“If the end result of a working-class revolution in the United States is the continued domination of non-white people by white ‘revolutionary leaders’ and a Left-wing [white supremacist] government, then we will make another revolution...”
– Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin
– Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin
https://twitter.com/not_vaush/status/1286086885362737152
Read the entire thread that the tweet below is from.
https://twitter.com/BlackSocialists/status/1123334450962681858?s=20
There are multiple things being conflated and misunderstood on this topic:
1) Race and ethnicity are not the same thing, although they are both socially constructed.
2) There is a distinction to be made between nationhood and nation-state when discussing the term “nationalism.”
1) Race and ethnicity are not the same thing, although they are both socially constructed.
2) There is a distinction to be made between nationhood and nation-state when discussing the term “nationalism.”
To the first point:
This is the “lowercase b vs. uppercase B” conversation. In the United States, “black” is used to describe physical characteristics (race), and “Black” is used to describe shared histories + cultures within North America (ethnicity). These are distinct things.
This is the “lowercase b vs. uppercase B” conversation. In the United States, “black” is used to describe physical characteristics (race), and “Black” is used to describe shared histories + cultures within North America (ethnicity). These are distinct things.
While “Black American,” for example, describes a people, “black American” could describe many different peoples of the African diaspora. With the former, you’re speaking to a particular national identity (ethnicity), and with the latter you’re describing physical features (race).
Many in our org believe we need a new name that 1) isn’t defined by our historical oppressors, and 2) is unique to us in a world where the word and concept of “black” is global (this is why there is still much confusion over this topic and why some of us identify as New Afrikan).
More on the differences between “race” and “ethnicity” below.
https://twitter.com/BlackSocialists/status/1105772147451068416?s=20
To the second point:
As the Ervin quote shared above sort of implies, there are Black folks who believe in a national Black identity while rejecting the nation-state model. While one could argue that nationalism and statism typically go hand in hand, this is not always the case.
As the Ervin quote shared above sort of implies, there are Black folks who believe in a national Black identity while rejecting the nation-state model. While one could argue that nationalism and statism typically go hand in hand, this is not always the case.
Two examples from outside of the United States to look at on this point in particular:
• Maya peoples in Chiapas, Mexico.
• Kurdish peoples in Northeastern Syria (commonly referred to as Rojava).
• Maya peoples in Chiapas, Mexico.
• Kurdish peoples in Northeastern Syria (commonly referred to as Rojava).
White rejection or erasure of Black identity/culture on the “Left” that relies on a conflation of Black identity and nationhood with ethno-statism is actually just ideological cover for forced assimilation under white supremacy, which is inherently coercive and authoritarian.
While our organization rejects the nation-state model, we will never reject our own cultural identity or autonomy.
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