Class solidarity cannot coexist with racism and bigotry.

We're surviving the left, center and right.

There is no such thing as “race neutral” politics in the United States and class solidarity cannot coexist with racism and bigotry. To believe otherwise is ignorant at best and at worst an admission to nefarious intent.

The push for “race neutral” politics is white and male centered politics. This is not new; it is the evolution of coded language from disgruntled white men angry the boot of capitalism is crushing them. It started with a concern for the “working class” and the need for “class solidarity” to defeat the only benefactors of capitalism – the billionaires and corporations. But as the goal has always been white comfort, many frame the voices and experiences of marginalized groups as an obstacle to progress rather than recognizing them as the solution.

“I always knew that I had the moral high ground. … My feeling is that white people have a very, very serious problem. And they should start thinking about what they can do about it. Take me out of it.” — Toni Morrison

The weaponization of identity politics

Black liberation language is bastardized and repackaged to serve whiteness across the political spectrum. The right uses “woke” and the left “identity politics”, one of which has become a dog whistle to recruit racists and white nationalists to vote for socialism. Many white men on the left are intent on stripping others of their identities in the name of class solidarity while being the most habitual practitioners of identity politics. To be clear, demonizing “identity politics” is specific to any identity outside of white and male. The words assimilation and colonization come to mind.

In truth, every politically engaged person participates in identity politics at varying degrees. It is the lens through which we view and navigate the world; hence the necessity to deconstruct and decolonize our minds. It is no wonder so many white, working class, cis gendered men – note the three identities listed – only focus on class. They have no other form of oppression to contend with and are often the oppressors of every other group within their class. The immediate and sometimes vitriolic dismissal of race, gender and other marginalization is their identity politics at play.

The same must be said of many white, working class, cis gendered women. Their main concern is the patriarchy and yet they are often the oppressors to other non-white women who suffer under the same patriarchy and capitalism.

“Manipulation, sloganizing, depositing, regimentation, and prescription cannot be components of revolutionary praxis, precisely because they are the components of the praxis of domination.” — Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Socialist programs will not fix the US

Socialist programs such as universal health care (UHC) are not the antidote to the United States’ deep rooted anti-Black racism. It will not remove the misogyny, misogynoir or all other forms of bigotry used to divide the working class. Does this mean UHC is not essential? No, I fully support it. But it also means despite free health care, the same medical staff will continue to kill Black women and babies and police will still shoot Black men and boys down in the streets.

Note, these atrocities are committed en masse within the working class due to racism and racial bias.

The United Kingdom is a perfect example with their Black Maternal Mortality rate at almost four times higher than that of white women. The health care is free and Black women and babies are still killed at about the same rate as those in the United States. Many studies confirm the cause in both countries is racial bias against Black women regardless of class and education. Even Black celebrities are not safe as we’ve seen with Beyonce and Serena Williams.

“The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.” — Malcolm X

Intersectionality is the only way to class solidarity

Race transcends class and the oppression Black people face is overwhelmingly at the hands of the white working class. To push for “race neutral” politics is to demand Black members of the working class silently except the violent abuse from their white counterparts for the supposed “greater good”. That is not solidarity; that is white ancestral narcissism.

It is not revolutionary or new to center white, cis gendered men; that is the default setting. That is how we got here. The most revolutionary thing white people can do is reject white supremacy in all its forms, embrace intersectionality, and listen to Black and Indigenous people. That is the way to class solidarity and liberation for all.

We shall never secure emancipation from the tyranny of the white oppressor until we have achieved it in our own souls. — W. E. B. Du Bois

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