This Black History Month, how do we make sense of America’s whitelash?
OPINION: The U.S. Capitol insurrection upheld the persistent legacy of white supremacy that troubled Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. long ago
Toward the end of his life, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. found himself at an inflection point about the next phase of the civil rights movement. In his noteworthy book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community, Dr. King lamented on white America’s violent resistance to Blacks achieving a better quality of life through homeownership, job equality, and education.
On Jan. 6, the insurrectionists who terrorized the U.S. Capitol building upheld the persistent legacy of white supremacy that troubled Dr. King long ago.
Read More: MLK would be ‘disappointed’ by today’s poverty and income inequality, son says
The persistence of white supremacy is a constant threat to American democracy. Make no mistake, the Capitol insurrection was not patriotic. The threatened and real acts of violence against law enforcement and members of Congress on Jan. 6 were a signal of distress from some of the nation’s most entitled and prejudiced individuals.
While many Americans found themselves shocked by the events of Jan. 6, Black Americans were all too familiar with the racist terror that permeated our nation’s Capitol.
The insurrectionists alleged that they descended on the Capitol building to contest an election that had already been certified. In reality, their actions were a true manifestation of what Van Jones described in 2016 when President Donald Trump was first elected into office: whitelash.
Read More: Rep. Omar calls out GOP colleagues for ‘whitewashing’ after comparison to Greene
The notion of whitelash begs the thought that when white privilege is challenged or under duress, white hegemony fears that the status quo has been disturbed. That a chief spokesperson for white supremacy was defeated in the election was enough to strike hate and fear in the hearts of many throughout the nation, and led to the most violent, modern insurgence that we have seen in the nation’s capital.
Have the same privileges and safeties been afforded to Black counterparts who have asserted their own right to protest? We only need to look back on the countless efforts of Black and Brown people around this nation who have stood against police brutality to see that the answer is a resounding no.
Read More: Black Lives Matter receives Nobel Peace Prize nomination
Considering this, the Biden-Harris administration has a unique opportunity to spur change. It is often suggested that a presidency is defined by what the incoming administration accomplishes in its first 100 days. Admittedly, the 46th presidential administration seems to be off to a solid start.
The administration’s commitment to anti-racism, reflected in Biden’s selections of the first Native American cabinet secretary (Debra Haaland), a Puerto Rican Secretary of Education (Miguel Cardona), the appointment of General Lloyd Austin as the first Black man to lead the Pentagon, and through his signing of executive mandates against racism, are unprecedented steps to fight white supremacy.
The president and vice president are not individually responsible for demanding that American racists reckon with the destruction they have caused. It is up to the U.S. Senate to hold the former president accountable for igniting the Capitol insurrection during its upcoming impeachment trial against him. Impeaching the former president for inciting lawlessness will allow justice to be served for the lives lost and endangered on Jan. 6.
Just three weeks after the Capitol insurrection, the Department of Homeland Security released an alert suggesting that violent, racially-charged attacks could occur in the coming weeks. This is frustrating, as we should not have to brace ourselves for a racially-motivated, violent attack, ever again.
Should our leaders fail to stand their ground against white supremacy, with urgency, they will have missed their opportunity to ensure civility in this nation. Furthermore, this nation can no longer be defined by its racial and political polarity. We are calling on our elected officials to sanction responsible parties, and the hegemony of white supremacy, once and for all.
Politicking was created by Wen-kuni Céant and Jordan Wilson, two Howard University graduates determined to increase voter participation among millennials. Following the 2016 presidential election, Céant and Wilson, wanted desperately to change apathetic attitudes about politics. Their solution was to create Politicking, an app that would serve to engage today’s disengaged constituencies.
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