Guardian | Ta-Nehisi Coates’ We Were Eight Years in Power,
a book about Barack Obama’s presidency and the tenacity of white
supremacy, has captured the attention of many of us. One crucial
question is why now in this moment has his apolitical pessimism gained such wide acceptance?
Coates and I come from a great tradition of the black freedom
struggle. He represents the neoliberal wing that sounds militant about
white supremacy but renders black fightback invisible. This wing reaps
the benefits of the neoliberal establishment that rewards silences on
issues such as Wall Street greed or Israeli occupation of Palestinian
lands and people.
The disagreement between Coates and me is clear: any analysis or
vision of our world that omits the centrality of Wall Street power, US
military policies, and the complex dynamics of class, gender, and
sexuality in black America is too narrow and dangerously misleading. So
it is with Ta-Nehisi Coates’ worldview.
Coates rightly highlights the vicious legacy of white supremacy –
past and present. He sees it everywhere and ever reminds us of its
plundering effects. Unfortunately, he hardly keeps track of our
fightback, and never connects this ugly legacy to the predatory
capitalist practices, imperial policies (of war, occupation, detention,
assassination) or the black elite’s refusal to confront poverty,
patriarchy or transphobia.
In short, Coates fetishizes white supremacy. He makes it almighty,
magical and unremovable. What concerns me is his narrative of
“defiance”. For Coates, defiance is narrowly aesthetic – a personal
commitment to writing with no connection to collective action. It
generates crocodile tears of neoliberals who have no intention of
sharing power or giving up privilege.
When he honestly asks: “How do you defy a power that insists on
claiming you?”, the answer should be clear: they claim you because you
are silent on what is a threat to their order (especially Wall Street
and war). You defy them when you threaten that order.
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