Rejecting Normalized Oppression

Last night I attended “Black American in 2017: Unplugged”, where an incredible panel of Rhodes College professors discussed the political and social experience of identifying as Black in the US. Mentioned several times, the tie between political and social existence is inherently related, especially regarding marked characteristics. Our own Dr. McKinney mentioned several points about Blackness as opposition, a topic our class as touched briefly on several occasions. A vital part of studying Black existence and Black activism, in my White opinion, is to look at the forms of resistance that occur as one attempts to maintain identity within a hostile environment. This deeply relates to the stress of being Black (or non-White) in a racialized society. Language and space are either oppressive or liberating, necessitating the reclaiming of assets and ideologies that facilitate wellbeing amongst a society that subversively attempts to deny your right to personhood. Blackness as solidarity, as opposition, to these forms of oppression, require the retaking of facts and history. Removing those things to which White society lays claim and demanding that they be recognized in their true context is an incredibly powerful action. It seeks to deny White Supremacy the right to own the expression of identity, a crucial step in the maintenance of inferiority. Resistance to this externalized oppression also attempts to reject the internalized oppression engrained as the most effective method of continued colonialization.

In seeking to abandon socialized forms of oppression, the link between politics and society is obvious. Politics is conspicuous society. I think it can be difficult for us to consider the deep tie between politics and social identity, but that grappling is necessary in order to have a more intimate understanding of political theory and, ultimately, understand the subversive hegemony evident in a diverse population. Throughout time, I think activism calls out and openly rejects the neocolonialism the rest of society accepts as unchallengeable.