White Supremacy Imposed False Values on Afrikans

The Rodney G. King events--from the beating to the verdict--were no surprise to me. The only surprise was the fact that someone caught it on tape. The racial problem in America is at an all-time high, the problem is deep rooted and multifaceted.

There is not enough room in any one newspaper or magazine to get in depth on all of the intricacies or subtleties that manipulate the masses, so I’ll just touch on a few issues relating to one premise: white supremacy.

In my opinion there is not such thing as an Afrikan-American--we are Afrikans, born in America. We desire a way of life that was imposed on us through slavery. We were taken out of a superior land and a superior way of life, forced into a system (capitalism), which is built on one capitalizing and exploiting another. This system creates a class structure, which feeds one’s ego and self esteem and crushes another’s, based on material gain. This is a system that has taken the God-given earth, divided it and put a price tag on it.

These values have nothing to do with Afrikan ways, so when the slaves were forced into this way of life, and treated less than human, they desired to be equal to a system of lesser values than what they were accustomed. This has been a quest for massive numbers of Afrikans from slavery until today, striving to be accepted by the master, preoccupied with assimilating; aiming to be equals to a lesser power, because the slave master has erased our knowledge of our superior way of life.

This is the key to how white supremacy and capitalism works hand in hand with racism. Afrikans have been lulled to sleep by chasing the American dream. We have been divided by the assimilation of capitalism. We, by the grace of the Creator, have been blessed with an abundance of talent and athletic abilities and, through capitalism, these talents are exploited through compensation and magnified through the media--sending a subliminal message to the Afrikan community.

The message is interpreted and the feeling is one of frustration for the impoverished Afrikan who doesn’t have the talent or athletic ability so heavily emphasized as the only means of acquiring the capitalist status he or she desires. The few of us who do have these talents begin to acquire the materials we’ve desired for the majority of our lives.

This comfort tends to make the Afrikan complacent and removed from the reality of the poverty and the tension that exist. This creates a level of ignorance that Afrikans and Americans are unaware of, although we know there is racial tension. Because of the tunnel vision that capitalism creates, the people of this country as a whole don’t know how dangerous racial tension is.

The Afrikan living in poverty also lives in a violent atmosphere. Although the violence is usually executed on the people in his community, by the people in the community, he is aware that capitalism and white supremacy is the major reason for his frustrating position. Therefore when an incident like the King beating occurs, and the justice system confirms his belief that the system is not for him or his people, he feels he has nothing to lose and reverts to the violent nature of his environment. Suddenly, innocent whites are being attacked and killed and America gets a wake-up call. We see the results of white supremacy and capitalism.

I don’t condone violence, but I understand who I am and where I am. And, because of the seeds of hate that white supremacy produces, I understand this level of violence makes everyone take notice--because they realize we are all victims of white supremacy. Innocent people can become casualties of a race war. This is just one level of a multifaceted problem.

The solution, therefore, is also multifaceted. Americans, Afrikans and all non-Americans must approach all people as humans despite class, race or sex. Without this level of balance, we are always at risk of a potential blood bath.

I close with a message to the Afrikan community: Be careful of reacting emotionally, always remember that everything the American government has ever done, from slavery till today, has been in opposition to the Afrikan. Remember that we are still less than a man according to the American Constitution, remember that we were brought here as a commodity and, once slavery was over, this government had no use for us. Maybe if we stopped being concerned with fitting in to a system, we wouldn’t take on the violent nature the system produces. Remember the roots of the system killed Indians and enslaved Afrikans to build this wicked empire.

We have to come together, think and organize. If there is going to have to be violence, organize and let the system commit suicide. Casualties in a race war cuts both ways and, in that war, only Satan wins. Organize, think and move strategically.

Keep the Peace!