The Democratic Party is not anti-racist because of its diversity; it is in fact becoming a more effective agent of a racist and imperialist state.
The year was 2011 and Occupy Wall Street protesters were gathering, and sleeping, at Zuccotti Park every single day to bring attention to the perils wrought on the 99 percent by the one percent. I was interning for a labor union at the time, and regularly visiting the Occupy Wall Street encampment to participate in its marches and rallies. The internship was coupled with labor studies courses that I attended with a mixture of union workers and students interested in the labor movement. A committed Occupy Wall Street organizer made an announcement in one of my courses that activists were planning a demonstration at Broadway Junction train station as part of a series of actions targeting the citys public transit riders. The organizer claimed that these actions had successfully brought thousands of people into the movement.
Broadway Junction is located in East New York, a majority Black neighborhood in Brooklyn. Occupy Wall Street protesters organizing at Zuccotti Park were overwhelmingly white and Occupy Wall Street organizers often treated racism as a peripheral problem that could be resolved through caucuses. I asked what kind of relationship Occupy organizers had developed with the Black community they hoped would join their rally. The answer was none. The demonstration ended up being a resounding failure, drawing just a fraction of the number of people that had turned out in more capital and student-intensive (white) areas of the city.
This experience provided a profound lesson in the failures of the politics of color-blindness. The Obama administration eventually deployed the FBI and DHS to assist local police in crushing Occupy Wall Street. Occupy Wall Street activists rendered politically homeless made up a large portion of the forces behind Bernie Sanders presidential campaign of 2016 and the push to elect Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, among others, to Congress two years later. These campaigns galvanized millions of young people and workers to vote on a platform of Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, student debt cancellation, and other universal policies.
That was the good. The bad was that racism and white supremacy remained a peripheral or non-existent issue in a struggle to elect progressive-sounding Democrats to implement a welfare state that the United States has never fully possessed in its two centuries-plus of existence. Just as Occupy Wall Street demanded nothing directly from the Obama administration, so too did newfound progressive Democratic Party activists largely avoid any kind of synthesis of eight years of Obama-rule. This allowed the capitalists in control of the party to wage an ideological war on mythical Bernie Bros and exploit color-blindness to their advantage. The masses of people supporting Sanders were all racist, we were told by the corporate media, because they did not specifically address issues particular to Black people.
The Democratic Party establishment began the work of normalizing endless war, austerity, and state sanctioned white supremacy.
Bernie Sanders did not help himself in this regard. While his policy agenda of Medicare for All and other universal policies would disproportionately benefit Black Americans, his unwillingness to publicly support reparations (despite no real commitment among the establishment of what form it would take) and his reluctance to focus campaign resources in heavily Black areas of the country opened a lane for his foes in the Democratic Party establishment to take the lead on the age-old debate of race versus class. Obama was summoned to whip the Democratic Party into shape , and the Black misleadership class coalesced around an anybody but Bernie political agenda. The elevation of Biden to the presidency, a barely functional modern-day corporate Dixiecrat, was the result of two consecutive primaries where Sanders stood silent as establishment Democrats took every measure possible to prevent his nomination.
It has been more than four years since Barack Obama was president of the United States yet his legacy continues to haunt the Left in ways that have gone unrecognized to the naked eye. Obama neutralized the left and consolidated the farce that the Democratic Party was an anti-racist institution because it was a diverse institution. At the same time, many in the Democratic Party, including large numbers of Black Americans, believed that white supremacy had been handed a significant defeat with the election of Barack Obama. This predictably angered many white Americans committed to the racist roots of American democracy. With the wages of whiteness diminishing, it was quite easy for Donald Trump to take hold over the White Mans GOP with a more enthusiastic brand of racist red meat posing as working class politics.
These developments were given birth on a bed of lies. The Democratic Party was not anti-racist because of its diversity; it was in fact becoming a more effective agent of a racist and imperialist state. Obama and his political minions helped fan the flames of heightening white anxiety by focusing all of their attention on the neutralization of the Left. And this didnt begin with the direct suppression of the Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter movements or the broad assault on the left vis--vis Russiagate. It began when Obama was elected and the Democratic Party establishment began the work of normalizing endless war, austerity, and state sanctioned white supremacy to the point of rendering any kind of ideological coherence around these machinations of imperialism too difficult for so-called progressive forces to muster.
The Democratic Party has thus played a key role in both stoking color-blind racism and its ideological counterpart on the far right. Democrat-led anti-Russian racism justified U.S. aggression toward Russia and directly led to Trumps New Cold War on China and the Yellow Peril racism required to wage it. The mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, the mass transfer of military weaponry to localized occupation forces in the Black community otherwise known as the police, and the militarization of the African continent through the expansion AFRICOM are just a few of Obamas policies that helped expand the scope of racist wars of aggression at home and abroad. Over the course of two presidential terms, the most left-leaning section of the United States, Black America, became increasingly conservative and captive to the Democratic Partys political vise grip.
It should come as no surprise, then, that the first anti-establishment steps taken out of the crisis of capitalism in the United States are color-blind in character. But this doesnt make color-blindness correct. The Democratic Party is not an anti-racist institution and does not hold on a monopoly on the struggle against white supremacy. White supremacy forms the core of why the United States never had a welfare state to begin with and why, even at its height, the labor movement in the United States could barely reach half of the country let alone take state power. Furthermore, to paraphrase Dr. Charisse Burden-Stellys commentary on Luqman Nation, Black Americans have literally existed as capital in the form of slaves for longer than they have participated in the wage labor force in the United States. Continued racial disparities in healthcare, housing, incarceration, employment, and across all indicators of class antagonism cannot be fully explained without acknowledgement of the fact that the U.S. power structure has always been, and will always be, rooted in white supremacist domination.
The ongoing struggle for peace and socialism in the United States will need to wrestle the narrative of white supremacy away from the corporate jaws of the Democratic Party, which is fully invested in the profits enjoyed from the neoliberal decay of the capitalist system. This doesnt mean avoiding the question of white supremacy in the quest for an American unity that has never existed in any mass way in the United States.
It means engaging in struggle with the people directly in a manner that raises the contradictions of U.S. imperialism into full visibility and generates a real public debate. There will be no color-blind road to socialism in the United States but it is a forgone conclusion that white supremacy is the biggest impediment to actually traveling on a socialist path in the correct direction.
Danny HaiphongBlack Agenda Report
Read the original:
No Color-Blind Road to Socialism in the U.S. - LA Progressive
- The Longevity Wake-Up Call And The Blindness Of Leadership To It - Forbes - February 24th, 2025
- Album Review: Blindness // The Murder Capital - The Indiependent - February 24th, 2025
- The Murder Capital - Blindness - Northern Transmissions - February 24th, 2025
- The Murder Capital: Blindness review - independent pop | Indie - The Line of Best Fit - February 24th, 2025
- Prevent Blindness Kicks Off Second Annual "Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) Awareness Week," Feb. 24- March 2, 2025, as Part of its ROP... - February 24th, 2025
- Prevent Blindness Kicks Off Second Annual Retinopathy of Prematurity Awareness Week - Vision Monday - February 24th, 2025
- Gene therapy for rare childhood blindness shows lasting vision gains - R&D World - February 24th, 2025
- The Murder Capital's Blindness: A Voice of Significance in an Era Craving Authentic Discourse - Indie Is Not A Genre - February 24th, 2025
- Albums Of The Week: The Murder Capital | Blindness - Tinnitist - February 24th, 2025
- After Maine native testifies before Congress, Elon Musk targets his disability - Press Herald - February 24th, 2025
- Ozempic could BLIND you - it damages veins in the eye, major study finds - Daily Mail - February 24th, 2025
- Cerebral Venous Thrombosis Presenting With Binocular Blindness and Bilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss - Cureus - February 24th, 2025
- Treatment for horses may lead to therapy for type of blindness - Mid Florida Newspapers - February 24th, 2025
- The Murder Capital: Blindness album review - Louder Than War - February 24th, 2025
- 'First in the world': London doctors cure blindness in children born with a genetic condition - WION - February 24th, 2025
- Doctors cure rare blindness in infants with gene therapy - NewsBytes - February 24th, 2025
- Gene therapy new trial treats rare blindness in children - Daily Jang - February 24th, 2025
- Ozempic Blindness Could Be Rare but Real: What Experts Say About the Risk - ZME Science - February 24th, 2025
- Parents of boy with rare eye condition hail amazing results of gene therapy - Yahoo News UK - February 24th, 2025
- Myths and Assumptions about Blindness - BBC.com - February 24th, 2025
- Man accused of beating victim, causing permanent blindness in one eye - KAIT - February 15th, 2025
- Scientists Find Link Between Weight Loss Drugs and Blindness - AOL - February 15th, 2025
- Treatment for horses may lead to therapy for type of blindness - University of Florida - February 15th, 2025
- How Ageism Impacts Adults with Low Vision - National Council on Aging - February 15th, 2025
- Ozempic and other weight loss drugs may be linked to conditions that could lead to blindness, study says - Quartz - February 15th, 2025
- Treatment for horses may lead to therapy for type of blindness - Phys.org - February 15th, 2025
- Treatment for Horses May Lead to Therapy for Type of Blindness - Morning Ag Clips - - February 15th, 2025
- Foundation Fighting Blindness Celebrates 20 Years of VisionWalk - PR Newswire - February 15th, 2025
- Woman Victim of 'Lash Blindness'Shock at How She Looks Without Them - Newsweek - February 15th, 2025
- Some Ozempic users are losing their vision - but scientists dont know why - The Independent - February 15th, 2025
- Those with visual impairments or blindness tackling the trails at Pico Mountain - WCAX - February 15th, 2025
- Prevent Blindness Issues Call for Nominations for the 2025 Jenny Pomeroy Award for Excellence in Vision and Public Health, and Rising Visionary Award... - February 15th, 2025
- Medical warning: Ozempic and Mounjaro may be linked to vision loss - India Today - February 15th, 2025
- New research links Ozempic to vision loss and risk of blindness - MSN - February 15th, 2025
- Ozempic Blindness: Weight Loss Drugs Linked to This Condition, Experts Warn - Tech Times - February 15th, 2025
- Ozempic Blindness Lawsuit Mounts: Shocking Side Effect Of Weight Loss Drug Is 'Eye Stroke,' What You Need To Know - IBTimes UK - February 15th, 2025
- The Politics Of Erasure: Gaza, Genocide, And The Wests Wilful Blindness OpEd - Eurasia Review - February 15th, 2025
- WHO launches new initiative to tackle the main cause of vision impairment - December 19th, 2024
- Blindness Advocates on Why There Should Be Audio Description Oscars - Variety - December 19th, 2024
- Diabetic retinopathy is treatable and preventable but only if you catch it in time - USA TODAY - December 19th, 2024
- AI: Could it help prevent blindness in diabetics? - BBC.com - December 19th, 2024
- Health Officials Investigate Rare Form of Blindness Tied to Ozempic - Gizmodo - December 19th, 2024
- Ozempic Could Be Blinding People Trying to Lose Weight - VICE - December 19th, 2024
- What is retinitis pigmentosathe vision disorder in the movie Blink? - National Geographic - December 19th, 2024
- VR shows promise in aiding navigation of people with blindness or low vision - Health Tech World - December 19th, 2024
- Ozempic could be linked to a common cause of sudden blindness, study finds - Quartz - December 19th, 2024
- New virtual realitytested system shows promise in aiding navigation of people with blindness or low vision - Tech Xplore - December 19th, 2024
- Ex-meth user who gouged her own eyeballs out while high says she is happier years after nightmarish episode - New York Post - December 19th, 2024
- Officials investigating link between Ozempic and eye-rotting disease that makes people blind - Daily Mail - December 19th, 2024
- Youngster to 'have eye removed' after minor fall - but NHS waitlist 'over 3 years' - NationalWorld - December 19th, 2024
- Restoring Vision: The Promise of Stem Cells in Healing Blindness - This is Local London - December 19th, 2024
- COAVS and Fred Hollows Foundation strengthen efforts to combat blindness in Pakistan - 24newshd - December 19th, 2024
- Study finds link between Ozempic and increased risk of vision loss - The Express Tribune - December 19th, 2024
- Going blind at 33 is devastating I wont see my childrens faces as they grow up - The Telegraph - December 19th, 2024
- Europol terror report reveals stark blindness about where the danger lies - Gript - December 19th, 2024
- Elton John lost his vision; signs and symptoms of eye infections that can cause blindness - The Times of India - December 6th, 2024
- Elton John's battle with blindness: How 77-year-old star's husband David Furnish guided him around premiere as - Daily Mail - December 6th, 2024
- Experimental study shows connection between COVID infection and age-related blindness - Medical Xpress - December 6th, 2024
- Elton John confirms shocking blindness after severe infection fight: I havent been able to see.. - Hindustan Times - December 6th, 2024
- Yes, an Eye Infection *Can* Lead To Vision Loss Heres How - Katie Couric Media - December 6th, 2024
- Elton John Battling Partial Blindness After Serious Eye Infection - Digital Music News - December 6th, 2024
- CU Anschutz researchers working to cure blindness through total eye transplantation - 9News.com KUSA - December 6th, 2024
- Elton John lost his vision from an eye infection. Here's why that might happenand how to prevent it - Fortune - December 6th, 2024
- Elton John announces blindness due to infection - CBS19.tv KYTX - December 6th, 2024
- David Frost: I suffer from face blindness. As a politician, being unable to identify people is agony - The Telegraph - December 6th, 2024
- Hes still standing how Elton John has survived far worse than blindness - The Telegraph - December 6th, 2024
- Foundation Fighting Blindness Partners with University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Other Leading Institutions to Secure Up to $46 Million... - December 6th, 2024
- Walmart helping low vison and blind customers shop with new app - KSLA - December 6th, 2024
- Elton John Says He Is Blind In The Right Eye Due to An Infection; What Is It All About? - Times Now - December 6th, 2024
- Trumps Win: The Blindness of Republicans and Democrats - The Times of Israel - December 6th, 2024
- Heres every song on The Agency soundtrack - NME - December 6th, 2024
- Elton John's worrying health battles in full as he confirms blindness - The Mirror - December 6th, 2024
- Symptoms of serious eye infections after Elton John says he is now blind - LADbible - December 6th, 2024
- Shocking! Elton John Reveals Blindness After Severe Eye Infection: Havent Been Able To... - Republic World - December 6th, 2024
- Face blindness will be examined as part of new project - BBC - December 6th, 2024
- Make your Word documents accessible to people with disabilities - November 27th, 2024
- Make your Word documents accessible to everyone with Accessibility ... - November 27th, 2024
- Use color and contrast for accessibility in Microsoft 365 - Microsoft ... - November 27th, 2024
- Accessibility tools for Word - Microsoft Support - November 27th, 2024
- Rules for the Accessibility Checker - Microsoft Support - November 27th, 2024