This is America, a nation founded on the myth of white supremacy. Black survival should have never moved off the top of our agenda. But it did.
We were seduced by the “illusion of inclusion” and made the same mistakes the Hebrews made in Egypt (according to the biblical tale). They thought because they lived in a country, they were viewed as citizens of the country.
But the Hebrews eventually found out that the Egyptians viewed them as “the help,” and a threat to Egyptian supremacy. So, they began the process of genocide, ramping up oppressive measures and then calling for the murder of all first-born male babies.
In this analogy, Black folk are those Hebrews, and Egyptians were folk who were anti-Black — even though the Hebrews and Egyptians were Black/African.
Right now, a “pharaoh who knew not Joseph” (i.e. national leadership who has no love for us) is coming into office with a plan for putting us modern-day “Hebrews” in our “place.” In other words, Black survival is once again on Black folk’s minds.
That said, here are five things we need to do.
Take radical responsibility
There’s no time for playing the blame game and pointing fingers at what our allies did or didn’t do. The radical responsibility approach demands we identify what we’ve been doing that put us in this precarious position and what we haven’t been doing to secure a powerful, self-determining reality.
Impose consequences
If individuals, groups, political parties, voting blocs, powers and principalities can mistreat and abuse us without enduring consequences and repercussions, they will continue mistreating and abusing us. Those who abuse our children, disrespect Black women, over-incarcerate our people, and purposely leave our seniors to die must be held to account.
Build institutional power
The only way to offer real consequences and repercussions to those who mistreat us is to build institutional power. Rev. Albert B. Cleage Jr. argued that power does not reside in money, titles or fame but in the institutions a people own and control.
Cleage argued that institutions are built to protect the power interests of those who control them. He also contended that Blacks made the dire mistake of thinking that because we live in America, its institutions (i.e. judicial system, law enforcement, educational institutions, etc.) were or are “ours.”
With Trump promising to defund and economically punish educational institutions that promote diversity and teach history that’s not white-nationalist-approved, the impacts of our lack of institutional power will be even more devastating. We as a people have the talent, skills and intelligence necessary to create and build whatever institutions we need.
Reject slave theology
Black people have been indoctrinated in a version of Christianity that some theologians define as “Slave Christianity,” a belief system meant to persuade Black people that our second-class status was ordained by God.
It’s best to be “in this world but not of this world,” so you can receive your reward in heaven after you die, without worrying about the hell on earth you’re living in right now. If that’s what we believe, we won’t be building the institutions we need to give us the power we must have to survive and eventually thrive.
The crazy thing is, in Luke 4:18-19, when Jesus lays out his entire mission and purpose, everything he talks about is focused on making life better on this side of the grave. Sounds like Jesus was all about building a kingdom of God and heaven on earth.
Embrace Black joy
We must embrace Black joy. This includes self-care, community, relationships, therapy, celebrating each other’s wins, ending debilitating negative self-talk, and engaging in activities that lift your spirit and let your divine passions and purpose shine through.
Aswad Walker, associate pastor of the Shrine of the Black Madonna in Houston, is a lecturer in the University of Houston’s Department of African American Studies, associate director of the Texas Southern University Urban Research and Resource Center, and the author of five books.