supremacy issue. Reminding everyone that anti-racism is a verb, whether one’s an ally or simply a purveyor, everyone needs to think about how such actions impact Black people and our curated spaces.
“White supremacy is a part of the Republican party,” adds Gaynor.
Read More: ‘Dear Culture’ takes a look back at the highs and lows of 2020
Many activists and politicians have deduced that Trump incited an insurrection in the U.S. through the internet and social media. Though many believe Trump’s been using social platforms to promote white supremacist ideas for a long time, it was only after the extremity of last week that tech companies decide to step in.
“Someone threw a fire extinguisher at an officer’s head and [he] died. Later, to find out that officer himself was an avid Trump supporter–look at what y’all did to somebody who’s on y’all side!” remarks Pinnock.
It’s incredibly frustrating to both Pinnock and Gaynor, knowing what they know about whiteness, white supremacy and white complicity, that the Black community is not be able to safely march for our lives. Last week’s attempted coup showed everyone nationwide the rapid and ridiculous violence of white supremacy. That violence has been compared to when activists and allies gather to galvanize votes and march for justice, only to be met with fatal responses.
“It’s well within our right to seek vengeance and they’re very lucky we aren’t,” says Pinnock.
Gaynor adds, “When you’re conditioned to believe this country is yours without repercussions, we’re just asking [them to] leave us alone and let everyone be. If that means you lose a little bit of power and money, so be it.”
Gaynor reminds us all that “the real enemy is capitalism,” along with white supremacy. Massive change is already happening in this country because of the work Black and Brown people have done and still are doing.
Read More: New year, who dis? ‘Dear Culture’ set intentions for 2021
A lot of us don’t want a history reversal. Though America is getting “a piece of its own medicine,” for a lot of people in our communities the acts of Jan. 6 are centered in whiteness.
Tune in Dear Culture, the smart, reliable Black news podcast. Now streaming on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and Stitcher.
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