4/18 for 4/16 Black Power (Preface + 1-3)



What I most appreciated about Kwame Ture and Charles V. Hamilton’s book, “Black Power,” was how factual all of the information they were providing was. I found the conversation of institutional colonialism and racism especially relevant today. It can be seen countess times how much harder it for black Americans to ascend to top positions in comparison to white Americans. The underlying webbing of centuries of oppression against black americans leading to a deeply rooted inferiority hierarchy complex that undoubtedly will lead to racist beliefs and values is still so apparent even in today's society. When you are lead to believe for centuries on end that white is right and to be black is to be a burden to society due to our “negligence” and “inability to learn and assimilate” and our “laziness,” it isn’t hard to believe that the psychological effects will be devastating. It is the direct product of colonialism that black Americans are prevented from ever reaching any true success because they will be considered to be of the bottom tier of society. It is the direct product of racism that the ideas and politics of black Americans will be deemed not important and therefore a waste of useful time. Instead, we are dealing with areas suffering from gerrymandering and economic decline. Instead, our votes are tossed to the side and we are then given white-washed black politicians who rather accept payouts than fight for the betterment of black Americans.  I also especially liked the conversation regarding how difficult it is to get mobilized black Americans into white politics. It has been proven time and time again that to be in white politics is to obey by the rules of those policies. It means having to toss your fight for black power into the trash to instead convince the black population in your area that passive moderate white Americans are doing the best they can. Personally, I feel like enough is enough and more must be done to achieve full equity and respect for the lives of black Americans.

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