Neo-White Supremacy and the Assumption of Black/Brown Inferiority
On the "antiracism" of the "white savior"
NEO-WHITE SUPREMACY AND THE ASSUMPTION OF BLACK/BROWN INFERIORITY
On the "antiracism" of the "white savior"
Nafees Alam
President Barack Obama is quoted as saying, “you can put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig. You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change, it’s still going to stink. We’ve had enough of the same old thing.” As time passes, it’s evident that we continue to have the same old things, calling them by different names. Racism, for example, is now called “antiracism.” Discrimination is now “equity.” Exclusion is now “inclusion.” And “diversity” now means, in the words of historian Barbara Fields, that “you get together a lot of people who look different and think the same.” The terminology may have evolved over the years, but the sentiment remains: white supremacy has always assumed black/brown inferiority, evolving to be practiced today as benevolent and vicarious racism.
Today’s neo-white supremacy is synonymous with white saviorism. The assumption of black/brown inferiority permits the neo-white supremacist to act as the white savior. We have become their charity cases, existing to placate their desire to be worshipped. Do as they say, but think differently and face their wrath. Neo-white supremacy, like its predecessor, aims to elevate white people not by lifting them up, but by pushing us down through affirmative action, social justice, political correctness. Rather than equality, or even empowerment, they’ve decided upon equity: predetermining the end results regardless of our efforts. It’s as though they don’t believe we can thrive on our own the way that they can.
They brag about being “antiracist” while employing race as a factor to define privilege. They call for black/brown people to have a voice until that voice differs from their prescribed model of what the black/brown voice should be, as though we are a monolith. It may be more efficient to believe all of us to be one, a hive-mind, but they may be surprised to find that there is intra-group diversity in our experiences and values. Imagine expecting intra-group diversity among white people but not among black/brown people, then calling yourself “antiracist.” That’s the white savior, weaponizing benevolent racism and the assumption of black/brown inferiority to save us from ourselves, as though we are too unsophisticated to do anything for ourselves without their help. They claim to oppose white supremacy even as they consider themselves supreme.
We are not their pet projects, we are fellow human beings and we wish to be treated as such. They are not our owners, they are not our masters. Though we appreciate the acknowledgment that they can no longer own our bodies, they still seem to think they own our minds. They claim to be “antiracist,” creating a safe space for black/brown people, though their actions suggest otherwise as they don’t stop talking long enough for us to hold the mic. Weaponizing vicarious racism through the assumption of black/brown inferiority, they shout about the importance of giving us a voice while prohibiting us from having a voice unique from theirs. Do they genuinely value diversity and inclusion, or do they include only those who look like us but think like them in their “inclusive” definition of diversity? Do they want us to have a voice, or do they only want the power to determine who has a voice? It’s as though they don’t really care about the black/brown person as much as they care about appearing as though they care about the black/brown person. Are we an accessory for them to show off in public, conversely ignored in private? Only if we shine the way they think we’re supposed to, I suppose.
Neo-white supremacists are well equipped to “whitesplain” how we are lesser black/brown people when we don’t abide by their worldview. Their deep-rooted implicit biases prevent them from understanding why we are suspicious of white saviors who have created a problem that they now wish to be worshipped for pretending to solve. They’ll blame everyone but themselves, claiming that the black/brown person is uneducated if they question their motives. Imagine being so racist that you think racism is too complex a concept for the black/brown person to understand without the neo-white supremacist’s translation. As Paolo Friere states, our oppressors cannot be our liberators. They are not the heroes of our stories, we are.
As they stroke their god complex and attempt to groom us to be their faithful disciples, serving as mouthpieces for their racist propaganda by conflating benevolent and vicarious racism with “antiracism,” remember the words of Martin Luther King Jr.: the content of our character cannot be determined by the color of our skin, no matter how much they want it to. As they preach about addressing systemic racism by perpetuating systemic racism themselves, they insult our intelligence by claiming it’s all for our own good and we shouldn’t speak out against neo-white supremacy if we wish not to bite the hand that feeds us. Do they believe the black/brown person cannot eat unless fed by the white savior?
Malcolm X spoke of the black/brown person being perceived as a sociopolitical pawn used by white saviors for the purpose of assuming black/brown inferiority to out-savior one another, caring for the black/brown person only to the extent to which the black/brown person can serve them in their virtue signaling, grandstanding gestures. He mentions the worst enemy of the black/brown person being the seemingly benevolent white savior that professes their love of black/brown people in an attempt to trick them into believing they care for them genuinely. They strive to coerce us into opposing the party of freedom and supporting the party of slavery and Jim Crow segregation until 2164 under the guise of a nationwide party switch, attributing the impact of one party’s proclamation to another. We are expected to believe this myth despite the party of bodily ownership evolving into the party of ideological ownership enforced through cancel culture. The party of “separate-but-equal” has evolved into the party of “separate-and-equitable.” They push for reparations, but refuse to acknowledge that the greatest reparation of all would be to do away with the very party of slavery and segregation. The white savior is a villain in hero’s attire, considering themselves supreme while feigning to be merely mortal, aiming to continue building intergenerational systemic dependency, thus further stroking their god complex.
To my fellow black/brown people, I caution you: white saviorism and charity is akin to neo-white supremacy. White supremacy thrives under the assumption of black/brown inferiority on the part of the white savior. Introduce the white savior to a black/brown person with an original thought and you’ll see how quickly they become the white master. Ask, does this person genuinely value diversity and inclusion, or do they only include those who look like us but think like them in their “inclusive” definition of diversity?
To be truly “antiracist” is to be anti-white savior. Do not be fooled by the apparent benevolence of new-age vernacular strategically crafted by the white savior so they can experience racism vicariously. As President Obama states, putting lipstick on a pig does not change the pig, just as putting “anti-” on racism does not change racism. Wrapping old fish in new paper called “change” does not reduce the stench, just as wrapping old supremacy in new paper called “saviorism” does not reduce the oppression.
Critique of one political party or side, however, is not endorsement of another. The intricate complexity of our identities cannot be funneled through binary political systems. We are not machine code, existing as zeroes or ones and nothing more. To turn a blind eye to white saviorism from one side and ignore manifestations of racial supremacism on the other is no different from shifting between zero and one. We must be cautious of assumptions of black/brown inferiority coming from all directions.
We are free, mind, body, and soul. We are not second-class black/brown people when we don’t think how they think we should think. What scares the neo-white supremacist most is that they are not our masters, they are not supreme, we are their equals in every way. They fear the fearless. We are more than the boxes we check.
Dr. Nafees Alam is a professor of social work, holding a PhD from Yeshiva University, and licensed in multiple states. His scholarship focuses on viewpoint and political diversity in higher education and the greater society. Follow him on Twitter/X.
Is a short version that everyone should be judged on merit?
DAMN STRAIGHT! Bravo! With clear thinking like that, I'll bet beers after work, cocktail parties and dinner conversations are a laugh a minute. That kind of talk reminds me of a couple of Freds: Frederick Douglass or Frédéric Bastiat - both clear thinking men I very much admire. There are others on my list of clear thinkers but I may just have to add you to that list. I loved the way you turned much of their language around or on its head. Not only is neo-white supremacy just white saviorism, it's merely another attempt at control by progressives who have steadfastly believed in racial preferences since the origins of scientific progressivism. The progressive elite wants to tell all of us what to think and how to behave. And if we don't go along, they'll try to find a way to punish us for independent thinking and action. I believed Dr. King when he said that we should be judged by the content of our character and not the color of our skin. It was so obviously right when I heard it. I am glad to to see one more person believes that as well.