by Michael Graham
State of Play
In the new era of #BlackLivesMatter in Trump’s COVID America, we are seeing a clash of ideals about what America means. For far too long White America has stumbled through our shared history without shared experiences. They have had the privilege of being oblivious to Black suffering in the United States. That is finally changing.
America has seen Black death on video for years now. Life has largely gone on unchanged. Somehow the viral lynching of George Floyd has galvanized people all over the country and abroad to stand up for Black lives. Not even the tried-and-true method of character assassination has deterred the protestors. State violence, individual violence, and threats of violence have not moved people off their square, including White folks.
While many are being steered away from real solutions for American Descendants of Slavery, many others are looking to end the ceaseless suffering- once and for all.
Back to the Future
Here at Reset Race, we feel it is necessary to go back to the beginning. We’re going to see how race was created to undergird slavery, colonialism, and global plunder. More importantly, we’ll look at the evidence that proves that the plunderers knew that this line-of-thinking was complete nonsense from the start. However, the economic, social, and psychological benefits were too great.
Now you can go back in time and look behind the curtain. It is imperative that you know these truths in order to move forward. We cannot solve these problems without understanding root causes.
Below you will watch a speech from UK rapper, activist, and scholar Akala at the Oxford Union. He is the son of a Scottish mother and Jamaican father. His charm, experiences, and scholarship make this one of the best talks on the subject.
Please support Akala and purchase his book Natives. The book is an amazing look at race and class in the UK.
OK. Watch, enjoy, and keep two sets of notes.