I say this every few months to make sure the people in the back hear it
I say this every few months to make sure the people in the back hear it.
One of the problems with living with such racialized inequality is that it sets up a predatory/prey relationship, where the poor become tools of those who aren't poor.
Some of this power is wielded by imposing punishments, but really, the most effective way to weaponize inequality is by bribes and flattery, e.g., the wealthy can afford to over-pay for your house, and the poor aren't prepared to say "No" to cash. They are the ones who can offer the poor a job. The wealthy can afford to pick who to throw a banquet for or to award, and poor are also desperate for validation that they will take it as a sign that the wealthy are wise.
Democracy is supposed to help get around this, but that only works if the people on top don't have overwhelming control over the production of ideas.
It's not enough to have formal liberation. If the tools of liberation aren't taught in the schools and popular media, then the electorate just ends up being tools of the people who donate to campaigns or own the media. And it's not enough to have a black face doing the pitch work. Neither Steve Harvey nor Alexia Ridley are paid to deliver the kind of media that will lead to substantive freedom.
The first battle for non-violent black liberation is seizing control of the media. This is something Ida B. Wells knew.
By Irami Osei-Frimpong