Organization: How we Protect African Women, Children, People

This precious African child - seven year old Jazmine Barnes - was murdered Sunday by some deranged European. He pulled the trigger, but the problem, and the solution, is bigger than just reacting to this tragic individual act. Its time for us to get organized to stop this madness once and for all. And, if you don't think we can, then you are unwittingly a part of the problem.

Like most of you, I'm absolutely outraged by the news that some infected European roach shot and killed an African baby.  That another human spit wad kicked a one year old African baby.  That even another piece of horse manure grabbed an African femme youth working at a capitalist fast food restaurant.  And, all of this within the last week or so.  Of course, this type of terrorism happens against our people daily and has been happening to us for centuries (for those of you who wish to reduce this to just the result of the present idiot in D.C.  All his election has done is release the toxins that already flow in this backward society).

Many African people are reacting, understandably, saying African men need to protect our women and children.  Again, this is a predictable emotional response, but I'm humbly suggesting that we need to go much deeper than that.  First, I want to clarify that contrary to a lot of the reactions I'm seeing, there are African men out here who do protect our people.  I know that because I'm one of them and I always have been.  I can't tell you how many scrapes, fights, confrontations, etc., I've gotten into over the years standing up for our people through planned action and/or spur of the moment.  I've even gone to jail attempting to protect African women.  I've been kicked out of malls standing up to people who wanted to criminalize our youth.  I've even confronted police doing this on multiple occasions.  In fact, I've protected all types of people and will continue to do so.  That's why I know what I'm saying when I say we have to go much deeper.  

What we don't need is a call for a patriarchal based male dominated "protection" of our people.  Its patriarchy, along with its sibling - white supremacy, that serve their parents - capitalism and imperialism - in creating the conditions that breed these attacks in the first place. White supremacy is steeped in the idea that African people are less than human.  And patriarchy is based on the belief that women are less than human. These backward systems serve to justify the institutional oppression of women, non-men, and brown people. So, even though the intentions may be good, the last thing we need is to advance the notion that African men acting are the simple solution to these attacks.  That thinking does more to dehumanize the agency of women and non-men which perpetuates the oppression.

Instead, what we need to understand is the attacks happen against our women, non-men, children, and yes - our men - because we are dis-organized as a people.  Anyone who wishes to vent their personal frustrations at their class oppression by the capitalist system, or just their inadequacy as a person, knows that they can attack us at will and the chances of accountability for them is slim to none.  This isn't any type of new phenomenon.  That slim to none reality has existed for centuries.  Its as ingrained in the fabric of this society as the sun rising each day.  

The critical error we continue to make as a people is we naively and ignorantly expect the very state that perpetuates our dehumanization to step in and protect us when these attacks occur.  In fact, we are 100% dependent upon our enemies to provide our protection.  For us to expect police agencies to protect us against neo-nazi attacks is like watching a chicken being attacked by a fox and the chicken expecting a wolf to jump in and rescue them.  Not going to happen.  Never has.  Never will.  And, people can get upset about us saying that, but the data speaks for itself.  I wouldn't be surprised if the perpetrators in some of these attacks are in fact off duty police.  

The solution to this terrible condition is we have grow up and accept the reality that no help is coming for us.  Therefore, if we want safety as a people, we are going to have to provide that for ourselves.  This means we have to go to every community of African people everywhere and set up shop.  We have to establish political education programming so that our people understand that this system is the reason for all the issues that we face.  And, that if we want the terror to stop, we are going to have to come together to change this system.  This political education has to consist of training in our communities on how to work through adversities e.g. the challenges of us seeing every member of our communities as important, whether men, women, transgender, etc.  For example, this education has to inform us, in ways that presently don't exist on any mass level, that if we are ok with our transgender people being abused, this is the gateway to dehumanizing people to our suffering that makes none of us safe.  Another critical component of this community work is training our communities in how to defend ourselves from neo-Nazis, police, predators within our communities, everything that serves to harm our people.  And, by protecting I don't mean having a phone available to call the slave catcher patrols.  And, I certainly don't mean using the stupid phone to record our people being terrorized.  What I mean by protection is preparing us on how to respond when attacks occur so that we can send the attackers to hell for attacking us.  Or, at least consistently mobilize to prevent harm from coming to anyone.  Just like our jobs have fire drills we need to establish organizational capacity to have community drills.  What to do when there are abusers in our community.  Protocols on who to call when you are in danger.  How to respond to people in danger.  What to do.  How to do it, etc.  Training on how to set up community networks, etc.  Community rehabilitation so we aren't providing our people to the prison pipeline system.  All of this can be done.  All it takes is the will.  And, it can be done so that all of the best qualified people, whether they be women, men, non-men, are in leadership positions for this work.  

When we have this level of organization, even when we just start to build this level of community, we guarantee you that the attacks of all kind will diminish, including those from police agencies.  The ball is firmly in our court.  If we continue to sit back and vent and complain about these issues.  If we continue to just film them and share them on social media, then we eventually become as much a part of the problem as the neo-nazis, police, etc. who carried out the attacks.  Some of us have been trying for years to do this work.  All we need are people committed to work with us.  Its not going to be easy, but it can be done.  And, the great thing about this type of revolutionary work is we don't do it to center ourselves.  That would be impossible because this work only works when the masses embrace and own it.  So, all your excuses about not wanting to be bogged down by organizational egos have no basis here.  Now is the time for everyone to stand up and let's get organized. Unless all you want to do is point fingers and complain.  For those of you who want more, let's talk.  I provide training on everything I've mentioned here and I'm willing to share it with you.  You don't need money.  You don't  need to belong to the All African People's Revolutionary Party. You don't even need to be African because clearly, there are other communities who can benefit from this revolutionary work. All you need is the desire to build among communities you live in and are a part of.  All you need is to recognize that capitalism can't solve our problems because it is the basis of our problems.

This is a call to action.  What are you going to do?