No, Black People Can’t Be Racist
If racism is about power (and it is) and a racial hierarchy exists (and it does), Black people cannot be racist.
“To be black and female in a society which is both racist and sexist is to be in the unique position of having nowhere to go but up.” — Rosemary Brown
There’s been something I’ve been hearing a lot lately — and especially since George Floyd was killed in June — and it bothers me every time I hear it.
“Black people can be racist too.”
I remember when, at the Emmys, Issa Rae said she was “rooting for everyone Black” and (White) people were upset and were like “if a White person ever said that, they’d be raked over the coals but because a Black person said it it’s somehow ‘okay?’”
I remember when BET used to have the Black Girls Rock awards show and people were like “that’s so racist. What if we were to have a show called ‘White Girls Rock’ huh?”
I just listened to a friend — who happens to be a Black man — say that, “if you see a Black person being racist to a White person, you need to speak up.”
