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I see a lot of versions of "I understand that I can never understand, yet I stand" around lately. This statement gets at an important truth (i.e. non-black people can never experience what it's like to be black in America) but it's a dangerously superficial form of solidarity.
1/ It obscures the work involved in building ideology and strategy. Having a particular experience doesn't immediately translate into understanding or not understanding the sources and consequences of racism. It takes analysis to move from experience to understanding.
2/ It depicts black Americans as a monolith. With whom do you stand, exactly? Lori Lightfoot? Angela Davis? Black Americans are ideologically diverse. That means that white solidarity can't be based on a blanket deferral to black people's authority. Allies have to think.
3/ It takes the burden off of allies to learn about policies that can address racism. Most Americans now support M4BL but not its central demand, 'Defund the Police.' That shows that we need a lot more education and organizing for symbolic solidarity to become meaningful.
This points to a bigger question: where is this multiracial movement going? Will it bottom out with BLM yard signs in wealthy suburban neighborhoods or will it lead to a revolutionary transformation of the systems of capitalism and mass incarceration that oppress us all?
We can hope for the latter. 10% of Americans have recently protested. Historically, it takes 3.5% to overthrow a state. There will be more uprisings in the fall. In the meantime, the 10% need to work to understand why they protested and what we all have to gain from abolition.
