The Legacy of white supremacy

In a previous post the History of White Supremacy I discussed the history of white supremacy which you can read here. This post is a continuation of my previous post which will explore the legacy of slavery and colonisation in todays society,

1. Religion

Europeans forced Africans to convert to Christianity and demonised African religions. They used images of a white Jesus for Africans to worship. This is psychological oppression. If you believe that God is white, you will subconsciously believe that white people are superior and that a white person is your saviour. Further, you are  less likely to rebel against your white oppressors as you would believe that harming your oppressor is harming God. Christianity was used to make enslaved Africans passive, they were taught to "obey their masters" "turn the other cheek" and endure hell on earth so that they would go to heaven when they die. There are many black people today who still worship white Jesus. My mum told me of  a saying in Ghana which states that "if you see a white person you don't need to go to church because you have met God" This is very damaging, this brainwashing has led to some people of African descent today seeing white people as more superior to them. Black people need to see themselves as Gods because we are. The human race came from us therefore we are Gods.

2. Beauty 

Africans were taught that their features were ugly, such as their hair, skin colour, facial features etc and being white was the standard of beauty. Therefore anything close to whiteness was seen as more attractive. This has caused black people to hate themselves and their features. This also birthed colorism which exists heavily today. I wrote about this in more detail here.

3. Education

I went to school in the UK where the education system, is very whitewashed. We were never taught about the great achievements of black people. We were taught about "great" Europeans, and the British Empire. In regards to slavery we were never taught about slave rebellions, only that Africans were slaves. We were not taught about the great African empires,  we were not taught about African civilisations apart from Ancient Egypt, however we were taught that Egyptians were not black (when they clearly were). We were not taught what Africans have achieved and contributed to the world. We were not taught about inventions created by black people, we were not taught about black royalty. This is miseducation, so that black people do not feel pride in themselves but are conditioned to see white people as greater than them. That is why I always advocate for black people learning their history because our history is very rich and many of our people have achieved great things.

4. Media

Black people are usually portrayed negatively in the media. There used to be minstrel shows (started in the 1830's), where white people painted themselves in blackface to represent black people in a negative light. Black people were usually protrayed as dumb, lazy and criminal. There were also cartoons portraying African people as cannibals. 

We know that the media can be racist. Black people are usually portrayed negatively, black men are usually portrayed as violent , criminal and hyper-masculine. Black women have historically played the role of the "mammy", the Jezebel (promiscuous woman), the slave or the side kick to a main white character. The first black woman to win an Oscar played the role of a mammy.  We never see too many positive representations of black people and if we do, there are only a few.

In music, there are black artists who rap about about murdering other black men, glamorise criminal behaviour, consumerism  and hyper sexualise and disrespect black women . This is detrimental to our community. A lot of our music is negative and this is what the white record labels want to promote. Unfortunately, a lot of black conscious artists who have positive content are not promoted or signed by these same labels. These labels want to push a negative narrative in the mainstream, why should our demise be the entertainment of others? this is not right. Black artists should stop allowing themselves to be used to promote negativity in our community


5. Criminal Justice system

In the UK, black people make up 3% of the general population but 13% of the prison population. In the USA black people make up 12% of the general population and 40% of the prison population. In the UK black men are 4 x more likely to be stopped and searched that their white counterparts. Black  people are not necessarily more criminal than white people. Black communities tend to be be poorer and poorer areas tend to be policed more and targeted than more wealthy communities. This leads to higher statitsics. Black young men especially, tend to be viewed as criminal. In courtrooms black people are more likely to be convicted and sentenced more harshly. In Ava Duvernay's documentary "13th" she explores the school to prison pipeline in the USA, and how privately funded prisons make money depending on the number of inmates they have, the more inmates, the richer they get.

6. Economics

Black people are economically the poorest in the world compared to other races. Majority of the poorest countries in the world are found in Africa. This is due to Africa being looted and exploited by the West and corrupt African leaders. Black people living in the diaspora tend to collectively be the poorest group in the countries they live in.  There are 2000+ billionaires in the world. Of this only 13 are black. The wealth disparity between black people and other races is huge. Black people need to become independent, especially black countries. They need to work together, black communities need to practice group economics so we can thrive as a race.