Vital Propaganda for Your Everyday Black-Ass Life
Welcome to This Black-Ass Life! This week, as two Black women of the diaspora living in America, we want to share a few things we’ve learned about propaganda, racial gaslighting, and broadly what it means to be mischaracterized or called out of your name. We also want to call out the many people who have done very brave things in support of peace.
I. The Facts
Propaganda is information, sometimes biased or misleading in nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view. It is a favorite tool of white supremacy to meet the need to oppress:
In the US, pro-slavery propaganda defended the practice as a “benevolent system of labor,” similar to industrialism in the North. You’ll even still find people who believe there are “good” owners of enslaved people and that Confederates fought in the Civil War to advance civil, Christian values. Even abolitionist art was spun to make enslaved people appear “happy” and “well-fed.”
During the Civil Rights movement, the US government relied on a whole foreign affairs agency, the United States Information Agency, to make believe that Black Americans were not denied basic resources, terrorized and lynched, and barred from the right to vote. Instead of granting full citizenship to the descendants of enslaved people who built this country, USIA instead relied on propaganda and quaint celebrity roundtables.
From Civil Rights protests to Hurricane Katrina survivors through to Black liberation movements today, American media loves to frame Black people as animals who can’t help but run wild stealing and destroying properties aka looting. The long and short is - 1. Not that many are actually looting, and 2. Why not consider looting a political act that drives attention and action? Why only accord that privilege to white agitators (e.g. the Boston Tea Party)?
Why does it matter?
Propaganda is a tool designed to do several things: force behavioral change, shift in opinion, or cement an already established opinion.
On the one hand, propaganda can be Smokey, a very effective propagandist bear that helped stop wildfires. On the other, it is an incredibly dangerous tool in times of conflict because its use is predicated on supporting the death and destruction of other human beings.
Propaganda has been used to support an outsized reaction that is designed to shock the system and, figuratively and literally, whip people back into compliance. This was the case for enslaved people in the Americas, and it remains the case for colonized people.
For example, during the initial Mau Mau uprisings in Kenya, where a secret society was formed around the exclusive membership goal to resist colonialism, about 32 British settlers, and about 200 British police and army were killed in resistance. Because of this, the British were scared. shook. panicking. to the point of leading campaigns in Kenya and Europe warning about the “savages” that threatened the West. As a response to about 232 deaths, over 150,000 people suspected of supporting the rebellion were held in detention camps, including the elderly and children, and an estimated 10,000 were killed.
Quick sidebar: I (Jumoke) have been surprised by people sharing that since they supported the Black Lives Matter movement, they are disappointed by Black people not saying this or doing that. Take away the fact that quid pro quo liberation is an entirely silly idea (I’ll defend your humanity because you’ll owe me one???); there is absolutely no world where I would stand behind any government. I am Nigerian and American, a compatriot of two dodo countries. Both were almost on the brink of shutdown a month ago because of government fuckshit. How much shame and embarrassment do y’all want me to carry?
What can my Black ass do?
Think twice! Be leery of overly broad, simple statements that insist on only one point of view.
When scrolling and watching the news, ask yourself, who is framing this narrative? What does it mean for us collectively as humans? What am I being asked to do?
Do something every day that centers your well-being. If you are in the US Northeast, this is a particularly beautiful time of the year; go outside.
II. Other Things
Black-ass happenings: Lighter news
It’s time. Here’s a preview of 2023 Black-ass holiday movies.
A radio show host’s business partner has been arrested for alleged real estate fraud. Just for fun, here’s a Desus & Mero clip.
Boris Kodjoe surprised his daughter for Howard homecoming. Precious!
Issa Rae has a new prosecco brand!
One of our favorite movies this year was The Blackening, and one of its stars, X Mayo, is in the running to take over the Corden late-night show.
Our Black-Ass song(s) of the week (Mitu):
To celebrate the season and frustrate Jumoke who is a don’t-engage-Christmas-until-after-Thanksgiving-purist, I choose an underrated holiday jam: Tamar Braxton’s Sleigh Ride.
Things we look forward to:
I (Mitu) look forward to annoying Jumoke even more - I am putting up a tree by next week! Mark my words!
I (Jumoke) look forward to a day when I can stop being bullied by the Christmas industrial complex and my friend Mitu.
lll. Halloween Photos from Black-Ass Parents
This is one of the best times of year, when babies are dressed up for Halloween.
Stay Black, have a snack, and take a nap today. We'll hit your inbox next on November 7!