By Rev. Donald L. Perryman, Ph.D.
The Truth Contributor
We cannot be truly free until those who oppress us are confronted. But we also cannot be free if we waste our energy fighting ghosts while the true enemy remains unchallenged.
– Assata Shakur
Despite efforts to suppress Black history, culture, and contributions to this country, “we are unerasable,” as Kendrick Lamar powerfully affirmed during his Super Bowl LIX halftime show performance.
In contrast, Snoop Dogg’s performance at a Donald Trump inauguration event was perceived as betrayal, with accusations of being a “sellout.”
I get it. Lamar’s performance received widespread admiration for its cultural significance. Indeed, it was a bold statement against systemic attempts to marginalize Black contributions to this nation’s prosperity.
On the other hand, The Black community swiftly responded to Snoop’s association with Trump’s inauguration with rage and reproach – aimed not at the system or an administration with a history of birtherism against Obama, calling white supremacists “very fine people,” rolling back decades of civil rights gains and being defiantly antagonistic to the Black community – but at Snoop himself.
Sadly, this is not new. Historically, the African American community has marched bravely into misplaced battles – internal conflicts and symbolic fights – while the actual systems of oppression remain intact and unchallenged.
The consequences of this pattern have been costly. Whether internal conflict between those who sought full integration and those who believed in self-sufficiency during the Reconstruction era or the conflict sown by J. Edgar Hoover’s COINTELPRO among supporters of Malcolm X versus Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement, or even the East Coast vs. West Coast rap feud in the 1990s and early 2000s, too much energy has been spent on infighting and suspicion rather than dismantling white supremacy.
So, here’s the real question: Why y’all mad at Snoop and not those who made Trump possible?
The backlash against Snoop perfectly illustrates the Black community’s tendency to misplace our anger. We have directed it at an entertainer making a “business decision” instead of focusing our collective outrage on the system that allowed white supremacy and white nationalism to creep back into power.
Let’s keep it a buck. Snoop is not the problem – we are. The Democratic Party is the problem, and we allowed it to happen. It is the result of decades of Black political complacency and unquestioning allegiance to a Party that has taken us for granted and did not manifest the anger and outrage at our crisis at a level to meet that of the GOP’s racist rhetoric.
Rather than using their political power to fight as ruthlessly as Republicans do, Democrats instead whined like a spoiled toddler about “norms” and talked about bipartisanship like an awestruck, admiring fangirl/fanboy. In the meantime, Trump and the GOP were not playing “nice” like the Democrats. The GOP suppressed Black votes after the Supreme Court gutted Voting Rights, enabled white nationalist groups to organize openly, coordinated the Supreme Court’s striking down Affirmative Action and dismantled democracy.
Instead of being outraged, the Black Community and the Democratic Party assumed that voting for Obama twice was the finish line. We took for granted that simply electing a Democrat-diverse Congress was enough. We inferred that white supremacy had been defeated when, in reality, it was just regrouping. So, we were not hungry. We became full from the gains from the Civil Rights Movement, grew comfortable, and then fell asleep at the wheel, assuming that those gains would last forever.
So, Snoop is not the enemy. It’s the Democrats who failed to protect Black voting rights. It is the Black leaders who didn’t hold the Party accountable and nonblack “allies” who talked a good game but didn’t back up the fight with actions.
Where Do We Go From Here?
- Redirect the energy we are using to drag Snoop and others. Instead of attacking celebrities and symbolic allies, hold our actual representatives accountable.
- Demand More – Stop giving away our vote for free. Make Democrats, Republicans, or Independents earn it.
- Stay Engaged – Vote, but that’s only the bare minimum. Stay politically active between elections – attending city council and county commissioner’s meetings, advocating for policies, and keeping pressure on elected officials.
- Focus on Policy and not Symbolism – In other words, representation does not equal power, and having Black or Brown faces in high places means nothing if they aren’t pushing policies that help us.
Finally, we need the Black community to be angry. We need Democrats to be angry. So, be angry – but be angry at the right people. Be angry with the politicians asleep at the wheel who allowed white nationalism to creep back into power. Be livid at the system that allowed Trumpism to rise to power. Be infuriated by the Democratic Party’s refusal to scream loud enough and not fight hard enough.
But don’t be mad at Snoop. Instead, be smart.
Being angry at Snoop Dogg’s performance at Trump’s inauguration is fighting the wrong enemy and a distraction from the real issue.
Snoop didn’t put Trump in the White House. We did – through political complacency, undiscerning loyalty, and the failure to demand more.
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, PhD, at drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org