In addition to being designated Afrika Liberation Day by the Organization of African Unity in 1963, May 25th is also now commemorated as the day brutal, savage racism was exposed before the world when police officer Derek Chavin murdered George Floyd by taking a knee on his neck for 9 minutes and 39 seconds. (1)
The nature of Floyd’s treatment should have laid bare how racism dehumanises Afrikan people – systematically, globally – way beyond the individual attitude of a Chauvin. (2) . Yet some even went to the extent querying the evidence of our own eyes. (3) In addition, others sought to restrict it to an unfortunate, but individualised incident while advancing the denial of racism narrative.
Denial of racism is by no means a new phenomenon but one of the most prominent strategies (and presumably lucrative) current employed is to put Afrikans at the leading edge. Thus, in the USA we have the likes of Candace Owens advancing white nationalist talking points, while ‘victim blaming’ Afrikan people to a global audience. (4) As even David Walker highlighted, this tendency has a long history. (5) But Owens is still a relative newcomer to the scene compared to UK based veterans like Trevor Phillips and Tony Sewell. (6) The latter has recently found renewed infamy for his “Government-backed gaslighting” via the March 2021 report into “ethnic disparities” that sought to deny the existence of institutional racism and was embraced by British society. (7)
In contrast, teacher and author Howard Johnson argues that, “disproportionately, ‘black’ people are the most racially discriminated against on this earth.” As such he has written in his forthcoming “popular academic” book The Racism Handbook for People Classified as Black: A Guide to How Racism Really Works, to address the feeling that “in general, most ‘black’ people do not really understand ‘race’ and racism properly – with a suspicion that ‘white’ people do.” The Handbook historicises racism by rejecting the notion that racism is an aggregate of individual and global racist events and behaviours– all ‘supposedly’ fuelled by ‘random’ individual racial prejudices and unconscious bias and is instead a continuation of challenging racism through oppositional political theories and practise. (8)
(1) South African History Online (03/04/11) Organisation of African Unity (OAU). . https://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/organisation-african-unity-oau; ESPN (25/05/21) George Floyd’s legacy will last forever, Lewis Hamilton says. https://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/31508155/george-floyd-legacy-last-forever-says-lewis-hamilton
(2) Denise Headley (25/05/21) ‘We can’t be scared of progress’: LBC’s Denise Headley – a year since George Floyd murder. https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/we-cant-be-scared-of-progress-lbcs-denise-headley-one-year-on-from-george-floyds/
(3) Kate Plummer, Greg Evans (21/04/21) Tucker Carlson launches bizarre rant about ‘civilization’ being ‘attacked’ after George Floyd verdict. https://www.indy100.com/news/tucker-carlson-george-floyd-verdict-b1835007; Catherina Gioino (21/04/21) ‘NOT A FAIR TRIAL’ Candace Owens tells Tucker Carlson Derek Chauvin guilty verdict is ‘MOB justice’ and a ‘win’ for ‘bullying Democrats’. https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/14716050/candace-owens-derek-chavin-unfair-guilty-verdict-mob-justice/
(4) Zak Cheney-Rice (12/04/19) White Nationalism Is the Republican Party’s Meal Ticket. h https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/04/candace-owens-white-nationalism.html
(5) David Walker (1829) Walker’s Appeal, in Four Articles; Together with a Preamble, to the Coloured Citizens of the World, but in Particular, and Very Expressly, to Those of the United States of America, Written in Boston, State of Massachusetts. https://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/walker/walker.html. Walker said this of women who helped an enslaver re-capture Afrikans that had escaped bondage: “Here my brethren, I want you to notice particularly in the above article, the ignorant and deceitful actions of this coloured woman. I beg you to view it candidly, as for ETERNITY!!!! Here a notorious wretch, with two other confederates had SIXTY of them in a gang, driving them like brutes–the men all in chains and hand-cuffs, and by the help of God they got their chains and hand-cuffs thrown off, and caught two of the wretches and put them to death, and beat the other until they thought he was dead, and left him for dead; however, he deceived them, and rising from the ground, this servile woman helped him upon his horse, and he made his escape. Brethren, what do you think of this? Was it the natural fine feelings of this woman, to save such a wretch alive? I know that the blacks, take them half enlightened and ignorant, are more humane and merciful than the most enlightened and refined European that can be found in all the earth. Let no one say that I assert this because I am prejudiced on the side of my colour, and against the whites or Europeans. For what I write, I do it candidly, for my God and the good of both parties: Natural observations have taught me these things; there is a solemn awe in the hearts of the blacks, as it respects murdering men. Which is the reason the whites take the advantage of us.”
(6) Adam Elliott-Cooper (20/03/15) How Not To Tackle Race Trevor Phillips Style. https://archive.voice-online.co.uk/article/how-not-tackle-race-trevor-phillips-style; Nels Abbey (17/03/15) The Miseducation Of Trevor Phillips. https://archive.voice-online.co.uk/article/miseducation-trevor-phillips; Bro. Ldr Mbandaka (2004) EDUCATION: An Afrikan-Centred Approach to Excellence. Soul Force Promotions. On p. 9, Bro. Ldr writes: “The academic Bro. Tony Sewell blames Black youth culture and the “negative impact” of rap and hip-hop. He even claims that this has begun to affect White youth as well. However, the difference between this 50-year-old problem and the emergence of rap and hip-hop in mid 80’s Britain creates a 35-year credibility gap, which renders Dr. Sewell’s thesis fundamentally flawed. Interestingly, ex-BNP leader John Tyndall publicly applauded the good doctor’s thesis, especially for blaming Black youths for “corrupting White youths”.
(7) Kehinde Andrews (31/03/21) Government-backed gaslighting. https://make-it-plain.org/2021/03/31/government-backed-gaslighting/?fbclid=IwAR3zZ928zx8lVEtXYKW-pypEPFkyurhqfPhLgq28sVmPzzm_2oq5rE_q8mI; Daniel Martin, Jack Elsom & Jack Maidment (31/03/21) Britain’s race revolution: Landmark report says UK is ‘a model to the world’ on diversity, describes us as a ‘successful multi-ethnic community’… and finds NO evidence of institutional racism. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9420563/Britains-race-revolution-Landmark-report-says-UK-model-world-diversity.html; Greg Heffer (31/03/21) UK should be ‘model for other white majority countries’, finds government-ordered race review. https://news.sky.com/story/uk-should-be-model-for-other-white-majority-countries-finds-government-ordered-race-review-12261343
(8) Howard Johnson (2021) The Racism Handbook for People Classified as Black: A Guide to How Racism Really Works. Forthcoming
(7)
So we ask the question:
How does racism really work?
1) Is racism really “an aggregate of individual and global racist events and behaviours”?
2) Is it something Black people do not understand but white people do?
3) What purpose do Black racism deniers serve?
4) What’s the best way to combat racism?
Our Special Guest:
Bro. Howard Johnson: born to an afro-Caribbean musical family, is a Critical Race Theorist (CRT) and Pan-Africanist. His autodidactic ‘race’ and Black Studies education, began in the early 1980s studying: Malcolm X, On Afro-American History’,The Souls of Black Folk’, From Superman to Man and Black People in British Empire; and later, intensive study of the lectures and books of Dr. Amos Wilson. In the late 1980s he became a musician and music composer. In the 2003, he graduated from the University of Surrey, receiving his B.A (honours) in Music. He presently works as a ‘supply teacher’ – teaching GCSE English Literature/Language and Religious Education in secondary schools. Johnson is deeply committed to fully understanding and teaching ‘the centrality of ‘race’ to the making of the modern world’. He promotes, what he calls ‘racial literacy’ or ‘race education’ and self-determination, for ‘black’ and African people’s in the UK, US, the diaspora and continental Africa.