The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche reportedly said, “That which does not kill us, makes us stronger”. When it comes to being an African American, I’ve often wondered if the many adversities we have faced beginning with surviving the middle passage from Africa to the U.S. in chains, naked, in unsanitary conditions, in the belly of a ship and then enduring slavery, Jim Crowe, lynching, segregation, a civil rights movement, and continuing covert discrimination have made those of us who have survived stronger than many are comfortable with.
I know as a young girl, my mother often reminded me that I had to be better and do better to receive half the recognition. And so I took what intellect and talent I had and worked it. It’s no wonder that at age 16, the doctor said my blood pressure was too high due to stress. I didn’t slow down, but found ways to work smarter. I’m no longer reluctant to admit that I was identified by the state as an intellectually gifted person, but I am sad that I have had to prove my intellect countless times and in multiple settings throughout the years. There was always the assumption that because of my skin color, I was less than I am. I’ve never taken pleasure in proving white people wrong because I recognize that most of those same white individuals will never grant me the status, recognition, or promotion that is warranted. And when the recognition is given, others oppose it, resent it, or minimize it. That has been my lifelong experience but I suppose not being beaten or hanged for displaying intellectual ability is progress.
As a nation, we’ve watched black athletes come to dominate in many sports when access is granted. Who would have guessed just twenty years ago that the best female gymnast of all time would be a black girl named Simone Biles? However, with the rising fame of black talent, we also witnessed the death threats to men like Jackie Robinson and Tiger Woods and the insults hurled at Venus and Serena Williams. White violent backlash to black excellence and prosperity has been the norm among insecure white folks. And our judicial system has turned a blind eye to it. I argue that our nation is not better for it. Today, we see the overly harsh and unfair treatment of sprinter Sha Carri Richardson that will prevent the fastest woman in the world from competing in the 2021 Olympics to bring home the gold for America.
The backlash to black excellence was again apparent with the ascendancy of Michelle and President Obama to the White House. As black athletes, entertainers, intellectuals, business people, and political leaders display their excellence, a few white people grow increasingly intimidated and insecure. They’re too insecure and fragile to face the history of racial discrimination evidenced by the 1619 Project or Critical Race Theory. I wonder how these folks handled the news that Zaila Avant-garde is the first black girl to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee in its nearly 100 year history? Do they stop to think that their white supremacist ancestors only have themselves to blame for this growing display of black excellence?
Given the historical mistreatment of black Americans, the survivors of such harsh treatment have no choice but to evolve to be more intelligent, creative, talented, energetic and resilient. According to evolution, only the fittest survive. And we are still evolving. With continued discrimination in nearly every aspect of American life, the least fit among us continue to die from poverty related ailments such as street violence, environmental hazards, poor diets, stress, lacking healthcare, and now COVID-19. Only the luckiest and most fit black people are surviving and their very public ascendancy poses a threat to the notion of white supremacy. Perhaps this is why too many white people chose racist strong man, Donald Trump, to lead them.
These insecure white supremacist know that in terms of character, grace, intelligence, and integrity that Donald J. Trump can’t hold a candle to Barack Obama. And yet, they embraced the morally and intellectually inferior white guy because they believe he will protect their tenuous position of economic and political power. These white bigots are afraid of black excellence and they are even more afraid of Jewish excellence. Could it be that adversity has also made Jewish people stronger and brought out the creativity, the talent, the drive, and the business acumen that threatens to unseat these white supremacists?
In reality, white supremacists are a threat to the nation’s progress because they are not interested in helping the best and the brightest to succeed and represent the best of us. They are more interested in maintaining a false narrative of white superiority where they maintain power, privilege and economic advantage. They are afraid that if they must compete on a level playing field, they will ultimately loose. And for too many of them, their ego can’t abide such a defeat. They were never groomed to compete, having been handed every invisible advantage from the birth of the nation. As they are confronted with the truth that their manifest destiny was a lie, they are having a very public temper tantrum.
So, we watch in horror and disbelief as they take up arms, march through the streets with Tiki torches, mount an insurrection at the nation’s Capitol and now try to suppress the vote in the next election. Mitch McConnell and other Republican leaders saw the writing on the walls and took over the courts during the Trump administration. And now they desperately want to win the 2022 and 2024 elections by any means necessary. This includes keeping fair-minded citizens from voting. Their ultimate goal is to maintain power and to limit the progress of others. Frankly, I wouldn’t put it past them to take up arms if necessary to preserve their power. Scared people do scary things.
At this moment, the number one job of truly patriotic Americans is to make sure we vote and that every fair-minded American we know is willing and able to cast a ballot in 2022 and 2024. Beyond that, I’m a bit fearful of what comes next. I hope it is a battle for the hearts and minds of white supremacists and not a battle for the right of black and Jewish people to exist.