When white supremacy becomes institutional, it begins to harm the very people who are not simply outside of it because of their race, it begins to harm the folk who look like the folk who want to be in charge. Martin Luther King, Jr., understood this, Malcolm X understood this, James Baldwin really understood this.
Interpretation
Institutional white supremacy negatively impacts not only minority groups but also those within the dominant group who appear similar to the oppressors.
In this quote, Michael Eric Dyson emphasizes that white supremacy, when entrenched in institutions, creates harm that transcends racial boundaries. It suggests that even individuals within the dominant group, who may share similar traits with those in power, can be adversely affected by systemic oppression and discrimination. This perspective is reflective of the insights of civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin, who recognized that the destructive nature of racism does not only marginalize the oppressed but ultimately undermines the moral and ethical foundation of society as a whole.
In practice
In a speech discussing systemic injustice, one could reference this quote to highlight the broader impacts of institutional racism.
Hip hop scholarship must strive to reflect the form it interrogates, offering the same features as the best hip hop: seductive rhythms, throbbing beats, intelligent lyrics, soulful samples, and a sense of joy that is never exhausted in one sitting.
Oprah Winfrey represents the most ingenious and creative expression of black spiritual genius in the public mainstream that we've had in quite a long time, if ever.
My ambition didn't grow out of nowhere. It was planted in me by a community that nurtured me.
When Dr. King was murdered, I had no idea who he was. But as soon as I heard his words on television that night when I was 9 years old, I was dumbstruck, awestruck by their power.
I grew up in Detroit. I was a teen father. I lived on welfare for three years. I have a brother serving life in prison, though I believe he's innocent.
George Bush ran a campaign where he bragged about being an anti-intellectual, dismissing his Harvard and Yale pedigree, pretending he was an American every day, ordinary everyman, and as a result of that, played up his fumbling speech because it signified that he was a good guy. That is deeply and profoundly anti-intellectual.
Walk to the well. _x000D_ Turn as the earth and the moon turn, _x000D_ circling what they love. _x000D_ Whatever circles comes from the center.
I have said to you to speak the truth is a painful thing. To be forced to tell lies is much worse.
Our civilization is locked in the grip of an ideology - corporatism. An ideology that denies and undermines the legitimacy of individuals as the citizen in a democracy. The particular imbalance of this ideology leads to a worship of self-interest and a denial of the public good. The practical effects on the individual are passivity and conformism in the areas that matter, and non-conformism in the areas that don't
I seem to know all the cliches, but not how to put them together in a believable way. Or else these stories are terrible and grandiose precisely because all the cliches intertwine in an unrealistic way and you can't disentangle them. But when you actually live a cliche, it feels brand new, and you are unashamed.
I am at war with the living, I have come to terms with the dead.
As the sun shines both on the cedar and the smallest flower, so the Divine sun illumines each soul.
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