The Tennessee state legislature’s recent attempt to expel two Black leaders from its ranks is the latest round of mind-boggling political gamesmanship driven by racism. One of those lawmakers, Justin Jones, tells Teen Vogue the attempted censorship is a backlash from old-guard politicians against the power of young voters. It’s also an obvious display of anti-Blackness. We can see the same elements playing out in the mostly white and male Mississippi legislature's push for more state control of the legal, water, and police systems of Jackson — a majority-Black city.
These situations are not isolated events; they are the result of a country continuously allowing anti-Blackness to corrode its democracy, particularly in the face of an emerging young electorate that is more progressive than previous generations. As a nation inept at having fruitful conversations about race and anti-Blackness, specifically, we’ve failed to stop the behavior of these boomers again and again. Many Americans, particularly white people, don't believe anti-Blackness is something that impacts our economy and politics. But it’s past time that we recognize anti-Blackness is a threat not just to Black people, but to the very fabric of our republic and the will of younger voters.
We see the actions of many legislative bodies in this country as part of a long history of people in power who don't believe Black people deserve political capital. The underlying narrative of this terrifying idea is, arguably, that many white people think Black people are not as evolved as white people, so they cannot be fully trusted and need to be controlled, like children. This core belief is uncomfortable, but it appears to drive many political decisions.
Many progressives lazily chalk up what we’re seeing in Mississippi and Tennessee to “the South doing what the South does.” The South matters. It is the birthplace of many of our most important social movements, and where most Black Americans live. Minimizing the South is dangerous, as it disentangles the rest of us from the very real and tangible effects of anti-Blackness throughout our nation.
The South is, unfortunately, not the only place where anti-Black racism constantly occurs. At the national level, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson behaved with the patience of a saint in the face of a jaw-dropping display of anti-Blackness and sexism by the white congressmen who questioned her record during her confirmation hearings (a record that, it’s important to mention, is devoid of any allegations of sexual assault). But Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the nation’s highest court after being allowed to act like a petulant child — throwing a temper tantrum complete with sputtering, crying, and screaming — during his hearings.
Pulitzer Prize-winner Nikole Hannah Jones faced similar discrimination at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a public institution: She was not offered tenure for a position that typically comes with it due to challenges by conservatives, including an influential white donor who was upset by her work — through leadership of the award-winning 1619 Project — to expose the role of chattel slavery in shaping America.
These situations run the gamut in terms of specifics, but they are all rooted in white supremacy and fueled by a backlash to Black democratic engagement. There are wins for Black people, such as in Georgia’s recent Senate race, but they are made despite the barriers constructed by white leaders to keep Black Americans “in their place,” out of the civic world. Just look at the fact that the white leader who also led the lawful, peaceful Tennessee protest against gun violence did not face the expulsion her Black colleagues did (to her credit, she has also acknowledged this double standard).
It has become increasingly clear that older generations, who are overrepresented in politics in America, are using their comfort with anti-Blackness as a weapon to destroy democracy for the generations to come. This is happening at all levels — national, state, and local — and local governments are running amok with bills to control what young people can learn. This legislation is a thinly veiled attempt to reverse the reality that millennials and Gen Z have a greater understanding of the fact that Black people are treated unfairly in America.
How do we solve a problem older than this country? First and foremost, we as a society need to acknowledge that anti-Blackness affects us all and has no place in America. This starts with calling out anti-Blackness when it rears its ugly head, which has already worked in Tennessee. Instead of sweeping race under the rug and caving to conservatives who want to stop teaching about racism in schools, we as Americans need to stand for what we know is right, show up to that school board meeting, voice what we know to be true in our hearts: Ignoring race and racism doesn’t make the problem go away; it makes everything worse.
We must also correctly diagnose the problem to prevent the cycle from continuing. Too often the onus for change is placed on voters. But Black people cannot vote this problem away — and it isn’t their voting record that fuels anti-Blackness. There are systemic barriers in place that disproportionately suppress the Black vote because of, well, anti-Blackness.
We have to hold our leaders accountable and make them take responsibility. Atrocious, anti-democratic power-grabbing remains a huge concern because of racist gerrymandering. And let’s not forget that Congress failed to pass much-needed legislation protecting and expanding voting rights. There should be national outrage.
It’s outrageous that white politicians who have a history of alleged sexual impropriety or who make racist comments are allowed to stay in office, while critics fall over themselves in claiming decorum was breached when a Black politician attends a peaceful protest. This searing hypocrisy impacts all of us.
If we want to save our democracy and ensure younger generations have the same seat at the political table as their older counterparts do, we have to act up against anti-Blackness. The first step is acknowledging that it’s happening.
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