“Your Calls For Unity Are Divisive As F*ck”

Jess Brooks
Intersectional and Crossectional
2 min readSep 13, 2017

“It takes a special level of fuckery, however, to misinterpret my cynicism for divisiveness. In fact, my critique of white liberals is almost always on their failure to be inclusive and intersectional with their politics. I’m attempting (foolishly) to snap folks out of their complacency and get more allies and accomplices on the same page. Myself and other Black radicals are actively combatting division(!), but liberals are too busy being self-congratulatory and hurling witticisms to notice. It’s like the Titanic is sinking, and folks in life rafts are asking those of us in the frigid water why we’re so pissed. Never mind the fact that we spent the last 400 years building the damn boat and trying to warn them about icebergs. Never mind that they waste more energy defending themselves than bothering to toss any of us a rope. So yeah, at this point I won’t be too broken up if they drown. Especially since history tells me they’ll be fine so long as I’m not…

In 1963, while sitting in a jail cell in Alabama, Martin Luther King decided not to write about his jailers, but instead opted to drag “white moderates” who deemed his outspokenness “unwise and untimely.” Sound familiar? Liberals of the day felt King was being divisive. Today, liberals quote King out of context, in order to silence Black radicals; and the circle of life continues.

When we suggest that critiques of liberal movements are problematic, what we’re really doing is telling marginalized people they need to shut up and be thankful for the hand they’ve been dealt.”

Related: “Empathy Won’t Save Us In the Fight Against Oppression. Here’s Why.

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Jess Brooks
Intersectional and Crossectional

A collection blog of all the things I am reading and thinking about; OR, my attempt to answer my internal FAQs.