The Assimilation Compromise

The three-fifths compromise was an agreement made by the founders at the constitutional convention in 1787 that enslaved persons would be counted as three-fifths of a person for southern state representation in the House of Representatives and southern state electors for the Electoral College. Yet the enslaved were only considered property by White men. But, for the sake of political power, this concession was made.

Over 150 years later, Congress signed the Civil Rights Act that legally ended racial segregation in the United States. That too was a compromise. Integration is defined as an incorporation as equals into society or an organization of individuals of different groups (such as races). The Civil Rights Act of 1964 didn’t do that.

What actually happened was Black bodies were allowed to enter White spaces on a participatory level. That a Black person would be in a leadership position and hold authority over White people wasn’t under consideration. Consider the Brown opinion. When considering the merits of integrating Black and White students in schools, Justice Warren said:

“A sense of inferiority affects the motivation of a child to learn. Segregation with the sanction of law, therefore, has a tendency to [retard] the educational and mental development of Negro children and to deprive them of some of the benefits they would receive in a racially integrated school system.”

Integration served as charity for Black people where Whites were the philanthropists of Whiteness of good will. Blacks would be allowed to participate in White institutions for their mental benefit and development, but those institutions would remain White: institutional norms centered on Whiteness, controlled and led by White people.

This is why 70% of the NFL is made up of Black players yet has only 3 Black head coaches, 1 Black general manager, no Black team presidents or any Black team owners. It is because of the problem of American integration. American integration is a compromise with Black people that while they may participate within White spaces, they will not have power or influence within or over them.

Many Black ran institutions such as public schools, banks and sports leagues were drastically reduced or rendered obsolete.

It is why the majority of teachers and school administrators are White. It is why the majority of CEO’s in the United States are White. It is why the majority of U.S. Congresspersons, members of the Supreme Court and Presidents are almost always White. It’s why television executives, music executives, commissioners of sports leagues and their bosses, the team owners, are White.

There is only one way to fix the problem of the lack of Black NFL head coaches: Creating a professional football league led and managed by Black people, with Black owners and of course Black players.

That’s not a return to segregation. It is about creating spaces of opportunity for Black people to not only participate, but led, make decisions and assert control. It is why there are Black award shows, Black television networks, Black K-12 schools and Black churches. No one is excluded from participation, but they are Black spaces intentionally made that way.

Of course, this would require a commitment from Black people to invest, participate in and support such a venture. The XFL continued to find footing and the USFL, while finding so success, folded. These were ventures made by White men. However, O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson has proved with the BIG 3 League that a Black owned sports league can be successful.

But it comes down to the people: the proletariat. If Black players and Black consumers put their power in action, they could create their own pro football league and it be successful. They could force the NFL’s hand to hire more Black head coaches. Black players on the University of Missouri collegiate football team proved the power of Black players: the threat of a forfeiting games resulted in the president of the school losing his job.

The threat of forfeiting games resulted in Donald Sterling no longer owning the Los Angeles Clippers.

Because it is not only black bodies that are imported into White spaces, but also Blackness itself. While Black people may not be economically and politically dominant, they are culturally dominant which produces an inimitable demand for inclusion. However, inclusion means not only means participation in White spaces, but also the ability to collaboratively redefine that space. Needless to say, that hasn’t taken place; only exploitation and the belief that leadership need not reflect its workforce or customers.

The threat of Black people taking their business and talents elsewhere should be enough to compel NFL owners to act. They haven’t however because they believe Black people will remain loyal to “the shield” no matter what the team owners do. Black people have said they will continue to play for and watch the NFL whether or not you sign Colin Kaepernick, whether or not Jay-Z is “allowed” to purchase a team or whether or not more Black coaches are hired.

I believe that it is time that Black people to tell the NFL something different.