PART THREE: THE 'ONE RACE: THE HUMAN RACE' RHETORIC IS NOT PROGRESSIVE - 15/07/2020

This is the final part of a three part series. I have some thoughts about the recent proliferation of information that BLM has spurred. The capacity for activism on social media that this movement has shown is refreshing; but with it comes mis-information and new worries that needs addressing if we want to have a production conversation about structural racism in a digital space. 

3.     The cursed picture of a police officer standing next to a black person holding a sign saying ‘one race: the human race’ / black people and blatant white supremacists’ side by side (or something to that effect)

 

This one is particularly frustrating to see, and I have encountered it on my Instagram ‘Explore’ page more times than I can count. Firstly, the Explore page is a dangerous place end up. It is a never-ending abyss of ‘content’ that exposes parts of the Internet you never had any interest in seeing, but for some reason find yourself incessantly scrolling, lured into Instagram’s formulaic trap. These past few weeks I have realised that there is a reason why posts of police officers and black people in warm embraces with the meaningless caption ‘one race’ appear here rather than on my immediate feed, and that is because I would never willingly interact with them.

 

Aside from the emphasis of the ‘bad cop’ vs. ‘good cop’ narrative this image projects, that completely sidesteps the institutional racism of our judicial system and law enforcement; the main problem with these types of posts is that it removes all senses of accountability. We are all one species of course, but to make sweeping statements that emphasises ‘one human race’ rather than making it known that race is based upon manmade categories that has rationalised exploitation and maintained white supremacy reinforces a utopian post-racial ideology. It implies that if we just stop ‘seeing race’ and underline a united human race, then racism will miraculously disappear and our longings for equality will finally be realised. Unfortunately, this is not how reform works, and this definitely not how revolution works.

 

Race exists. It is reified and effectual every single day. It is a process of hierarchisation and ideological categorisation and becomes real in everything from mundane encounters to the prison industrial complex. From ‘Don’t Touch my Hair’ choruses to ‘Driving While Black’ campaigns, these are all grounds where race is seen and felt, making it blatantly obvious that we are not ‘one race’. First and foremost, black people need to be seen by race. It is the basis of our oppression. And to assert anything else is a cop-out.

 

The ‘human race’ rhetoric is far too idealistic. It completely misjudges the contentiousness of race relations and is dismissive of the scale of racial injustice. On top of this, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with ‘seeing race’. I’d personally love for people to see my blackness as it is essential part of my identity. With its historical weight, it comes with a whole slew of cultural markers of ethnicity, shared experiences and feelings of belonging. The issue is when those external to racial groups make judgements that assert race as something intrinsic and then treat people according to whatever conclusions they have come to. To neglect this is to neglect that race is socially constructed, which by default allows negative stereotypes founded on claims of ‘race’ to go unchallenged.

 

The fact of the matter is that social institutions function to maintain racial oppression and uphold white supremacy; and by emphasising the ‘human race’ we undermine the force of this. It undermines the hard work needed to dismantle it, and ultimately absolves people of their responsibility in educating themselves. We are not ‘one race’ we have never been ‘one race’ and this does nothing but make people believe they are fighting towards the same goal of race equality when it does nothing to challenge the systems that uphold it. Stop romanticising pictures of black people co-operating with racist institutions. It is not as progressive as you think it is.