The Sellout Negro

There is a trend in the black community which attempts to create standards that should be adhered to that qualify someone for "blackness." Many blacks who oppose the traditional democratic alignments of black people or who do not share the same roots of economic and/or social struggle as many black people are castigated by their brothers and sisters.

Popular among many black peple are the ideas that if one was not raised in poverty, if one speaks grammatically correct English, or if one dates outside the race, one is a "sellout." It is sad that these litmus tests exist, because rather than address blackness, they address personal preferences and individual experience. The only true test for blackness is descendence from African slaves or free Africans and the obstacles associated therewith. Even amongst blacks of different American geographical regions there are differences in culture and politics.

On the flipside, many blacks labeled "sell-outs" have faulted the black community. Black rightists such as the black Tea Partyers have distanced themselves from the legacy of social inequality and internal strife that the black community continues to struggle with on a daily basis. Such men and women seem to want to run away from their fellow brothers and sisters and embrace the white man as though to say, "Look, I'm not like them, I agree with you." One need look no further than Jesse Lee Peterson or Allen West to see the black rightists who do not represent or deal with the majority of blacks, nor possess the desire to do so. Rather, they claim they do not grow "afros" but "amerifros" and that they "bleed red, white, and blue." Jesse Lee Peterson has even gone so far as to express gratitude to the slavemaster for capturing his forefathers and civilizing them.

These people are the real sellouts if any ever existed, not because they possess different views, but because their views are based on the notion that they are not African. Their views do not take into account the suffering of the children of African slaves in America. Their agendas attempt to shed their dark skin, sweep white supremacy under the rug, and claim that there is no problem. There is no getting around the fact that while individual responsibility is paramount to the progression of black people, the nature of black inequality and the slew of social problems associated therewith is white supremacy and black slavery.

That being said, how do we deal with the divisive nature of black culture and stop accusing our brothers and sisters undeserving of our accusations? We must ALL bear the responsibility for alleviating the pain we endure and end plantation-style thinking. We should no longer be house negroes and field negroes; rather, we should be free negroes. Democratic blacks are slaves to the democrats and Republican blacks are slaves to the Republicans. Neither party was founded in the interest in black people. You can change a dog's behavior but you can't change the fact that he is a dog. You can try to use the parties to your advantage but you cannot change the fact that they were not created for black people. 

We must come together as a people and rid ourselves of the seed implanted in us by the white man. We must uproot the poisonous plant which have sprouted from this seed. We are all black, and we all share that in common. We cannot afford to be divisive in a country that has for so long attempted to keep us separate--from our cultures, our spirituality, our families, and ourselves.

Making Money for the White Man

In society, the ruling class (bourgeoisie) exists as the controller or influencer of national affairs, and all other "outside" classes will be subject to the economic and political dehumanization of the ruling class. This occurs even in media ane entertainment. Thus in the United States, the white ruling class has been responsible for the dehumanization of all other classes and ethnicities, most notably, although not limited to, "African Americans."

In the entertainment industry this dehumanization is a reflection of the prevailing attitudes white society has regarding blacks. It is a reflection of the social/political/economic status of blacks. The entertainment industry capitalizes off of the suffering of black people by portraying blacks and black culture as culturally and intellectually inferior. This is then packaged and presented to a mostly white audience, which is close enough to see the beast but still separated by a cage.

Stereotyping is not an invention of white America; indeed, if one is only exposed to a few members of a group, one is inclined to assume that the behaviors of the few represent the behaviors of the many. In reality, such groups may share nothing more than skin color or language. That being said, the perpetuation of stereotypes for the sole purpose of economic gain and the negative portrayals of nonwhites to a large white audience is an invention of white America. It's as American as the Fourth of July. Through various media such as television and theater, white America has in the past profited off of the negative portrayals of nonwhite cultures, and continues to do so today.

No culture has been more caricaturized than black culture. An entire industry was built on the mockery of black people, making them out to be coons, brutes, Toms, mammies, and pickaninnies. This has progressed from the stage to the silent film to the talking film to the cartoon and to the modern movie scene. Even today, blacks are portrayed as ignorant, materialistic, and thuggish, and the commercialization of hip-hop music, an organically black art form, has been a leading factor in this whole issue. Once white America realized that its sons and daughters were becoming attracted to the inner city hip-hop culture, it usurped and bastardized the culture solely for profit. This is nothing new: young whites have always had a fascination with various aspects black culture. But forget about intellectual blacks, who wants to see a brother doing well? That shit don't make no money.

All of this has left a deep scar on the collective psyche of black people. We as black consumers want to see real niggas from the streets. American fascination with gangster culture is a national thing, but while white Americans idolize gangsters and retain a love/hate relationship with them, blacks love them and become them. This is because blacks sympathize the most with the gangster's motivations and best understand his roots. If you don't have it, take it. That is the American way. And nobody doesn't have it more than black people.

If you view yourself as just a nigga, you will not strive beyond that. You will not try to become anything other than what you have been told by white America you can be, and you will be often be chastized by blacks who believe that professions such as medicine and law are not for black people. You will strive to become a gangsta, a baller, or a rapper. Historically white America has always kept us down and has led us to keep ourselves down by causing internal distrust, and we are doing exactly what white America wants. No one has done more to make blacks seem subhuman more than white America. Today, many blacks are simply doing what they were brought across the Atlantic to do-- make money for the white man.