White Supremacy As Told Through Bey And RiRi

REL200 FINAL project

The 2016 Election really had its ups and downs, but put things into perspective.

All in all, I think its made America realize what political manipulation can cover up- white supremacy.

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I'm not hinting at any certain presidential elect... that would be uuuugely inappropriate.

How can we define White Supremacy?

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R. Drew Smith explains that white supremacy is “the idea that white people are inherently superior to people of color” in "My Name is Legion".

White supremacists truly believe that they are better than people who aren't white. They believe they are the dominant, powerful race and it should stay that way always.

Smith acknowledges that white supremacy is MORE than just a couple of ignorant assholes trying to assert their power around others #duh

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He argues that by confining white supremacists to the two categories of "lone racists" and “white supremacist organizations and activists” alone, diminishes the reality of white supremacy (Smith 1).

To give you a little perspective...

AND a relavent example...

Theres some kind of "New White Nationalists" group. WTF.

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Kelly Baker explains the alt-right group and their white supremacist ideals in "The New White Nationalists".

This group was created to emphasize the importance of white identity and to preserve their concept of Western civilization.

Could this be....a group of...... white supremacists?!!!!??

Hmmmmm, who does this group remind us of?

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UNFORTUNATLEY, the alt-right is a little similar to the KKK- aside from their religious views.

The Klan was attached to white Protestantism while alt-right has no tie with religion. The KKK promotes white supremacy; similarly, the alt-right is concerned about the decrease of white masculinity but are opposed to feminism.

Anyway, these writers throw some info at us about white supremacy-- lets learn some #history!!

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Malcom X, Badlwin, Sojourner..... lets go.

Malcolm X's 1964 "The Ballot or the Bullet" calls on the necessity of violence if America kept CHEATING(ahem Jay-Z) people of color within the voting system

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X encourages people of color to vote, even if the government tries to stop them.

Obviously X wasn't trying to start any fights- just trying to warn others what would happen if black people continued to be ridden of their "American right" to vote.

And I guess Bey's violence in Lemonade could be called necessary too....

Speaking of Lemonade.... lets give feminism a little love right now

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OHHHH yes please

Sojourner Truth pokes fun at white supremacists in "Ain't I A Woman?" #girlpowwwwer

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Truth's 1851 speech targets her questions towards white men and women, inquiring about the reasons why white women have privileges the black women don’t.

She also states the reality of the Christian religion: "Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him."

The role of women and religion during the 1800s only had an impact on their inner communities as seen through Grimke and Beecher.

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Because Grimke advocated for the equally of race and gender in "Appeal to the Christian Women of the South", she was condemned by her community and religious leaders.

On the contrary, Beecher urged women to not act on their feelings about slavery and that the Bible says women have a place in the household, not in the public forum.

Both Grimke and Beecher write in accordance to their similar religious beliefs.

Since we are all children of God, why do white people find that they are more exceptional than black people?

And flash forward to 1965 when Baldwin called out America for being not so great and not so exceptional

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In "The American Dream and the American Negro", James Baldwin exposes American society for inaccurately promoting the American dream. He questions the idea behind unequal opportunity and challenges exceptionalism itself.

If Americans are great, are black people still considered American? Baldwin shuts this down and says that until America can accept EVERYONE, the American dream cannot exist.

"Stay mad, America."

Annnnnd flash forward again to 2016

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White supremacy's relevance in society today is def still a thing

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And this relevance is seen in organizations like the alt-right and white terrorists like Dylann Roof. But why are black institutions are a threat to white power?

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I guess the idea that black people can have their own institutions is just so scary that others HAVE to stop them, right??

It's not like white people forcibly made them convert to Christianity and are now punishing them for having their own CHRISTIAN churches.

Oh wait, thats exactly what happened...

Apparently, white supremacists lurk in the shadows of society and only come out when they feel their white power is threatened. Matthew Cressler explains how black churches are seen as just that in "Why White Terrorists Attack Black Churches"

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Cressler writes that African Americans wanted to create their own communities and did so with churches. These black institutions turned into a place of worship but also a place where political ideas are shared; this is seen as a threat to white power. Cressler says that this growing black nationalism has left white supremacists feeling like they need to reclaim their dominance and power.

Malcom X's definition of black nationalism is the idea that people of color should pursue economic advancement, political representation, and separate themselves from a European-based society.

Summer 2015, Dylan Roof murdered 9 black people in the Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

That's right, Dylann Roof, we're calling you out for being a sicko lone white supremacist and you're not getting let off easy.

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Roxanne Gay calls bullshit on the media for forgiving Roof in "Why I Can't Forgive Dylann Roof".

She argues that "the media has tried to humanize this terrorist"(3) and if society forgives this white supremacist, then the horrible act isn't that horrible.

Except it is lol.

James Cone attested to this hypocrisy in "The White Church and Black Power"

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Aside from the media not acknowledging the brutality and historical background of Roof's crime, America's overall idea of white supremacism and churches seems to be slightly tweaked too.

Cone explains that God is not safe in the suburban white churches but actually out on the streets; God favors the side of the oppressed and this makes Him black.

He writes "Christ is black because he is oppressed, and oppressed because he is black. And if the church is to join Christ by following his opening it too must go where suffering is and become black also" (172).

White society has morphed the image of Christ into a brown haired, blue eyed man who has no relation to the oppressed.

Jesus?? Is that white man you?

To conclude, Ta-Nehisi Coates powerfully explains a "White America" and its relation to white supremacy.

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In "Letter to My Son", Coates describes the reality of living in America as a black man. He says "'White America' is a syndicate arrayed to protect its exclusive power to dominate and control our bodies....however it appears, the power of domination and exclusion is central to the belief in being white, and without it, “white people” would cease to exist for want of reasons."

Coates idea of a white America is in align with the entirety of white supremacism. He exploits the relevance of the unfair opportunities black communities face.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that white supremacy sucks and it has been a thing ever since the beginning of America.

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Baldwin supports this when he criticizes the American Dream and Truth does the same when satirically describing the unfair treatment of black women.

History is currently repeating itself with the newest white supremacist group alt-right and white terrorists like Dylann Roof.

We can look up to writers like Coates, Cressler, Gay, and Cone who try to help the public understand the importance of accepting everyone and the history of white supremacy within religion and politics.

#waterguns instead of actually guns.

And thats a wrap for REL200

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pce 2016, hope 2017 is just as eventful.