(Akiit.com) I think that black folk who want to assimilate need to be honest about this. All too often, black folk are assimilating and promoting assimilation but are refusing to be open about what they really stand for.
Why is it so difficult for black people who assimilate to acknowledge that this is what they believe in? Perhaps it is because they know – at least on a subconscious level – that assimilation is extremely destructive to the black community; they realize (as bell hooks has noted) that assimilation is a “strategy deeply rooted in the ideology of white supremacy.†On a deep level they may recognize that assimilation is a form of mentacide, that is (in the words of Bobby Wright) the “deliberate and systematic destruction of a group’s minds with the ultimate objective being the extirpation of the group.â€
At the same time – whether they want to acknowledge it or not – every black person who affiliates themselves with a white political movement (whether it be conservative or progressive) IS endorsing assimilation. Black progressives (liberals, socialists, Marxists, feminists etc) are particularly hypocritical, since they act in ways which indicate that they want to assimilate, and advance causes which in effect MEAN assimilation into the white population, but at the same time, they are not honest about what they are doing. They insist on couching their objectives in other terms. For example, they talk about “fighting racismâ€, that is, displays of “in-your-face racism†(because overt racism reminds them that some whites are never going to accept them). They “promote diversity†(so they can encourage the interracial relationships which many of them appear to crave). They ridicule Black Nationalism (because they know that by attacking the only ideology which promotes black unity, they will gain white approval). These “progressive†fools will grovel for any crumbs of recognition that white people give them, and some of them still seem to believe that white people are going to save them despite all evidence to the contrary.
When all is said and done, assimilationist blacks – be they conservatives or progressives – should do what they have to do BUT they need to be open about it. While it may not be palatable to face up to the fact that assimilation is what they stand for, they need to stop the hypocrisy. As RED C has noted, these kinds of blacks:
…think they speak for black people. They think they know best. They are utterly confused and pose a danger to themselves and anyone they encounter who is unaware of their insanity.
My message is simply this: assimilate, if you must, but stop setting yourself up as black “leaders†and sabotaging the black community. If you have one iota of integrity, move on, and leave the leadership of the black community to those who are truly committed to the upliftment of our people.
By Clare X. Brown