Friend -
Erykha Badu said it right when asked what she thought of the Right Wing’s use of “Woke”. She said “I think they mean Black…it’s another way to say Thug…”.
I grew up a jazz musician (and classical too). I spent almost a decade learning about Black culture through learning about Black musicians and both the roots of jazz and the fruits of jazz. It was mind blowing and life changing. I am political today because I listened to Charlie “Bird” Parker and J.J. Johson. I played the music of Monk and Basie. I probably spent more than 10,000 hours learning just a tip of the tremendous cultural mountain that is jazz.
So it won’t come as a surprise for you to know that I take such offense at the cultural appropriation (ripped off from jazz/blues roots) of anti-woke conservatives such as Trump, Desantis, and now the Teneo Network. As many are saying, when you don’t have a strategy on how to actually make America great (talking to you Fox News) you have to resort to name calling and dividing us by the culture of hate. The anti-ESG (environment, social, and good government) legislation and rhetoric is not calling for bettering society but for holding on to the profits mostly straight white guys amassed. Fossil fuels and industries dependent on fossil fuels.
Our culture, those of us speaking out from an experience in hate (AAPI’s today), experience in violence (Black Lives), and experience in poverty (immigrants and many white working people) use Woke and Race Theory to give voice to our pain but also our aspirations and joys.
But the reality is that money runs too much of what is substituted as cultural and political debate. The role of people like Leonard Leo, the Koch brothers, the Teneo Network and the Federalist Society overwhelms the media market (including all forms of digital media) with the rhetoric of anti-wokism, anti-CRT, and anti-ESG. Where is the plan to make things better? Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic, are they a better approach? Twitter and Tesla? Patriot Mobile?
We know that our culture, with all its history of pain and suffering, can live right alongside other cultures that have suffered as well. This includes white working people. Woke-ism is not a basis to separate Whites from Blacks. Critical Race Theory is not a put down of white working people.
All these culture wars are just an attack on multi-racial unity and cross-class collaboration. As long as we are us against them, a small group of rich people win. As long as we don’t want to learn about other people’s culture, a small group of angry white men win.
We must reject these culture wars and seek cultural sharing and build family, and communities, and a better America out of embracing our intertwined and shared histories.
More WhARF news next week,
Andy
Executive Director PowerPAC
