White legal scholars across the country are losing their minds. The alarm bells of our democracy are blaring red with the warning signs of a constitutional crisis. There’s outrage, fear and despair. Everyone is asking what everyday Americans can do to help push the country from the brink of a constitutional crisis.
But why should Black people care?
The Constitution was not even written with us in mind. The sale and transport of our ancestors within this country was a constitutional crisis. The segregation, degradation and murder of African Americans was a constitutional crisis that required protests, litigation and legislation. And still…
The system was not built to serve us, so why should we have a similar expectation now?
Most Black people don’t.
With or without a constitutional crisis, the game has always been rigged against us. We’ve always existed in a constitutional crisis. Fighting for our dignity, our rights and our lives.
These are not unprecedented times for us. It’s what we’ve always known America to be.
As President Donald Trump signs executive orders that seek to roll back the rights of the most vulnerable and circumvent checks and balances, Black people are not surprised. Throughout history, powerful white men have ignored the rule of law to diminish our power and erase our impact.
But as Kendrick Lamar says “They tried to rig the game, but they can’t fake influence.”
It’s true—we’ve always found a way to stay afloat when everything is falling apart. A stroke of Trump’s pen won’t change that. It should embolden us to charge forward and think big.
We’re built for crises. We don’t have to serve a system that doesn’t value us. Instead, let’s focus on the communities that sustain us.
We gon’ be alright.
Leave a Reply