The Rise Of The Racism Industry
Black people’s value goes beyond our suffering.
Every black person has a story about racism. It might be about a chance encounter on holiday or being denied entry to our own home. It might be about the statistically improbable rate at which we’re “randomly selected” for additional screening or those awkward moments when a poorly thought out comment backfires.
If there’s such a thing as “the black experience”, these stories are a part of its oral tradition. A collection of life lessons, clapbacks, and cautionary tales through which we celebrate our victories and vent our frustrations. They’re in-jokes that provide a sense of community and solidarity. They’re touchstones that help us to navigate a world that doesn’t always treat us as it should.
These stories are a perfect example of black people’s ability to create something powerful from something painful. But as with all good things, it’s possible to have too much. And lately, we’ve had way too much.
Instead of being a source of healing, we see desperate attempts to display imagined wounds. Instead of condemning those who judge us by the colour of our skin, we gleefully judge other people by the colour of theirs. Instead of talking about the trials and the triumphs of life as a black person, our stories only seem to have value when…
