Marginalized “Whites” and Poor “Blacks”: Divided by Race; United in Poverty

Teodrose Fikremariam 

If there is one thing that united slave holders in the South and moguls in the North in the era leading up to the Civil War, it was the fear of poor “whites” realizing that they have more in common with slaves than they had with the rest of society. To this extent, all efforts were continuously extended to brainwash “white” sharecroppers—who were practically working for free and living in horrific conditions—into believing that “black” people were beneath their contempt. All you need to convince a pauper that he is a prince is to point to someone who has lesser means.

Despite all the efforts extended to cleave poor “whites” apart from poor “blacks”, there were campaigns as far back as the Reconstruction era to form alliances between the two factions in the heart of Dixie. Matthew C. Butler, a former Confederate General, explained in his testimony in Congress that men like him felt undermined and their concerns unheeded which led him to work with freedmen to advance their collective interests. These types of solidarity movements represented a clear and present danger to the hustle of Northern and Southern aristocrats alike in ways that made William Tecumseh Sherman look like Mother Theresa.

A secret meeting of Southern unionists where workers looked beyond racial differences to collectively bargain for their rights.

In order to abort this burgeoning development, carpetbaggers were sent from the North in droves to “educate” freed slaves and imbue hostility in the minds of “white” folks. Now, this is not to infer that every “white” person in the South was a model of “progressivism” before liberals swarmed the South like locusts; to the contrary, the South had its fair share of bigots as the North did. Yet, even though a large segment of society in the former Confederate states were unrepentant racists, an idea of worker’s federation was taking root that had to be dealt with in a most draconian fashion. Doing so required a Jedi mind trick of sorts; racists convinced impoverished “white” folks that “black” people were trying to benefit at their cost. A pauper will fight his neighbor and worship the prince as long as he keeps his status above someone poorer than he.

This same blue print has been unleashed for more than a century and a half with Republicans demonizing “black” people and Democrats disparaging “white” people. Anytime there is a hint of a solidarity movement that spans the racial divide, politicians, pundits and opinion leaders go into overdrive to push back severely and inject the public airwaves with a mix of bigotry, class-hostility and race-based grievances. Those who gain a large following and decide to use their megaphones to advocate for inclusive justice and seek unity between the races are immediately silenced by way of scandals or bullets.

Fred Hampton, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King; these are but a few of the names who were murdered by the US government under the auspices of COINTELPRO because they chose to form alliances between poor people without bias to identity or ideology. Look at the picture below, that is Fred Hampton sitting down with the Young Patriots Organization, a group that was initially racist and considered “white supremacist”, under a Confederate flag. King likewise traveled to Memphis, Tennessee to organize “white” and “black” sanitation workers. Malcolm X came back from Mecca a changed man and rededicated his life to fighting for all marginalized people. In each case, they were met by the mendacity of the gun.

Can you imagine the outrage this picture would have caused these days, yet here is Fred Hampton sitting down with the Young Patriots Organization under the Confederate flag.

“Black” leaders who preached collaboration were not the only targets of the US government; John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy were both brutally gunned down because they too started agitating for justice that went beyond America’s caste system. In fact, the assassination of a president and a future president were the final nails in the coffin when it came to leaders advancing the aims spelled out in the Declaration of Independence. The end of the bloody 60’s led to the dawning of a new day in the United States; out went prophets who spoke of oneness and in came charlatans who preached of separable resentments. Demagogues were given a mix of carrots and sticks: incite hatred and separatism and get rewarded with air time, money and status; speak of unity and get punished by news leaks, ostracization or the JFK treatment.

This is why Jimmy Dore, a comedian turned political observer, was pummeled by media elites and their doltish followers for interviewing a Boogaloo Boi a couple of weeks ago. During the interview, Magnus Panvidya explained that he actually supported Black Lives Matter and went out of his way to let “black” people know that he and his organization were allies in the struggle. The interview was captivating; there were footages that Magnus provided where he and his cohorts are shown guarding BLM protestors. This interview directly challenged the running media narrative which depicts “white” people as the enemy of “minorities” and the energies grifters like Don Lemon, Anderson Cooper and Joy-Ann Reid expend vilifying Caucasians the same way Reagan use to defame African-Americans. 

I can attest first-hand how ruthlessly effective this “us vs them” hoax really is. After all, it was only six years ago that I too used to go around blaming all “white” people for the evils of the world. It was not until I became homeless in 2015 and spent nearly two years shuffling in and out of shelters that I realized poverty does not discriminate. The watershed moment that changed everything for me was waking up one day at the Greenville Rescue Shelter in South Carolina and seeing a seven year old “white” girl named Sam breaking bread with broken souls like me. I started crying into my soup; years of animus and hostility towards “white” people melting away with each teardrop. It took destitution to erase my inner-prejudices.

I have rededicated my life to standing up for all without bias to identity or ideology as a consequence of my education earned through the kick of privation. I wrote the poem at the bottom of this article shortly after I met Sam at the homeless shelter in South Carolina. I know what awaits me; the more I get recognized, the more scrutiny I will receive. Just yesterday, I fielded a call from a reporter with the Daily Beast asking me about my writings on “the Synagogue of Satan” and Free Masonry. I know agenda setting when I hear it; I am pretty sure what will be written about me will not paint me in the kindest light. I recorded the conversation with the reporter’s permission; I will wait until the story is published before I decide whether or not to post the full interview.

Whatever happens next, I am ready to bear the cost. Fear is what keeps us all in line and fear is what prevents the poor, working and middle-class from overcoming our differences and working together to protect our collective rights. It is my fervent hope that we will arrive at a day where we judge each other not for our skin complexion but for the complexity of our ideas. I pray this day arrives before the next chapter of humanity pixilates before our eyes; the ruling class are working feverishly to mitigate the risk of a revolution by eliminating most of humanity. They are pushing an untested and unscientific “vaccine” upon us for a reason; they know the bamboozle of turning “white” people against “black” people, and vice versa, will not work too much longer no matter how much neo-coons like Cori Bush and AOC try to convince us otherwise with their unhinged diatribes.

Fearing a reprisal of the French Revolution and terrified of losing their heads for their depraved deeds, they turned to Biotech corporations to inject billions around the world in order to achieve the aims spelled out on the Georgia Guidestones. Many will perish because they decided to trust wolves instead of listening to their suspicions; those of us who are left behind will only survive if we finally overcome centuries of apartheid and come together as one people. Here is to solidarity and humanity above manufactured identities.May we heed the lessons Hampton, Malcom and King died trying to teach us and may the sons and daughters of sharecroppers and slaves unite and form a fist instead of pointing at one another from a distance:: #UnityBeyondRaceCLICK TO TWEET

“We’re going to fight racism not with racism, but we’re going to fight with solidarity.” ~ Fred Hampton

Source: Ghion Journal

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