scholarly journals reflections on the negation of Blackness//affirmations of our clairvoyance through creative healing praxes

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 18-40
Author(s):  
P. Ife Williams
Keyword(s):  
Social Movement ◽  
Black People ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Black Youth ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Personal Reflection ◽  
Western Thought ◽  
Sacred Spaces ◽  
Youth Identities ◽  
Movement Politics

The negation of Black people is pervasive in the historical genealogy of white supremacy. Black society, and Blackness, as defined and fabricated by Western thought and action, exists in “outer-space” (Sexton, 2011). However, white constructs of Blackness are merely that—constructs. This piece acts in three parts: 1) an intellectual conversation with scholarly thought holders, 2) a space of personal reflection and interpersonal dialogue, and 3) pieces of prose and imagery that embody various forms of Blackness. This piece explores Black clairvoyance through examples of Black youth identities, social movement politics and practices, and affirmations of our creations, sacred spaces, and rituals. Our praxes are visible in our daily gestures even as we hold trauma—sometimes informal or episodic—but always seeped in love, creativity, ancestry, and spirituality, existing as moments of movement and healing resistance.

scholarly journals My Life Matters

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Black People ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Black Youth ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Black Communities ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
The Public ◽  
Racial Injustice ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Cost

White supremacy presents Black communities with numerous challenges. We are constantly being injured by the anti-black racism that is deeply entrenched in the policies and practices of dominant institutions. These establishments, including, if not especially, the criminal justice system, purport to be responsible for ensuring the well-being and welfare of all, but only ever protect the rich and white. The recent re-mobilization of the Black Lives Matter movement worldwide has reminded the public of the urgency of tackling anti-black racism, but much work still needs to be done if we want future generations of Black people to live freely. Like Black adults, Black youth are not immune from racist encounters. In such a time of racial crisis, the experiences of Black youth need to be centralized in a movement that opposes racial injustice and white supremacy. Accordingly, this poem adopts the lens of a Black youth to speak to the cost of growing up Black immersed in the dominant anti-black culture of our society, underscoring the troubling realities of what it means to be a Black youth in today’s world. 

The Black Lives Matter movement: A call to action: Acts 10:11–16, 25–28, 34–35

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Alfred Smith
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Black People ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Call To Action ◽  
Black Lives Matter ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Black Life ◽  
Black Christians ◽  
American Society ◽  
Justice Movements

The Black Lives Matter movement is one of the most dynamic social justice movements currently emerging in the USA. This movement led by young Blacks unapologetically calls out the shameful, historical legacy of American racism and White supremacy while asserting the humanity and sacredness of Black lives, particularly those of unarmed persons senselessly murdered by police officers. While Black Lives Matter is a new movement, it is also an extension of the 400-year struggle of Black people in America to affirm Black dignity, equality, and human rights, even while the major institutions of American society have propagated doctrines and enforced unjust rules/laws to denigrate Black life. Black Christians have found hope and inspiration from the Gospel to claim their humanity and to struggle to gain justice for Black lives and for the lives of all oppressed people. In addition, the Black Lives Matter movement provides a helpful critique of many Black churches, challenging them to confront their biases, which label young Black males as “thugs” (the new N-word) and which cruelly demonize the LGBTQ community. The story of Peter and Cornelius in Acts 10 provides a scriptural basis for Christian introspection and responses to God’s vision for beloved community, and for the call to action from the Black Lives Matter movement.

They #Woke: How Black Students in an After-School Community-Based Program Manifest Critical Consciousness

2021 ◽  
Vol 123 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-38
Author(s):  
V. Thandi Sulé ◽  
Michelle Nelson ◽  
Tiffany Williams
Keyword(s):  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Black Students ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Critical Consciousness ◽  
Black People ◽  
Black Youth ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
After School ◽  
Community Based

Background/Context Though Black Americans have long suffered under racial tyranny, they have made valiant efforts to subvert policies and practices that encroach on their humanity. Nevertheless, systemic racism has been virtually unyielding—creating both racial hierarchies and disparities in access to resources and wellness. Programs designed to address the condition of Black people, particularly Black youth, often employ deficit or dysfunctional logic, thereby ignoring the sociohistorical context in which Black youth navigate. Furthermore, not enough attention is given to the ways that culturally centered approaches ignite critical consciousness among Black youth in ways that are aligned with the tradition of the Black American abolitionist mindset. Purpose We build on the discourse on community-based youth programs and critical consciousness development by using frameworks that elevate race and culture in analyzing how Black youth make sense of their racialized experiences. Additionally, our explication challenges the overriding deficit focus of Black youth experiences within and outside school contexts by providing a nuanced view of Black youth agency. Research Design With critical race theory as the epistemic foundation, this study sought to foreground counternarratives among youth participants of a culturally centered, community-based program. Thus, we used semistructured interviews as our primary data source. Using a three-stage analytical process, we sought to understand if and how critical consciousness manifests within this youth community. Conclusions/Recommendations The study demonstrates the value of foregrounding African American culture and history to fortify the values of collectivism, self-determination, purpose, responsibility, empowerment, creativity, and faith among Black youth. The authors propose that educators collaborate with community-based Black culture and youth development experts to support dialogical, student-centered spaces that impart culturally centered knowledge about Black Americans. Furthermore, the authors advocate for professional development in asset-based pedagogies as a means to enhance belongingness among Black students.

Introduction

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Niambi Michele Carter
Keyword(s):  
Black People ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Body Politic

Using a personal anecdote to set the stage, the author introduces the fundamental argument of the book, which is that black people respond to the “threat” of immigration by critiquing a system of white supremacy that excludes blacks through the exploitation of other groups. In particular the book examines the ways in which blacks use immigration as a lens to evaluate their own status as citizens. In other words, as blacks think about what immigration means for the nation, they are also thinking about what it means for their group. The context within which they look at immigration is through their own group’s racial experience, which has often found blacks struggling for belonging in the American body politic because of white supremacy.

Measuring Whiteness: A Systematic Review of Instruments and Call to Action

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 530-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Schooley ◽  
Debbiesiu L. Lee ◽  
Lisa B. Spanierman
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
White Privilege ◽  
Black People ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Racial Justice ◽  
Psychological Study ◽  
Call To Action ◽  
Modern Racism

The psychological study of Whiteness provides one avenue for researchers to help combat racial injustice in the United States. This article is a call to action for counseling psychologists to engage in much needed scholarship and critical examinations of Whiteness. In this systematic review and content analysis, we provide an overview of 18 quantitative measures focusing on various aspects of Whiteness published between 1967 and 2017. We summarize the constructs and psychometric properties of these measures. Our content analysis indicated that constructs assessed by Whiteness measures have shifted in focus over time across four themes: (a) Attitudes Toward Black People/Integration, (b) Modern Racism, (c) White Racial Identity, and (d) White Privilege and Antiracism. We conclude with suggestions on how advancement, development, and use of Whiteness measures could further our knowledge through research examining present-day racial justice issues. The issues highlighted include police brutality, xenophobia, immigration, White supremacy, activism, and training in the field.

From slavery and colonialism to Black Lives Matter: new mood music or more fundamental change?

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelarine Cornelius
Keyword(s):  
Black People ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Slave Trade ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Black Lives Matter ◽  
Black Africa ◽  
Chattel Slavery ◽  
The Usa

Purpose2020 has proved to be a challenging year. In addition to the challenges of COVID-19, yet again, the USA has witnessed police brutality leading to the death of a Black man, George Floyd. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, founded in the US but now an international organisation which challenges white supremacy and deliberates harm against Black people, mobilised hundreds of thousands of people to take to the streets across the globe. Increasingly, the protests focus not only on George Floyd's murder but also the continued failure to challenge the celebrity of those involved in the transatlantic slave trade and European imperialism. In this article, the author will contend that many organisations are now reexamining their association with these historical wrongs against Black Africa and its diaspora. Further, the author will contend but that the failure to highlight the role of Black chattel slavery and imperialism in the accumulation of economic, commercial and political benefits reaped by the global north is a source of shame not only for many firms and institutions but also for universities.Design/methodology/approachThe author has reviewed the online media for the latest developments in response to Black Lives Matter's George Floyd campaign in 2020 and reviewed the literature on the link between European global ambition and its impact on the Americas and sub-Saharan Africa.FindingsInternationally, there is a discernible change in outlook towards the importance of the evils of slavery and colonialism on the Black experience today. These small steps will require scholars to embark on a fresh reexamination of race, society and work.Originality/valueFor decades, the slave trade and colonialism were issues rarely raised in government, firms and business schools. This will inevitably change especially in those countries that are the main beneficiaries of Black chattel slavery and colonial exploitation. Much Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) practice is fundamentally tokenism. A root and branch reappraisal will be needed to create more effective EDI policy and practice in support of race equality and anti-racism.

Race, Organizations, and Movements

Sociology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa E. Wooten
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Organizational Development ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Racial Justice ◽  
Organization Studies ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Racial Hierarchy ◽  
Pull Out ◽  
Distribution Of Resources

Although they developed distinct of one another, there is a growing trend to combine insights from the race, organizations, and movement literatures. In particular, scholars have called for a greater emphasis on incorporating race as a category of analysis within the organizations and movement literatures. Among those studying organizations, one of the earliest calls for this shift came from within the managerial literature. Those heeding this call have primarily investigated race as an individual level characteristic that structures people’s access to and opportunities within organizations. Still, others have sought to analyze how race as a social structural characteristic shapes organizational development and the distribution of resources available to organizations. Similar to organization studies, initially, scholarship on social movements lacked a clear emphasis on race. Although, the irony here is that many scholars derived theoretical innovations within the social movement literature by analyzing movements centering racial justice. Recent scholarship holds that in the absence of clear racial theory, whiteness shapes the discipline to its detriment. Despite the broader concerns about the literature’s state, work within this area consistently emphasizes how people use social movement tactics to advance racial projects from civil rights to white supremacy. Few studies tackle all three themes at once. More often scholars situate their analysis at the intersection of race and organizations or race and movements. At times, scholars situate their investigation squarely within one literature, leaving it to the reader to pull out the themes from the others. The bibliography reflects this reality and tension. There is no singular text or handbook that brings together research on race, organizations, and movements. Yet, the research included within this bibliography deepens our understanding of the role that organizations and movements play in reinforcing and creating racial hierarchy and how racial hierarchy, in turn, shapes these entities.

SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORY: LESSONS FROM THE SOCIOLOGY OF W. E. B. DU BOIS*

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-136
Author(s):  
Aldon Morris
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Black Community ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Black People ◽  
Accurate Analysis ◽  
Movement Theory ◽  
Du Bois ◽  
The 1960S

This article addresses why movement scholars had no idea that the civil rights and black power movements of the 1960s and 70s were imminent. In fact, their theories led them to predict that these movements were impossible because only whites possessed history-making agency. These scholars accepted the dogma that black people, their culture, and their institutions were inferior and incapable of organizing and leading powerful movements. This article demonstrates that the black sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois predicted those movements a half century before they occurred. He did so because he conducted concrete empirical analyses of the black community, and his lived experiences led him to reject the thesis of black inferiority. This article argues that the field of social movements remains too white and elitist and that this condition causes less robust and accurate analysis. The article suggests ways to make needed changes.

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