I feel like I need to address Linda Sarsour's statement. It actually reminds me of a convo I had with a gentleman this weekend about how we don't have to give up the importance of building equity in our community in order to condemn/disavow the NOI.
For those who haven't read the statement, see here: mavenroundtable.io/lindasarsour/a…
I have noticed that every form of criticism shown towards Linda has been deemed by Linda to be ultimately a form of white supremacy. This is called gas lighting.
But I'd like to address to underlying implications in this piece which bear mentioning. One is about building equity in black communities and one is about antisemitism in black communities.
The implication is that Tamika Mallory shouldn't be expected to disavow a movement that stood by her in her time of need. The impulse is rational, but what is required here isn't impulsivity but leadership.
Part of the NOI's appeal was its utility in getting former drug addicts clean and helping transform young black men into individuals with a sense of self and personal dignity, especially in the 60s. This is good but it came attached to a toxic ideology.
There are other organizations in the community that work to build equity in the community without that ideology. (I should know, I volunteer for one of them.)When Linda suggests that there's only one way (her way) to build and empower communities of color, she is lying.
It's also super condescending to suggest that black empowerment a priori must be attached to a doctrine of black supremacism. As a reminder, Black Panther was about two competing notions of black empowerment and Kilmonger (the selfish, angry, pre-Mecca Malcolm wannabe) dies.
So I'd just like to dispel the notion that there's only one way to build equity or the notion that NOI with its toxic doctrine is actually productive. It isn't. It corrodes -- which is why Malcolm left.Which brings me to the next topic: Anti-Semitism in the Black community.
And this is the great elephant in the room that Linda can't address. When Ashkenazi Jews are attacked in Brooklyn, they're often attacked by black people repeating NOI doctrine. That's a REAL PHENOMENON no one wants to talk about, and one Linda refuses to talk about.
Linda is right that the Pittsburg shooter wasn't affiliated with the NOI; but he was affiliated with aspects of NOI's DOCTRINE. And that is what is important. That same doctrine that has inspired attacks on Jews in Brooklyn.
As someone who claims to represent multiple minority groups linda must contend with that and deal with that seriously. Jews in Brooklyn are often not attacked because of white supremacy; they are attacked because of NOI doctrinal influence. It's not the same thing.
But this is an impossible battle because intersectionality dovetails with antisemitism. It claims there is an all too powerful group nefariously controlling the lives of the downtrodden which must be overthrown. This sounds eerily familiar for a reason. All conspiracies do.
In short, Linda cannot lead the women's march because she cannot lead. She doesn't understand that you can build equity in a community without feeding them a steady diet of hate; she doesn't understand that hate in all forms brings down the communities exercising it.
