Please Stop Whitesplaining How Black and Brown Revolution Should Be Executed
Oppression is a bitch. It’s uncomfortable. It’s dehumanizing. It is a blight on the American conscience and should be vigorously weeded out like a doctor would slice open flesh and remove a growing tumor. Surgery is undoubtedly messy. So is revolution. It is not a cocktail party. It is a forcible, nonviolent radical shift in the way we think, the way we govern, and the way we go about our daily lives, when groups of people within our borders are being subjected to regular violations of their human rights. It is meant to shake the very foundations of bigotry, racism, and hatred which have a historic stranglehold over our nation. No community experiences oppression as frequently as the black and brown community.
More of an annoyance than living with the daily struggles of oppression, is someone of non-color telling me or the community how we should all feel about it. Worse yet, someone of non-color explaining how to “civilly” go about actions to restore the peace and dignity that injustice so malevolently removes.
On July 4, 2018, 44-year-old Congolese immigrant, Therese Patricia Okoumou, climbed the base of the Statue of Liberty and refused to come down until all of the children who were separated from their families and interned under the Trump Administration’s zero-tolerance immigration policy were released. Her act of civil disobedience resulted in the shutdown of the historic site for thousands of guests eager to climb Lady Liberty. No doubt, Ms. Okoumou joins the ranks of the most recent controversial acts and calls of nonviolent civil disobedience that have made headlines. And typical of all the other acts of nonviolent, civil disobedience from the Black Lives Matter (BLM) activist shutdowns, the kneeling of the NFL players during the national anthem, or Congresswoman Maxine Waters’ call to nonviolent protests of Trump Administration officials in public places; the concern for some people of non-color, irrespective of party, is to infantilize black and brown protest by explaining when, where, and how it should be executed; and most importantly, why one has gone about it incorrectly.
BLM is frequently criticized for overt, in-your-face protest tactics and are directed to engage in actions that appeal to communities of non-color. NFL players are directed to kneel on their own time and to not inconvenience the flag or the football game. In response to Congresswoman Maxine Waters’ calls for nonviolent protests, Senator Chuck Schumer called the action “harassment” and “not American,” while House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi chastised the action as “unacceptable”. So I am not surprised that with this latest act of nonviolent, civil disobedience by Ms. Okoumou, critiques of “she could have endangered the rescue workers,” “visitors were inconvenienced,” or “the Statute of Liberty lost money” are running rampant all over social media platforms, and relayed like a broken record by news pundits.
Yet, is it not strange that our elected officials (who are predominantly people of non-color) can chastise the black and brown community with lessons in protesting an injustice with civility, yet behave like schoolyard bullies while lawmaking? You only need to watch three minutes of the Peter Strzok House Committee hearing before needing to take a Xanax and finding a safe space. I am still horrified by the behavior, and deeply disappointed that the same Congressional members who are quick to dismiss and critique black and brown protests, have no shame in their hypocrisy of hurling insults at each other and demonstrating to the world that it is more important to humiliate a colleague than participate in the democratic process with fairness and dignity.
So as a friendly reminder to all people of non-color who so quickly feel the need to whitesplain the effectiveness and/or the appropriateness of each black or brown nonviolent protest- do check your privilege. An act of protest is meant to personify the pain, uncomfortableness, and degradation that oppression causes to vulnerable communities. The constant barrage of hatred, vitriol, acts of discrimination, and just plain racism is enough to push anyone over the edge (in a nonviolent kind of way, of course). So if you are feeling uncomfortable watching a nonviolent act of civil disobedience, it’s working. That’s the point! And for those who claim to be an ally of oppressed groups, please note that an ally does not authorize an action. Our community is not asking your permission whether the protest will pass the comfortability test. As an ally, all you need to do is remind yourself (and the world if you see fit) of the reasons for why a woman (or any oppressed person) would place their body in the line of fire for the hopes of achieving great change for our nation. In Ms. Okoumou’s case, her pain of witnessing the separation and internment of innocent immigrant children is all the explanation you need.
