Our planet has been dominated by a system of global white supremacy for the last 400-plus years. As such, all members of society play a role in its continued existence. One of the most misunderstood roles is that of the white liberal, who is made to appear to be an ally of Black people in the fight against the system of global white supremacy.
However, recent statements about diversity in the film industry by actor Matt Damon to filmmaker Effie Brown on the set of HBO’s Project Greenlight is just the latest example of how white liberals are just as reluctant as their right-wing counterparts to cede power and privilege to non-whites. In our continued effort to dismantle the white supremacy narrative, ABS proposes eight questions for people of African origin to ask white liberals as a test of how committed they are to dismantling white supremacy.
Media
Since the media is the primary and most influential institution used to propagate white supremacy and devalue Black lives at home and abroad, would you support forcing all major corporations doing business in the U.S. to allocate no less than 12 percent of all their advertising budget to Black-owned media companies, empowering them to effectively propagate alternative narratives to that of global white supremacy?
Education
The education system in the United States has been exclusively Eurocentric for the last 239 years, and has undoubtedly been a dominant propagator of the myth of white supremacy. In correcting this error, would you support a balanced change in the curriculum where all students at every grade level are required to learn just has much about African contributions to civilization taught by African-centered teachers— especially since African history is thousands of years older than European history?
Economic
Given that the majority of the over one trillion dollars of Black buying power in the United States is spent with white-owned businesses, as a white liberal would you be willing to spend most of your money with Black-owned companies to offset the capital flight from the Black economy?
Justice
Given that most liberal political leaders now admit the criminal justice system unjustly targeted Black people for mass incarceration for decades, would you support a racially-conscious, Black-controlled parole board, reviewing the circumstances of each and every prisoner of African-descent to determine if he or she should be freed?
Investment
Since Black-owned businesses are underrepresented in every sector of the economy, would you invest a significant portion of your financial resources into investment firms and banks that are owned and controlled by Black people, with a specific mandate to channel the funds to under-capitalized Black enterprises and communities?
Political
Given that the current white-dominated political system has not been able to solve the race problem in the United States after 239 years, would you support amending the constitution to create a fourth branch of government, exclusively controlled by African-centered Black leaders, with the power to veto laws and policies deemed to have a negative impact on Black people?
Since Blacks have been victims of state sanctioned violence throughout U.S. history, would you support the establishment of a Black militia, made up primarily of former U.S. military personnel, to defend Black families and communities from racial and gang violence?
Housing
Since white-controlled institutions, private and public, are key decision makers in the home owning and valuation process, and given their history of designing policies to exclude Black people from the wealth building benefits of home ownership, would you support a program that financed Black ownership and neighborhood revitalization with zero percent interest for one generation?
