I would just like to point out that when a white person labels something as “racist” and “oppressive,” historically, they are labelled as having “foresight” and it’s something special on their long list of good deeds towards humanity.
When a POC is in a history book, it’s ALWAYS BECAUSE OF WHATEVER SHIT THEY DID TO BREAK DOWN RACIAL BOUNDARIES.
They aren’t seen as “visionary” or having “foresight.” They’re seen as “OHHH, OPPRESSED MOTHERFUCKER BROKE THROUGH OK NOTHING MORE TO SEE HERE.”
Seriously. In an AMERICAN HISTORY BOOK, when is the last time you saw a fucking POC who wasn’t in the book, because they did some real POC-type shit?
WHAT POCS GET PUT IN THE HISTORY BOOKS?
“First Black Supreme Court Justice” (Clarence Thomas)
“First Black dude to make white people realize that Black people could read and shit” (Frederick Douglass)
“First Black President of the United States” (Barack Obama)
“FIRST REAL ANGRY BLACK DUDE WHO GOT SHIT DONE BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR” (Nat Turner)
“First” Black lady to sit her butt down where she wanted to sit the fuck down” (Rosa Parks)
…Seriously. WHAT THE FUCK.
You have George Washington Carver, who’s all like “I CAN MAKE ANYTHING WITH PEANUTS AND SOYBEANS” and yet, where is he put? “OMG BLACK HISTORY FIRST BLACK STUDENT AT IOWA AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE”
We’re taught that racism USED to exist because WE’VE BROKEN DOWN SO MANY BARRIERS LOOK AT ALL THESE FIRSTS POCS WE HAVE. But then…do we even really think about why it’s so seminal that we have to mark down a “first” for a POC in the first place? Like it ACTUALLY MATTERS MORE that this person was the first POC to do something…more than it matters WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DID.
Yeah, I haven’t seen a lesson on George Washington Carver or Madame CJ Walker since 3rd grade.
(via karnythia)
