By: Dr. Samori Swygert
Our black leaders have either been assassinated, incarcerated, or vilified. I was listening to the Warren Ballentine Show last week on the Empowerment Radio Network. Warren had reiterated that statement throughout the show, and it resonated with me because it was the truth.
I think of Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, Fred Hampton, Assata Shakur, Angela Davis, Huey Newton, Geronimo Pratt, and a long list of others that were victims of those 3 MUTING METHODOLOGIES.
Warren also discussed how J. Edgar Hoover (Director of the FBI, and developer of COINTELPRO) had his own plan to stop the rise of a “Black Messiah”. Why are blacks considered a threat just because we choose to improve our situation, establish solidarity, foster camaraderie, develop economic sustainability, and gain equal rights and protection under the law?
That question reminded me of the story of King Herod in the Bible. I won’t go in depth, because you can read it at your personal leisure. However, I will give a brief synopsis.
A Brief Synopsis
Mary and Joseph sought private confines for the birthing of Jesus to avoid public scrutiny, because the conception was nontraditional. The word of Jesus’s birth got back to King Herod, and he sent out 3 wise men to conduct reconnaissance work for him. The 3 wise men arrived bearing gifts to the baby Jesus, and decided not to report back to King Herod. Joseph had a dream that the King would be sending for his family and fled to Egypt to avoid capture. King Herod got word of the betrayal, and then sent out his soldiers to kill each child 2 years of age and younger. This was done to prevent the possibility of any forecasted Messiah of taking his throne, and the deliverance of the people in his kingdom.
Translating this to the Black Experience in America
This seems so pertinent when you translate it to the black experience in America. For centuries a system of racism and white supremacy has dominated the sociopolitical and economic system of America. The barbaric violent system of slavery, and Jim Crow allowed white supremacists and their descendants to accumulate, and amass vast amounts of wealth and power for free, or pennies on the dollar. This imbalance of power resulted in the transfer of generational wealth and inheritance for the families, and friends of those in power. Moreover, even if you were not a slave owner, or even a racist, the system was engineered in way that just because you had white skin you were afforded the privileges, benefits, advantages, and accoutrements of a free society.
When African Americans were “freed” from slavery, that removed all free labor assets, and we became a liability to the system. We were now considered competitors for resources, because our food was no longer rationed, our domain was not a plantation shack, our bodies were no longer a free count for state representatives, and the poor working class whites had to compete.
Time progressed from decades to centuries, we deserved more rights, inclusion, representation, education, and to declare our inherent independent sovereign human rights that are divinely granted to mankind, and not just whites. However, this was considered a threat, and this resulted in vagrancy laws, night riders, Klan raids, nationwide lynching’s, voting restrictions, Eugenics programs, separate and unequal social programs, and etc.
The hunger in the voices for freedom and restitution became louder and more vocal as the quest for our GOD given human rights surged. Many prominent black leaders emerged from these voices. I assume that fear of insurrection, and a nationwide revolution scared many white supremacists who were reluctant to share or relinquish the power and authority they dominated for centuries.
This is the same type of fear King Herod had when he heard of Jesus coming to deliver his people. The same modus operandi that King Herod used to slaughter all children 2 years of age and younger, appears to be the same thought process that white supremacists had with our black leaders. This is the same type of fear and trepidation that J Edgar Hoover felt. What else would make you scared of a “Black Messiah”. This fear spawned a hatred that led to the sociopolitical castration of our black leaders. The moment when it seemed blacks were on the upswing to recalibrating the scales of justice, our leaders were slaughtered like the children under King Herod.
This became a recurrent theme that eventually neutered our drive for justice. This 3 prong attack method of assassination, incarceration, and vilification serves as a conditioning mechanism, because it discourages the black ambition. The potential pool of black leaders is thus diluted because many are afraid to take the helm, and be placed in the crosshairs of this strategy.
The King Herod Effect, and the practices of Hoover are still alive but are executed in a more stealth and subtle manner! Why kill our kids when they can lock them in a private prison for cheap labor? We can vilify and ostracize like the results of Rev. Wright, and Minister Farrakhan, with our TV and social media propaganda apparatus. Moreover, if it’s necessary to kill a generation, then flood our neighborhoods with drugs, guns, negative theme music, close schools and remove resources. That is a recipe for self annihilation, and removes the fingerprints of white supremacy. This profoundly reduces any chance of blacks achieving success and deliverance from our strife and plight.
Furthermore, by no means am I equating President Obama to a “Black Messiah”, but look what type of vitriolic hatred his election brought out of white supremacists. There were 43 white male presidents, and the one moment in history when protocol was broken, all h**l has to break loose? The other question to ask is, “is America paranoid of its’ own karma?” Lastly, this is about racist white supremacists. d**k Gregory always keeps me in check when he breaks down the contribution of John Brown and other whites that have helped through the ages.
THE TAKE HOME MESSAGE: “LET’S PROTECT OUR YOUTH AND LEADERS THAT HAVE A CLEAR VESTED INTEREST IN OUR PROGRESSION!”
