The larger context

The larger context

PLEASE READ CLOSELY AND CAREFULLY, THEN SUMMARIZE AND RESPOND BASED ON YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. DO NOT USE AI; WRITE IN THE FIRST PERSON.

I would be remiss were I not to put our study of social psychology into context; please read what follows closely and carefully so that you are able to clearly identify macro/micro connections.

Are you familiar with James Baldwin (1924-1987), author of Go Tell It on The Mountain, Notes of a Native Son, and The Fire Next Time, among others? One of the true intellectual giants in American public life, Baldwin was on par with W.E.B. DuBois, Malcolm X, and MLK in terms of his understanding and insight into the racial dynamics of American life. In a 1984 interview with The Paris Review, Baldwin said the following: “When I was a kid the world was white, for all intents and purposes, and now it is struggling to remain white—a very different thing.” Forty plus years later the struggle is still playing out and seems to be intensifying. That's right, what we are seeing and living through, no matter how you interpret it or what it means to you on a personal level, represents a historical struggle, the arc of which is not always easy to detect. In simpler terms, things change, but said change can be painfully, almost imperceptibly, slow.

Demographers study human populations; the leading demographers for years have been predicting that in the coming decades America will continue to become less white and more brown. Specifically, by 2060 the percentage of the American population defined as white is expected to drop from 58% to 44%. Note, this means that those defined as white are expected to no longer remain the numerical majority, a change with many implications and potential consequences. Meanwhile, the Latino population is expected to go from 18.5% of the population up to 27.5%, and the African American population is expected to move from 12.4% of the population up to 13.6% by 2060. The bottom line is that many Americans, those defined as white in particular, are frightened, even terrified, at the prospect of no longer representing the numerical majority. In other words, many are frightened of change. It makes me think of the Public Enemy CD I had back in the nineties: Fear of a Black Planet. Or think of it this way: Grambling State University can be thought of as representing “Black space,” right? Most Americans, it seems to me, accept that. The fear driving many Americans, however, sometimes consciously articulated and sometimes not, is that America will no longer be “White space.”

Awareness of the predicted demographic changes in American society, combined with Baldwin’s notion of a world struggling to remain white, yields deep insight into our current racial context: the outcome of the November 2024 Presidential Election and much of what we will likely see in the political realm for the next four years at least, will take place firmly within this context of conflict in which regressive but powerful forces will struggle to maintain a white America. The November 4 outcome was very much about race and ethnicity, make no mistake about it. More broadly, the November 2024 election represented a political response to the George Floyd and BLM protests of 2021 and fear of the “Browning” of America referenced above.

Many white Americans fear the Latinoization (“browning”) of America; the demographic predictions make it clear that the number of Latinos in the United States will rise substantially in the coming decades. Many, as you know, voted for their removal. However, it seems to me the electoral message white Americans were trying to send to Black folks is the following: there is a place for you here in America, but as second-class citizens. Some insist on seeing America as a white nation no matter what, which Aguirre and Turner reference in terms of the "Anglo-Saxon core”. Others on the extreme right talk of “replacement theory,” which is claimed to be a conspiracy among Democrats to reduce the white American population.

Fear of a browning society is the motivating factor driving (Remember Public Enemy--Fear of a Black Planet) immigration restrictions, voting restrictions, extreme gerrymandering, attempted restrictions on abortion and access to birth control and reproductive freedom, as well as all attempts to expunge from the public arena any mention of DEI and Black history. They have attacked the National African-American Museum of History and Culture for presenting “divisive, anti-American ideology.” Most recently, with the Supreme Court's weakening of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, southern legislatures in particular have moved to eliminate Black political representation by redrawing voting maps (A current example of the extreme gerrymandering referenced above).

THESE OUTRAGES SHOULD BE UNDERSTOOD AS A CLEAR, VICIOUS ATTEMPT TO ERASE NOT JUST BLACK HISTORY, BUT AMERICAN, AND WORLD, HISTORY.

So, as power continues to rampage, with predictable consequences for those not of privilege and few resources, it all too often remains oblivious and unconcerned with the pain caused to regular people. This is an age-old story.

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you gird yourself for the long haul:

1. Be pragmatic. Make change in whatever way possible at any time. DO WHAT WORKS! (Read Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals)
2. Understand that strategic, temporary retreat in the name of self-preservation and survival is always legitimate. Sometimes we need to rest and re-charge. This is ok. Keep yourself alive to struggle another day.
3. Remaining under the radar can be a legitimate, strategic tactic. As there are often overtly negative consequences, some of great significance, that come with publicly challenging would-be kings and dictators, people often decide to forego open public confrontation. DO NOT ASSUME A LACK OF PUBLIC PROTEST OR DISSENT MEANS THAT ALL CITIZENS ARE CONFORMING TO THE PARTY LINE. People and groups may not make major public announcements or engage in ostentatious public displays, but PEOPLE WILL ORGANIZE AND NEW COALITIONS AND ALLIANCES WILL BE FORMED. BE A PART OF THIS!
4. KEEP PUSHING IN WHATEVER WAY YOU CAN! Nobody yet knows how things will turn out. Human social life is emergent! The situation is rapidly evolving; there are many moving parts; things are in flux. Presidential administrations have historically been defined by unanticipated events. We don't know what it is yet, but any number of things may happen in the world that could significantly re-shape the playing field, including war, continuing political and economic instability, and cataclysmic weather events. Closer to home, upcoming Supreme Court rulings have the potential to alter domestic political dynamics, including whether or not martial law will be declared in the United States. The future is wide open, which can be dangerous and scary, but potentially liberating too.
5. Continue to form connections, both formal and informal, with people who share your values and outlook. Formal connections can include those that come from joining organizations such as The National Urban League, the NAACP, as well as professional academic organizations like the Association of Social and Behavioral Scientists, The American Sociological Association, and the American Psychological Association. Professional organizations help us connect, stay informed, create social capital, and mobilize political energy. Informal connections are not to be ignored, however! Continue to join with and connect to family, friends, and neighbors!
6. Continue to familiarize yourself with the canon of Black literature by reading the following (not an all-inclusive list and in no particular order): James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker, Angela Davis, Isabel Wilkerson, W.E.B. DuBois, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Hamilton and Carmichael,Black Power, Huey P. Newton, Revolutionary Suicide; George Jackson, The Prison Letters of George Jackson; Colson Whitehead, Malcolm X, Charles Blow (New York Times award-winning columnist and GSU grad), Jesmyn Ward, John McWhorter, Alex Haley, Roots
7. Are you familiar with Afro-futurism? Read Octavia Butler and Nnedi Okorafor African futurist Nnedi Okorafor

SUMMARIZE MY WORDS AND RESPOND IN A MINIMUM OF TWO PARAGRAPHS. What do you think of all this? How does it impact YOUR social psychology? Write in the first person, AND DO NOT USE ANY FORM OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.