MLK Day: Challenging Racial Stereotypes and Cultural Disinformation for Civil and Human Rights
By Jessica Ann Mitchell Aiwuyor
“Somebody told a lie one day. They couched it in language. They made everything black ugly and evil. Look in your dictionary and see the synonyms of the word ‘black.’ It’s always something degrading, low, and sinister. Look at the word ‘white.’ It’s always something pure, high, clean. Well, I want to get the language right tonight. I want to get the language so right that everybody here will cry out, Yes, I’m Black. I’m proud of it. I’m Black and beautiful.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
The words of Martin Luther King Jr. explain how racism thrives on false narratives that negatively depict Black communities. For centuries, the invention of whiteness has been weaponized against communities of African descent that have been racialized as Black. Thus, society overtly and subtly teaches us to have disdain for Black cultures and identities. To this day, people of African descent in America face higher rates of police brutality, economic disenfranchisement, housing discrimination, and more – due to race and racism. Bigots utilize racist stereotypes to excuse this ill-treatment. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words remind us that these disparities are connected to lies or what some of us would call racial and or cultural disinformation, meant to create a permanent underclass purposely descended from enslaved and colonized Africans.
At times, we have ourselves internalized these lies. Some of us believe we cause our own challenges in America. However, it’s essential to understand the history of America and how it was built on the backs of our ancestors and continues to suppress our communities through systemic mechanisms. Racists and bigots will always look for a way to justify racism and crimes against humanity to avoid accountability and reparatory justice.
Black America, somebody told a lie one day. Thus, we must continue challenging racial stereotypes and cultural disinformation to uplift our humanity and protect our civil and human rights.