You Can’t Be Pro-Capitalism and Pro-Black

 

By Phoenix Calida (February 3, 2016)

I’m just going to go ahead and say it.

If you are pro capitalism, you’re not pro black.

You have never been pro black. you will never be pro black. you cannot not be pro black if you are pro capitalism.

Pro black means caring about All black lives. It means caring about black people in low income housing in the hood. Pro black is caring about black people who are addicts. Black people who can’t afford to get out the hood. Black people who work 3 jobs to cover bills. Black inmates who do slave labor. Black parents who can’t afford daycare. Black children who go to schools that are underfunded. Black people who go to bed hungry. Black elders who can’t afford medications or access to medical care. Black people who have undiagnosed illness and can’t treat it. Black people who are poisoned by contaminated pipes and coal ash. Pro black means being pro Black people who are victims of stress, racism, poverty, and eco terrorism.

Pro black means being pro black people who struggle every day in world.

Pro capitalism is at odds with pro blackness. Capitalism, by default, requires a permanent underclass.
And that underclass includes a lot of black people. That’s how this system was designed. For every black person who “succeeds” in bootstrapping, dozens of the black people are left behind to die:

Black people who have to navigate around slumlords. Black people turned away from treatment programs because they can’t afford to pay for them. Black people who are victims of predatory loans that make it impossible to get ahead. Black people who are targeted for prison regardless of actual criminal activity because prison is a for profit capitalistic endeavor. Prison is the new plantation. How about Black people who barely make minimum wage and have to have multiple jobs to avoid being homeless? Hella capitalistic.

Capitalism supports the idea that under funding poor schools is desirable. Captialism has raised cost of basic necessities so much, the poorest among us can’t afford basic medical care, food, and shelter. Cutting corners to maximize profit is a cornerstone of capitalism. And the lack of oversight and regulation leads to earthquakes from fracking, contaminated water, unhealthy air-Things that kill black people.

Don’t be outraged about Flint if you also think the free market will fix all our problems.

Don’t say you support victims from Flint if you routinely support a system that uses profit, not human safety, as a measurement.

Don’t say you’re pro black, when you’re really just using it as a talking point to mask the fact you’re only pro your (black)self.

Originally published on Facebook at Reading in the Shade with Phoenix Calida.

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