Why Black Women Are Not Going to Sing Kumbaya With Racists

Assessing preposterous expectations

With everything Trump has dragged this nation through since January 2017, a whole lot of white folks looked at the pandemic carnage, rampant racism, wounded economy, and federal dysfunction and said, ‘Please, sir, may I have some more?’ (Graham, 2020)

Despite having all the necessary ingredients, America is not a country made of sugar, spice, and everything nice. Creating an inclusive nation requires a consistent life-long effort. Yet, in the aftermath of a contentious presidential election, most white people want the sociopolitical climate to cool off. The interracial movement which began in response to police brutality now appears like a midnight summer’s dream. Momentum dropped off because of their loss of interest, not due to a change in racial conditions.

Many white people treated the movement like a flashy toy on Christmas morning. After a few hours of playing with the trinket, they tucked it away in the back of a bedroom closet. While the movement initially seemed charming, months later, many promptly scanned for the nearest exit. Some assumed that by voting, they could check the anti-racism movement off of their to-do lists.

While voting for a presidential candidate who recognizes human rights was a step in the right direction for many Americans, it represents only one step in a long chain of necessary actions. Only in successfully passing anti-discriminatory legislation to protect civil rights can America rid itself of the plague of systemic racism. Nevertheless, many feel they have done their part.

The election did not become the repudiation of President Donald Trump that many envisioned. Approximately 70 million Americans voted for the Republican candidate. Trump won the majority of white voters, as he did in 2016. Many bought into the narrative of white grievance. In the aftermath of this mixed outcome, many white pundits insist that Black women should forgive them and work together to heal the nation.

Black women never saw America through rose-colored glasses. They understand that a country filled to the brim with racism cannot heal. In a compromise, both sides make concessions. Black women should not have to accept discrimination. While pundits attempt to place a bandage on America’s wound, the injuries are too deep; the Union needs stitches. Black women cannot make white people respect their worldview; they should not be responsible for sewing compromise.

Why no one should ask Black women to compromise

Black women should not be the ones to compromise because they always drew the short stick in America. Research indicates Black women are the most educated group of Americans. However, their ability to possess more degrees does not help them obtain high paying jobs. They make less than their white counterparts for the same jobs. In addition to making less money, Black women hold less higher-management positions.

In the criminal justice system, Black women face imprisonment two times as much as white women. This data reveals how prevalent racial discrimination is in our system. Black women are not more deviant than white women, but the system punishes them disproportionately. They are also more likely to suffer abuse and die in the hands of law enforcement.

The “strong Black woman trope” causes many people to disregard the pain Black women experience. Black and Indigenous mothers are more than twice as likely to die from childbirth-related complications in the American healthcare system; an unfortunate dynamic called maternal mortality.

Racism has lasting impacts on our lives. So, we cannot compromise with citizens who do not see the need to weed out these injustices. It is dismissive even to ask us to consider singing Kumbaya with racists.

As Black women and women of color celebrate the successful nomination of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, her work has yet to begin. Whether President-Elect Joe Biden and his administration can pass progressive anti-discriminatory legislation hangs in the balance. Two Senate seats in Georgia are heading to a run-off in January. If Democrats succeed, advocates must ensure that they implement policies consistent with their campaign rhetoric.

Her presence begins rather than ends a conversation about what America owes Black women (Cooper, 2020).

Even if Democrats overcome these electoral hurdles, many Americans oppose progressive legislation. Those who voted for Trump do not see the need to address systemic racism. They supported a candidate who boldly embraced a separatist agenda. The majority of white women did not support Biden and Kamala’s ticket. Preliminary results show just how divided America is, with race and education being better voter indicators than gender.

White voters supported Trump in even greater numbers, including 55 percent of white women, up from 52 percent in 2016(Graham, 2020).

After Trump made derogatory statements about women in his infamous Access Hollywood tape, most white women still supported him. His third wife, Melania, characterized his rhetoric as “locker room talk,” which is apparently how many white men viewed it. However, when Trump talked about grabbing women’s privates without their consent, I felt appalled. Many white women showed outrage as they rallied against his candidacy. Sadly, this may have been more performative advocacy that genuine opposition.

These last two elections demonstrated the reluctance of most white women to embrace feminism. They feel just fine with electing someone who confessed to disrespecting women. Those who cannot stand up for themselves will always become poor allies for others. So, it should come as no surprise to Black women that most white women also overlooked the Trump administration’s racist policies and rhetoric.

Voting outcomes can help paint a portrait of the sociopolitical climate. As it stands, most white women refused to acknowledge the harms of systemic racism. No one should expect Black women to compromise with those who fail to recognize the validity of their fight for equal rights and justice. We cannot let bygones be bygones with those who disregard the value of Black liberation.

White allies are facing their first post-election challenge. Whether they stick with the movement or continue to call for unity despite the opposition’s racism will define their role in the campaign as we advance.

Since the Associated Press projected Joe Biden as the President-elect, many expect him to heal a divided nation. While this sounds pleasant, there are consequences of compromising. Throughout history, Black people find themselves repeatedly on the losing end of these conciliary negotiations. His administration must walk a tight rope through respecting all Americans without disregarding the constituency that facilitated his success — Black women. Bringing America together cannot happen while accepting racism as an acceptable difference of opinion.

Once again, Black women will have to endure hearing white people claim that voting for Trump does not mean they are racist. However, they overplayed their hand this time. While many insist they only voted for Trump because they view him as useful for the economy, the country is in the middle of an unchecked pandemic that decimated the economy. This national emergency turned into a national tragedy because the administration refused to listen to the experts. In other words, voting for Trump was not suitable for the economy. The only thing left was racism.

White people have the privilege of forgiving their neighbors for voting for a racist whose administration gutted the Voting Rights Act. Martin Luther King, Jr. warned about white moderates who accept a negative-peace rather than a positive-peace, justice. His words ring with the same clarity as they did during his lifetime.

After months of grassroots organizing, campaigning, and voting, Americans set Kamala Harris on the path to the Whitehouse as Vice President-elect. On inauguration day, she will break a new glass ceiling for American women. Making history, she will become the first African Amerian and Indian American woman to enter this high-office. However, it is important to note she is the first woman of any race to become Vice-President of the United States.

African American women want America to succeed. However, no one should ask us to cast aside our values to accomplish that feat. White Americans need to acknowledge that racism and misogynoir are unacceptable in a democracy. Disregarding human rights should be considered unAmerican. Given the opposition to Kamala’s historical run, most white people do not want to work on a common agenda. The conservative movement echos the segregationist campaign, which also opposed any expansion to civil rights. They claim they do not hold racist views. However, I think they do protest too much.

The South was never admonished for having slaves in the first place. History quickly rewrote the Civil War as a ‘quarrel between brothers’ (BBC News, 2020).

In the aftermath of the Civil War, the United States government made concessions to former slave owners, not the formerly enslaved people. Time and time again, American unity is achieved at the cost of Black women’s rights. Similarly, the passing of the 19th amendment granted women’s voting rights but left most Black women out of the franchise. Black women feel wary of these calls to compromise, asking us to sacrifice progress for a negative peace. There is nothing white people can offer to Black people to make us oppose progress.

For the North, what was vital was re-admitting the old Confederacy back into the bosom of the family. Racist views and bigotry — no problem, just don’t disturb the Union (BBC News, 2020).

The same dynamic resonates thought American culture. Moderates want to deny the racism of Trump supporters because all that matters is maintaining unity even at the cost of disregarding Black lives. Throughout American history, Northerners fought against a system that enslaved millions of African people without penalizing them. Their apathy provided the gasoline for white supremacists to burn crosses in Black people’s front yards without repudiation.

The Republican senator Rand Paul blocked the Emmett Till Antilynching Act this summer. In the modern era, white people should admit that Black lynchings were an American tragedy. However, conservatives show an unwillingness to acknowledge that. When white moderates say Black people should mend fences, they are cosigning the cruelty of denying justice. Conservatives consistently oppose anti-discriminatory legislation, even when designed to bring the country together. They are the ones that should compromise and let go of the racism that threatens the nation.

There was no attempt to change the hearts of Southern racists. In fact, as long as the Union remained intact, racists could act as they pleased. They could lynch, and loot and burn. They could murder and rape. They could threaten and intimidate. They could bully (BBC News, 2020).

White people wanting things to return to normal is a common trend. Every time they help Black people make progress, they seem to feel buyers’ remorse. After achieving a bit of progress, they return to pandering to their racist relatives and neighbors that caused the schism in the first place. Returning to “normal” seems preposterous to Black women.

Their perception of normal stipulates that Black women accept living in a country that does not value them. Asking Black women to work with racists is an attempt to legitimize and normalize racism. They postulate, “It’s okay. Just let it go.” However, Black women cannot let it go.

No one else sees this country with the clarity that Black women do. Nine out of ten Black women voted for Biden and Kamala’s historic run to the Whitehouse. We feel more unified than ever. It is white Americans that must unify around a message of equality. We cannot and will not compromise our self-worth and values.

White people want Black women to compromise with racists, so they feel that America is exceptional. They want absolution without doing the hard work of consistent advocacy. Black women are not going to start singing Kumbaya anytime soon.

They have to abandon racism and authoritarianism

This white-generated and white-maintained oppression is far more than a matter of individual bigotry, for it has been from the beginning a material, social, and ideological reality. For a long period now, white oppression of Americans of color has been systemic — that is, it has been manifested in all major societal institutions (Jackson, 2020).

A healthy democracy can handle dissent. However, bigotry is not an acceptable difference of opinion. Racism is dangerous. Every aspect of Black lives, from birth to death, is marred with discrimination. Throughout American history, Black women and men had lower life expectancies. Americans need to address disparities in criminal justice, education, and healthcare systems to improve these conditions. We can agree to disagree, but not about respecting the value of human life.

Considering the opinion of racists weakens democracy. Black women can work with white people who abandon racism at the front door. Only then can compromises make logical sense. One thing is for sure — Black people have no intention of going back to this white-dominated version of America. There is nothing back there for us, except slavery and Jim Crow.

While many Americans wanted to “Make America Great Again,” this country never lived up to its values of treating each person equally. Black and white people experience two different Americas. While many white people celebrate their families’ businesses, which excelled during the 40s, 50s, and 60s, I always consider this bragging shortsighted and privileged. After all, Jim Crow laws forbid my family members from entering their whites-only establishments. Through revisionist history, they paint their families as innocent in a system white people took part in.

Trump’s followers want America to return to a time when only white people reaped the benefits. They completely ignore the fact that America was an oppressive regime for Indigenous and Black people. Our fight for civil rights, which seems so inconvenient for white people, is necessary for survival. They believe in American exceptionalism, ignoring the fact that America was only exceptional for white people.

Equality be damned. They want white supremacist authoritarianism (Graham, 2020).

Even though a peaceful transfer of power is one of the defining features of American democracy, Trump warned he would not accept the election’s outcome unless he won. White people who voted for him felt comfortable with disregarding basic democratic principles.

Now that the election is over, Trump is living up to his rhetoric. So far, he refused to concede or accept the outcome of the election. Because of his reluctance to embrace American democratic norms, independent observers view his actions as indicative of authoritarianism.

President Donald Trump’s ‘baseless’ allegations of electoral fraud and ‘unprecedented attempts to undermine public trust’ are eroding faith in US democracy, international election observers said in a report (Porter, 2020).

Asking Black women to compromise is abusive because we never received fair treatment in the first place. Any business person worth their salt knows that a reasonable compromise must barter from a position of strength. It is condescending to ask us to give more than we already have for this country.

While I admire John F. Kennedy’s contribution to the civil rights movement, I question some of his rhetoric at his inauguration day speech.

Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country (John F. Kennedy, 1961).

Maybe this rhetoric made sense for white Americans, but it is simply cruel to imply that African Americans owe this country anything else. American capitalism developed from the chattel slavery system. For hundreds of years, my ancestors provided free work that fueled the nation, making America an international superpower. Do tell Kennedy, what more should Black people do for this country?

It is time for America to live up to its merits. Black women deserve to live in a country that values them, respects them, and uplifts them. The American government never issued a formal apology for profiteering from the institution of slavery. Nor did it make amends for greenlighting years of sexual abuse towards Black women. It seems shortsighted to want more from Black people. Now is the time for Black women to ask what America can and will do for them.

Black women expect to move forward

Expecting Black women to sing Kumbaya with racists is like asking them to negotiate with terrorists. While we aim to move on from this divisive state of play, Black women understand the importance of moving not just on but forward. We cannot afford to go back and thus are in no position to barter with those who would sustain systemic racism.

The doors of communication are wide open, as they have been for hundreds of years. Women of color are sitting at the table, ready to hear how we can come together. However, we should consider what, if anything, the other side is offering. Will they support reparations, equal pay, closing the wealth gap, or anti-discriminatory legislation?

White moderates should be a little more specific when they discuss unity. It is unclear what grand plans they expect Americans to move forward on. Trump’s followers will not even say the words, Black Lives Matter, or concede the election. I could not imagine white people wanting to compromise with people who could not even say that their lives have value.

Unlike the co-author of The Art of the Deal, Black women understand what it takes to make a good negotiation. We need deliverables that improve the lives of Black people. Those same policies help all Americans because every human should have access to healthcare, safety, and equal access to opportunities. Despite Trump’s campaign rhetoric, Black people have a lot to lose. Unless white people want to capitulate, it makes no sense to negotiate.

Looking ahead

As a Black woman who is horrified at the overwhelming levels of support Trump received, I have no interest in any leadership that tells me I should want to be unified with people who think as the other side does (Cooper, 2020).

It is absurd for white people to expect Black women can work alongside racists. We live in the same country but do not share the same set of values. Those who hold racist views have no plans for compromising. So, what white moderates want is for Black women to stand down, to capitulate. Sorry to break hearts, but that is not going to happen.

America cannot move forward by trying to move in both directions at once. In choosing progress, we can work together. However, Black women have no interest in keeping things the same or venturing back in time. It is time for America to understand the value of necessary conflict. We cannot accept this country in its current form, and we do not have to work with those who set out to undermine our movement.

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References:

BBC News (Ed.). (2020, October 30). US election 2020: Why racism is still a problem for the world’s most powerful country. Retrieved November 10, 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54738922

Cooper, B. (2020, November 08). What America Owes Kamala Harris and Black Women Voters. Retrieved November 10, 2020, from https://time.com/5909002/kamala-harris-black-women/

Graham, R. (2020, November 06). Black people voted for democracy, while Trump supporters chose white supremacy — The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 09, 2020, from https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/11/06/opinion/black-people-voted-democracy-while-trump-supporters-chose-white-supremacy/

Jackson, R. (2020, October 28). Systemic Racism 101: Dear America, I can’t believe what you say because I see what you do. Retrieved November 10, 2020, from http://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/featured/systemic-racism-101-dear-america-i-cant-believe-what-you-say-because-i-see-what-you-do/

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. (1961). “Ask not what your country can do for you…” Retrieved November 10, 2020, from https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/education/teachers/curricular-resources/elementary-school-curricular-resources/ask-not-what-your-country-can-do-for-you

Porter, T. (2020, November 05). Trump accused of undermining US democracy by international elections watchdog. Retrieved November 09, 2020, from https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-accused-of-undermining-democracy-by-osce-observers-2020-11