For Once And For All, Black People Cannot Be Racist

Photo by Inatimi Nathus on Unsplash

Let’s start with two definitions of racist:

— prejudiced against or antagonistic toward a person or people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized

— a person who is prejudiced against or antagonistic toward people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized

I emphasized the words typically one that is a minority or marginalized. So, there you have it. Black people cannot be racist because of global anti-Blackness and power structures. Even Africa was colonized, so there’s nowhere in the world you can go where imperialism and global white power structures aren’t in place.

This means that racism is a combination of race+power.

If you’re white and feel you don’t have power, you still benefit from white privilege. Policing, housing, the judicial system, medicine, banking, the job market, are all power structures that favor whiteness and punish Blackness.

Can black people dislike and be prejudiced against other races, believing in negative stereotypes about them? Of course.

If the power structures were different, could Black people be racist. Of course. But as it stands, black people cannot be racist. Thus there’s no such thing as reverse racism or Black supremacy.

Prejudice — preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience

Bigoted — obstinately or unreasonably attached to a belief, opinion, or faction, in particular prejudiced against or antagonistic toward a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular group

I bolded “not based on reason or actual experience.” In my opinion, Black people are rarely prejudiced because negative opinions of other races are typically based on reason and actual experience stemming from interactions with other races rooted in global anti-blackness. Black people don’t typically hold negative opinions of other races based on feelings of supremacy or superiority. We react to anti-Blackness.

These are the reasons Black people cannot be racist.