The Counterproductive Black Liberal
The Counterproductive Black Liberal
Discussing how the Liberal Politics of the Black Bourgeoisie Impedes Black Liberation
Since the beginning of an activated political era for black Americans, it has been apparent that a democratic bourgeois “revolution” and political structure of the United States would always leave us behind. However, immediately following the last successful use of our political power there would be a war of political ideologies between the black bourgeoisie and the leaders of the black proletariat.
Between 1965 and 1970, the gains of the Civil Rights Movement would be both celebrated and scrutinized by many black Americans. An though it marked a significant achievement of mass enfranchisement, it was very clear to some political minds that this was the beginning of our journey to self-actualization while to others it was a satisfying conclusion.
Even before the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Civil Rights Movement could be observed with having two leading schools of thought. Them being Martin Luther King’s nonviolent approach to achieving integration with an affinity toward “fixing” our corrupted institutions and Malcolm X’s “by any means necessary” approach in achieving black liberation from our corrupted institutions.
The latter of these ideals would actually expand throughout black America following the passage of both the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act through the works of entities like the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense and scholarly speeches from the likes of Stokely Carmichael. This era of political thought would see the rise of a Black Power Movement, that centered direct action to address the material needs of the black population as opposed to appealing to the morality of those that created the issues of our community in the first place.
This approach and movement was effective at both bestowing fear into State power, specifically the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and developing a strong alternative ideology for the black proletariat left behind by the black elite. Unfortunately, toward the end of the 1970s the radical apparatus of the Black Power Movement would be destroyed and replaced by an even more watered-down version of Dr. King’s, bluntly speaking, “make peace with the oppressor” approach to politics.
Throughout this primary season, the Biden administration and the Democratic party corporation would experience astounding losses of support from numerous demographics they heavily rely on for elections. According to Pew Research as of December of 2023, President Biden has one of the lowest approval rating (33%) of any modern president since the 1970s.
Today, Biden is trailing behind his competitor, former President Donald Trump, amongst voters younger than 35. He has also lost a devastating amount of support from the Arab and Muslim community, especially in the electorally powerful state of Michigan, with a record low 17% support for the president. The only demographic, outside of white moderates, seemingly saving his approval rating from decreasing even lower are black voters over the age of 35.
Though there was a drastic decrease amongst black voters support for Biden, from over 90% to approximately 62%, there is still a majority of our voting population that has an unwavering support for this presidency. This is due to one of the Democratic party’s favorite assets, the well-to-do “politically engaged” black liberal. Whose politically lazy and cowardly justification for this support remaining so strong is fearmongering against the Republican party.
This fearmongering involves the GOP’s stances in the realm of “culture war”, usually citing both party officials’ and supporters’ attacks on diversity, the LGBT, and the DNC’s favorite bargaining chip, abortion rights. Though the disdain for the Republican party is warranted, the black liberal uses these talking points, especially the GOP’s lack of displayed compassion for our plight as black Americans, as a green light for unearned Democrat support. Invoking the “lesser of two evils” arguments.
To the black liberal, the minuscule differences between the Democrats and Republicans are vast enough to garner support for one party over the other. You can expect to hear the following arguments from the black liberal.
“Joe Biden forgave $137 Billion of Student Debt.” Ignoring the fact that is a mere 7% of the almost $2 Trillion worth of debt that he has the power to eliminate by invoking the Higher Education Act of 1965, a bill he knowingly failed to include in the drafting of his first Student Debt plan that was basically designed to fail in the Supreme Court.
“We have to protect Roe v Wade.” Ignoring the fact that the Democratic party leadership endorses Anti-Choice Democrats over Progressive Democrats to become lawmakers, such as Texas Democrat, Henry Cuellar, and West Virginia Democrat, Joe Manchin. This also ignores the fact that since the introduction of Roe v Wade, the Democrats had at least THREE (3) administrations with congressional control to codify the law in order to prevent the almost advertised plan from the Republican party to overturn the ruling to come to fruition.
“You’ll get deported under Trump.” Ignoring Biden increased funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by upwards of $14 Billion and has held more migrant detainees in custody compared to Trump (kids in cages). This also ignores Biden’s fiscal commitment to build more of Trump’s border wall.
“The economy is actually good, look at the GDP.” Ignorantly using GDP as an indicator of the financial strength of the working masses. It is quite clear through empirical data comparing the increase in the average cost of living and the stagnant wages of the working class with the increase of the homeless population, as well as, an abundance of anecdotal evidence from workers struggling to feed themselves, that the economy is in fact working against the under classes and for the owner class. A class many liberals show deference towards.
“The Republican party is anti-black.” Praising the Democrats for their bare minimum stance of favoring diversity, while ignoring this diversity is in service of imperialism. We can look at the black faces Biden used in 2023 to veto numerous ceasefire resolutions as thousands of innocent brown people, including children, are viciously slaughtered by Israel.
The insult that is the Democrat party’s outreach to black voters is touted by the black liberal as commendable and sufficient enough for our support. Appointing the first black woman to the Supreme Court, enacting the Anti-Lynching Bill, kneeling with kente cloth for George Floyd, acknowledging slavery was bad and establishing June 19th as a federal holiday, are the ineffectual, surface-level lengths the Democratic party is willing to go for our people.
A black woman appointed to the highest court in the land does nothing for black mothers tasked with maintaining their households and finances while working multiple jobs. The Anti-Lynching Bill doesn’t even address black Americans (in comparison to the Anti Asian Hate Bill) it is only named after Emmitt Till. Knealing for George Floyd in kente cloth does absolutely nothing for our overrepresentation in arrest and homelessness, it also won’t protect us from the current President’s insistance on using Covid money for police funding. And establishing a holiday that the working class, a large part of the black population, can’t even observe as oppose to establishing Election Day as a National Holiday is a literal slap in the face to one of the most historically disenfranchised groups in this nation. Yet the black liberal will tell the masses that these are accomplishments worthy of our support and that they must be protected. Why?
The idea that the Democratic party is pro-black because they tolerate black capitalist and imperialist is the crux of the black liberal’s inability to challenge them. The black liberal isn’t much different from the black conservative in this manner.
Both cower to power, however one has completely abandoned the community and hyper-focuses on assimilation into the capitalist culture of the West, while the other displays compassion for the community, but has little critiques for the system that causes our plight and limits the vehicle for positive change for said community to voting against Republicans. They both essentially tell the community our choices are being eaten by either a wolf or a fox.
And though they both have little to no criticism of capitalism and imperialism, it is the black liberal’s understanding of how our system hurts our most vulnerable yet consistently advocates for us to put our political power behind one of the protectors of said system that is almost sinister.
Black liberalism is the school of political thought that remained after the United States not only destroyed the revolutionaries of ‘60s and ‘70s but also whitewashed the gains made by those revolutionaries and the means to which they achieved those gains. And it has been the tool that hindered black political power from evolving past an unnatural alligence to the Democratic party.
The black liberal with little awareness, yet with much vigor, squanders the political power of the proletariat to such an absurd degree, ultimately guarenteeing an entire voting block subservient to corporate duopoly. In present time, as more black voters break rank and choose not to support President Biden, who else but the black liberal to be used to shame and berate those that choose to have agency over our votes.
The black liberal is being utilized by white supremacy to not only cover for a literal genocide funder and protector, but also condemn black political autonomy. We must reject the cowardice of the black liberal, who in most cases financially benefits from the tools of oppression. Our revolutionaries of the ‘60s and ‘70s knew how to garner support and utilize power of the masses. They didn’t rely on the United States duopoly to save our people and more.
Be weary of those who insist we have to rely on white supremacist, whether overt or covert, in order for us to achieve collective black prosperity. That dream becomes a reality through solidarity among race, within class, and abroad against white supremacy, capitalism, and imperialism.