On
the anniversary of Malcolm X, new details
about the assassination emerged. Around that
same time, trump snatched the South Carolina
primary from his opponent’s home state. These
two phenomena seem unrelated on the surface,
but they got me to thinking about how
different the consolidation of bases play out
- the multiracial, progressive and the racist,
conservative movement.
The
former president is facing 91 criminal
charges, 600 possible years of prison, a half
billion dollars in legal penalties and
millions more in legal fees. Maine and
Colorado have rendered trump ineligible to be
on their state’s ballot for the presidential
election. A dozen more states are also
applying a rarely used section of the
constitution that deems him ineligible based
upon his role in the January 6 attack on the
U.S. Capitol. Despite this heap of hurdles,
trump is destined to become the front runner
for the Republican Party.
This
man is dangerous for sure. He has boldly and
loudly laid out his plan to turn this wanna-be
democracy into an autocracy or worse, a
dictatorship. However, the wave of supporters
that trump and the extremist wing of the GOP
have methodically and strategically amassed
and indoctrinated over the last decade are far
more dangerous. They give the orange man his
power and more importantly, they influence the
party politics. They reward those who hold the
party line and punish those who don’t. Those
who want to make America white again aka MAGA
have waged a successful coup of the Republican
Party. And won!
It
has been nearly sixty years since our Shining
Black Prince was assassinated in front of his
family and a room full of supporters. The
murder remains unsolved, and the pursuit of
justice by law enforcement is a sham. We knew
from the beginning it was an FBI operation.
Most of us accepted that fact, mourned our
brotha and moved forward to keep his legacy
alive. The casualties keep mounting - not just
the body count but the unrelenting attacks on
our civil rights and our very humanity.
Conservatives
are playing the long game that centers white
supremacy, a pathological ideology that
employs fear and hate as the prevailing
unifier. Our righteous social movements are
rooted in pluralism, equity and justice - the
good stuff. But we are playing to tactics (not
a strategy) and short-term gains. This has
proven to be insufficient and ineffective.
Think
about how different this country would be if
the anti-war movement, the women’s movement,
the environmental movement and the Black
Power/Civil Rights movements of the 1960s and
1970’s had truly united around a vision for
democracy and peace. The millions who
participated would be continuously educated
and politicized as to their obligation to the
lofty goals of participatory democracy. We
would’ve continued to deepen and expand this
empowered base. We would not have to operate
on directives from a single leader. We would
not be reactive to every issue and injustice
thrown at us. We’d all be clear on what must
be done, how it must be done and why it must
be done.
MAGA,
its allies and silent supporters have truly
embraced their perverted interpretation of
Malcolm X’s “by any means necessary.” We
witness their people’s influence at all levels
of government and in civic spaces. They must
be confronted and challenged, not only by
protest but by a highly organized,
consolidated force of conscious people who are
committed to a People’s Agenda and willing to
fight for their beliefs - by any means
necessary.
The
tensions around 2024 elections are real. We
hear chatter about states succeeding, about
people preparing for civil war in this
country. The meek will not inherit this
nation. We who believe in freedom must hit the
reset button. Ours is the task of
systematically building people power for the
long haul and rebuilding a civil society for
generations to come.
