A Recipe For What We Now See: Time For A New Banquet!
By Sandy Holman, Director of The Culture C.O.-O.P. & United In Unity
(Reprinted by permission of the author.)
Here’s the recipe:
Take Historical Chattel Slavery (the worst kind), the genocide of First Nation People, hundreds of years of white supremacy, eugenics, caste, greed, the desire for free or cheap labor, twisted and sanctioned religious dogma, scandalous, unethical , racist scholars' research, nefarious global elites in power, and mix together to lay the foundation of destruction for particular groups of people. Check!
Add in: The distortion and theft of critical Global History, particularly the obliteration of African Diasporic foundational contributions to the world’s people, and the fact that human life began in Africa; along with agriculture, science, mathematics, philosophy, architecture, astronomy, government, the belief in one God, and so much more, and ascribe all the aforementioned to the Greeks, Romans, and other cultural groups, mostly Europeans, who colonized most all of Africa, and erroneously took credit,(stole) and erased accomplishments, that were actually African in their origins, to devalue the worth of African/Black people to justify their enslavement and gross mistreatment. Check!
Mix in: Control over all major institutions such as media outlets, government, economics, the criminal justice system, education, environment, health care, where one can live, and anything that affects a person’s ability to survive and thrive, to build an incredibly efficient interconnected means of generational oppression, incredible hardship and disproportionate death among targeted groups. All the aforementioned are essential to control the narrative, from micro- to macro- levels, and ensure a dysfunctional mindshare among the masses in how we perceive certain cultural groups. Check!
Sift in: A nasty Global distaste for anyone with darker /black skin, especially anyone with African origins, assigning ghastly attributes, at the subconscious and conscious level, which encourages abhorrent anti-blackness at caustic and extreme levels, endangering endless lives around the world and justifying senseless deaths. Do this well to ensure sustained, “bottom of the caste system,” impact and to ensure continued domination, power, and control. Check!
Cultivate chaos, distraction, internal conflicts and competition among marginalized groups who should be working together for change, to keep focus away from the systemic changes that need to happen at the top and in the dominant culture. Check!
Pour in: Huge doses of internalized oppression among the groups which have been relegated to non-human status, so that they internalize insidious and negative messages about themselves, devaluing who they are, what their cultures have contributed to society, and ingesting a manipulated message of self-hate, from the dominant culture that is harmful and often deadly to themselves. This increases the likelihood that victims will blame themselves for all the tragic things affecting their lives, which are really beyond their control. Check!
Blend in: Blaming cultural groups for everything bad that happens in the world to solidify and intensify that those groups “must go,” be handled, incarcerated or worse, to increase fear and even hysteria among the general population, furthering divisions which serve those who desire to keep power, increase their wealth, and control global resources. Check!
Drip in: White privilege, and privilege to a small percentage of people from disdained groups, to transmit the false message that people do not have what they need because they do not work hard enough. In other words, “those few people of color have made it, why can’t you?” Check!
Drizzle in: Having the people who have historically structured inequitable systems also be the ones who give grants, contributions, and “support,” to selected entities, to address problems created, but with all kinds of constraints, regulations, and requirements which actually perpetuate the things they claim they are trying to address. Often money goes to institutions who are not on the front lines, address issues from afar, and distribute the money given amongst themselves, and within their own problematic institution. Very little goes to those who work directly with the impacted communities, again perpetuating the status quo. Check!
Fold in: Authoritarian pursuits of leaders, climatic disasters, pandemics, burnout, feelings of being overwhelmed, individual and massive tragedies which can drain the soul, spirt, mind and body of health and perceived hopelessness, which can paralyze people into submission and inaction, allowing evil to go unchecked. This is how global genocides happen. Check!
Swirl in: Normal people complacency/complicity which allows an isolated comfortableness and way of life, keeping one blind to the horrors happening in their country and in other places around the world, creating a temporary illusion of safety and the “that will never happen to me" syndrome. This allows people to be ok doing very little to help change things. Check!
Grind in: Only thinking about what’s best for you now and your pocket book, disregarding future generations, ignoring harm caused to others, an unwillingness to make sacrifices and share, not digging deeper to face hard truths, and falling prey to manipulative leaders, and the recipe is ready to cook. Check!
Bake: All the aforementioned ingredients for five hundred years, in this country anyway, until burned to a crisp, take out of the oven and digest at your convenience. For me, it is the worst dish my ancestors, Elders, or I, and countless other people, have ever tasted. So, we are determined to come up with a new recipe and we will, Beloved. I may not get to taste the new dish in my lifetime, but I take solace in the fact I will have played a small role in creating a delicious banquet, with many glorious dishes, that feeds everyone well. All aspects of this recipe above cannot and will not last forever . This I know, in every part of my soul, spirt, heart and mind. Check!!!!
Blessings and Purple Love. Sandy Holman
Sandy Holman 💜
Director of The Culture C.O.-O.P. & United In Unity
The Culture C.O.-O.P. promotes systemic change, inclusion, equity, cultural competency, diversity, literacy, and quality education for all.
Author of “We All Have A Heritage” & “Grandpa, Is Everything Black Bad?”