POLITICS + RACISM

Photo by Rolands Zilvinskis on Unsplash

Throughout American history, White people have often taken great pleasure in using Black people as political props to promote racist policies. In Fredrick Douglass’s memoir, The Myth of the Happy Slave, he pushed back against the vicious lie that Black people enjoyed life as slaves. White enslavers insisted Black people were happy toiling in the fields, that it was better for everyone involved. A White pseudoscientist, Samuel A. Cartwright, coined the term “drapetomania” to describe the mental state of those who ran away. According to Cartwright, a Black person would have to be insane to want freedom. Approximately 70,000 enslaved Africans successfully escaped, shattering the myth. The trend is clear, that when politicians want to promote racist policies, they use Black people as props to justify the unthinkable.

In American Slavery As It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses, one northerner described Black people singing as they labored throughout the day. While White Southerners often insisted Black people’s singing indicated they were happy, one witness said, “their singing proves that they want to be happy not that they are so.” Dr. Rush of Philadelphia wrote, “instead of considering the songs and dances as marks of their happiness, I have long considered them as physical symptoms of melancholy, as a certain proofs of their misery.” You may ask yourself, how is the slavery-era propaganda relevant to today’s culture. Well, we don’t have to look very far because White people are still using Black people as political props to promote anti-Black policies.

In a 2016 speech, Donald Trump pointed at one of his supporters, saying, “Look at my African American over here,” using the man as a prop to promote the big lie that Black people supported him. And sometimes, a few Black people enjoy tokenism and run with it. For example, you’ve likely heard about Candace Owens, a conservative Black woman who insists Black people should ditch the Democratic Party. But, since 88% of Black Americans voted for Joe Biden in the last presidential election, Owens represents a slim minority.

Conservatives oppose criminal justice reform, which could stem the tide of police fatal shootings, federal voting rights legislation, which could codify The Voting Rights Act of 1965. They support defunding of public schools, which deprives Black students of equal opportunities and oppose programs that help the disenfranchised. And we know Republicans do not want Black literature or perspectives taught in the classroom. Although prominent on social media platforms, Black people like Owens do not represent most Black Americans’ beliefs. “Conservative commentator Candace Owens has criticized the NAACP, Black Lives Matter, called COVD-19 a scam, and said white supremacy was not a problem.”

The same can be said about Trump’s ally Herschel Walker, running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Raphael Warnock. Walker has Trump’s endorsement, and like Owens, his political ideology is nothing like that of most Black Americans — this is representation done wrong. According to former football star Walker, Americans need to focus on controlling the border, which, let’s face it, has become code for spreading “xenophobia.” Elie Mystal called Hershel Walker’s run for Congress “an insult to Black people,” that he is “is an animated caricature of a Black person drawn by white conservatives.” Walker once lied about being valedictorian of his class and claimed to own a business that never existed, which added to the toxic stew of his candidacy. His ex-wife accused him of physical abuse. He even went so far as to claim evolution was fake, asking, “Why are there still apes?” And, of course, throw some COVID conspiracies into the mix, and you get the big picture here.

Conservatives think that Black voters are stupid, that they will vote for any Black person on the ticket. It’s the same reason they secretly backed Kanye West’s presidential candidacy — they assumed that a famous Black person, regardless of their unpopular policies, would harness the enthusiasm of Black voters. And they couldn’t be more wrong. There was nothing independent about Kanye’s campaign; he was nothing more than a prop for Trump’s campaign. Black voters are strategic, and expecting Black people to clap like a seal whenever they see a Black face is racist. Many Black people want transformative policies that can eliminate the sting of systemic racism and create equitable opportunities in healthcare, education, the criminal justice system, and private businesses. While Black people are not a monolith, trends show the majority of Black voters support expanding civil rights, not limiting them.

Black students hold anti-critical race theory signs at Mater Academy Charter Middle/High School | Florida | Photo Credit | WPTV

And while history shows we shouldn’t be surprised about how White politicians use Black people, it is pretty shocking that Ron DeSantis is using Black children as props — that’s taking it pretty far. The students photographed above do not know the five tenets of Critical Race Theory, nor would teachers introduce them to this theory throughout their K-12 education. White men like DeSantis think diversity is the villain in the American tale. Look at these children's faces — do they look happy as props for a White man? No, they look miserable, as if DeSantis paid their parents and compelled them to stand there, opposing a theory they had never heard of until lately. Using Black schoolchildren to promote anti-Black policies is completely disrespectful.

16-year-old Kerry Santa Cruz said, “It’s important for kids, especially Black kids, to learn about race to understand who they are. So they don’t end up hating themselves for being Black. Education is good.” 17-year-old Re’Kal Hooker said, “To cut out half, almost all, of America’s history will put Black kids at a disadvantage,” and “If we don’t know our history, how can we come up with our own point of view? How can we grow? We are still discriminated against, and I feel like young kids will think it’s just something that happens, like it’s natural, or something they can’t get away from.”

Most Black students don’t want Black literature like Toni Morrison’s Bluest Eye banned from the classroom. They want to learn, and not just about White people’s experiences. Our understanding of the world should not be limited to what White people believe, what they accomplished, or how they fit into the equation. Centering whiteness is racist, and DeSantis signing the “Anti-Woke” bill this week helped to codify an anti-Black stance on education in the sunshine state.

In the same way that Donald Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett, a judicial nominee who opposes a woman’s right to choose as a representative for American women on the court, Black people and other marginalized groups continue to see representation done wrong. It’s disrespectful to use Black people as props to promote legislation that harms Black people, but that’s precisely what conservatives are doing. They’re banning books, making great efforts to limit discussions on race, gender, and identity. Using Black children as political props shows conservatives are taking a page from Southern slaveowners’ book. But, this time, they’re promoting the myth of the happy colorblind Black American. Too often, White Americans try to obscure the truth, that Black Americans have consistently fought to expand civil rights, opposing candidates and policies which try to limit those freedoms.