Bree Newsome on Black voters "saving" Alabama
This narrative about Black voters "saving" Alabama would imply that majority of white voters--the majority of people in the state--wanted to be "saved" from Moore. They didn't. Black voters protected themselves
It's a bit problematic to frame AL election results as Black people "saving AL" when they were actually protecting themselves by pushing back against systemic racism within their state
"Black people saved Alabama!"
Who did they save Alabama from? Who was putting AL in harm's way that it needed to be saved & why?
The image of the "magical negro" or the "mammy" figure who rescues white people in their time of distress is a very old racist trope that celebrates Black people for being able to save "whiteness" from its self-destructive impulses
The central focus of this racist trope is still whiteness & the idea that Black people are made noble in sacrificing themselves for the benefit of a sympathetic white figure.
"Hooray! Black people saved the day!" does not automatically translate into "...therefore we recognize their oppression & wish to end the culture of white supremacy." So folks who are legit anti-racist, remain vigilant 👀
Framing AL election result as Black voters "saving AL" instead of acknowledging it as Black voters protecting themselves from the ramping up of a racist police state helps us avoid discussing the reality of the racist police state.
Had Moore won last night, the focus still wouldn't have been on the ramping up of the racist police state. It would've instead centered on blaming Black voters for not sufficiently overcoming the majority white vote & systemic racism
In either case, the purpose for America's racial imagining is to place the burden for moral redemption on the backs of Black people while allowing the image of "whiteness" to remain blameless & without scrutiny
Link to tweet
https://twitter.com/BreeNewsome
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