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Dilemma: Racism

What do they say we are….

NIGGERS * SPICS *COONS * DARKIES * BLACK * UGLY * MULATTOS *FEEBLE MINDED * UNFIT * IMBECILES * IMMORAL * CRIMINAL * CATTLE * SLAVES NEGROES * AFRO THIS OR THAT *MONKIES * SAVAGES * COLORED *JUNGLE BUNNIES * DIRT *JIGABOOS * ANIMALS *WET BACKS * SPOOKS *SAMBOO * ASIATIC BLACK MIXED * BIRACIAL* MULTIRACIAL * BURNT And so forth… Code words used to establish slavery.

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The differentness of races, moreover, is no evidence of superiority or of inferiority. This merely indicates that each race has certain gifts which the others do not possess. — Carter G. Woodson

“Race is not a biological reality but a social concept—a powerful illusion.”
— California Newsreel, “Race: The Power of an Illusion”

The Grand Illusion of Race and the Legacy of Racism

Racism remains the most pervasive and destructive force in modern civilization—a persistent “elephant in the room” that continues to inform systems of oppression, injustice, and inequality. It is the progenitor of slavery, the father of colorism, and the cornerstone of a worldview rooted in false hierarchies of human worth. Racism, in its purest form, is the deeply ingrained belief that racial groups possess inherent differences in qualities or abilities, and that these differences justify unequal treatment or social dominance. This belief system, which asserts the superiority of one race over another, has served as the ideological foundation for centuries of colonization, brutality, and social division.

At the heart of racism lies the construct of race itself, which scholars have long demonstrated is not rooted in biology but in social fabrication. The so-called “races” of humanity are, in fact, an artificial system of classification, developed to rationalize systems of power and privilege. The landmark PBS documentary Race: The Power of an Illusion (2003) explains that human genetic variation is superficial at best—there are no genetic markers exclusive to any one race. Instead, traits such as skin color, facial structure, or hair texture are inherited independently and do not correlate with cognitive or moral capacity (California Newsreel, 2003).

The American institution of chattel slavery was perhaps the most significant catalyst in the global entrenchment of racial ideology. Slavery required the dehumanization of African people—turning them into property—and this was justified by pseudo-scientific claims of racial inferiority. These ideas birthed and fueled colorism, a derivative of racism that privileges lighter skin even within communities of color, reinforcing hierarchies based on proximity to whiteness.

To understand how this illusion persists, we must first expose it. “Race” as a category exists to serve political and economic agendas—not truth. As the anthropologist Audrey Smedley (2007) noted, race is “a folk ideology,” invented in the 17th century to justify the social order of European expansion and the transatlantic slave trade.

This deeply entrenched deception leads to cultural disorientation, especially for historically oppressed peoples. When individuals are disconnected from their origins, their histories, and their spiritual significance, they become vulnerable to narratives imposed upon them by others. The ancient Hebrew text affirms this reality:

“Ye were sold to the nations, not for your destruction: but because ye moved God to wrath, ye were delivered unto the enemies.”
— Baruch 4:6, Apocrypha

This verse speaks to divine consequences but also affirms identity and value—the people were not destroyed, merely displaced.

Today, the ideology of race continues to fuel disparities in education, health, economics, and justice. Its endurance is not due to any empirical truth but because societies have bought into a myth, perpetuated by media, education, and institutions. If race is a lie, racism is a belief in that lie—an attitude born from ignorance and sustained by fear and silence.

Ultimately, liberation begins with truth. Once we dismantle the illusion of race, we create space for healing, equity, and restoration.

 

 

“Race” as Illusion, Racism as Truth: A Global History of Black Oppression

 

“We know that ‘race’ is not a biological reality but a social tool—an illusion crafted to categorize, divide, and suppress.”
— Audrey Smedley & Brian Smedley, 2007

1. What Is Racism—and How It Functions

Racism is more than prejudice; it is a structured belief system that posits the existence of distinct human races with inherent differences in worth, ability, and moral standing. At its core is the assertion that one race—typically white—stands superior, legitimizing practices of violence, exclusion, and exclusionary power.

Colorism, an offspring of racism, assigns varied value even within communities of color—privileging lighter skin tones while denigrating darker ones. These systems evolved during American chattel slavery, where light-skinned enslaved people were granted relative privilege, while darker-skinned individuals were relegated to harsher conditions.

2. Slavery: The Global Catalyst of Race-Based Hatred

Slavery in the Americas began in earnest around 1619, when Africans were forcibly brought to the New World, stripped of identity, and dehumanized for economic gain. They endured brutal treatment—beatings, rape, forced labor, and psychological terror—for centuries. Even after the Emancipation Proclamation (1862), the legacy of bondage evolved into Jim Crow, mass lynchings, segregation, and economic subjugation.

In Natchez, Mississippi, a post‑Civil War refugee camp known as the Devil’s Punchbowl housed thousands of freed Black people under horrendous conditions—disease, starvation, and neglect led to thousands of deaths (estimates range from 2,000 to 20,000) TRT WorldWikipedia.

3. Human Zoos, Colonialism, and King Leopold’s Congo

From the 1800s through the mid-20th century, Western “human zoos” exhibited Black and Indigenous people in Europe and America as exotic curiosities—living in fabricated villages, mimicking rituals, and displayed alongside animals in grotesque spectacles DW News+2Deutsche Welle+2The Sun+2.

Most egregiously, under King Leopold II of Belgium, 267 Congolese men, women, and children were exhibited at the Tervuren World’s Fair in 1897, seven of whom died. His regime in the Congo Free State (1885–1908) involved forced labor, systematic brutality, and amputations, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 1–13 million people France 24+6Wikipedia+6bdnews24.com+6.

These events normalized the idea of Black people as sub-human, used to justify colonialism, apartheid, and segregation. Pseudo-scientific racial classification and craniometry were often used to reinforce racist hierarchies Deutsche Welle+3France 24+3DW News+3.

4. Colorism and Legacy: Today’s Bywords

Today, Black people are still referred to by degrading terms—n*****r, darkie, coon, mulatto, field slave, savage, and more. Such labels have origins in slavery and reinforce social hierarchy. Even within Black communities, colorism persists—lighter skin often equates to socioeconomic advantages, a phenomenon rooted in slave-era preferential treatment.

5. Modern Persecution: Police Violence and Systemic Inequality

Racism continues under the guise of legal and institutional power. The murder of George Floyd in 2020— asphyxiated by police officer Derek Chauvin—triggered worldwide outrage and calls for justice. Floyd’s death is part of a pattern: in 2021, Black Americans comprised 27% of those fatally shot by police, even though they are just 13% of the U.S. population.

Countless others—Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and more—have experienced brutality and had justice repeatedly denied (e.g., mistrial or acquittal of the officers) .

6. Identity Restoration: The Real Jews and Chosen Lineage

Some scholars and communities argue that Black people, particularly descendants of the enslaved Israelites, are the true heirs of the original Hebrew covenant—the chosen people. This belief includes theological affirmation of identity and the spiritual trauma inflicted by slavery.

7. The Horror of Infant Torture

Among the most horrific records of cruelty are accounts claiming that Black infants were fed to alligators, used as bait in Florida, a practice that symbolizes ultimate dehumanization. While specific documentation is limited, this narrative underscores centuries of systemic brutality and moral reprehension.

Conclusion: From Demonization to Dignity

Racism is not merely ideology—it is the engine of oppression, designed to devalue and destroy. It thrives on illusions of race, hierarchy, and otherness. Its consequences have spanned continents, centuries, and generations—from Congo to the Devil’s Punchbowl, from European human zoos to modern police brutality.

To disrupt it, we must deconstruct its illusions and restore identity: reclaim histories, reject bywords, and affirm the sacred humanity and sovereignty of Black people everywhere.

📚 References

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