Why Being Pro-Black Isn’t the Same as Being Anti-White

Reasons Why Being Pro-Black Isn’t the Same as Being Anti-White

Author: Wazi Maret Davis

In the present movement for Black lives, I’ve encountered many white people who have expressed negative, and antagonistic feelings about the unapologetic ways Black folks resist and lift themselves up. It seems, at times, as if the most “well-intentioned,” or what you might call “liberal,” of white people will still strongly proclaim that #AllLivesMatter before even attempting to mutter the words #BlackLivesMatter – much less consider the very intentional relevance of that statement. These feelings are nothing new – in fact, white people centering whiteness have historically existed throughout Black resistance movements.

Blackness, in this society, is seen as threatening and movements that uplift Black people are certainly not exempt from that perceived threat. Whether it looks like, Malcolm X telling Black people to love the Black skin they’re in, or  James Brown telling us to “Say it loud:”  I’m Black and I’m proud.” Loving Blackness, lifting up Blackness, and asserting Black Power can be frightening for a lot of white folks who just don’t understand, who refuse to understand. As a result, those who find themselves in the fight for Black liberation are often told by threatened white folks that because we are “pro-Black,” we must be “anti-white.” We are often called reverse racists and bigots. I do not hate you because you are white.