It’s time for a serious discussion about U.S. citizenship
By Jamala Rogers
Nationwide — As we leave our hallowed Black History Month, people of African descent have witnessed renewed attacks on our history, culture, and contributions to U.S. society. We are coming to grips with a sobering reality: our history as a kidnapped and enslaved people brings us to a wall of decision. The two warring identities of being Black and American have taken an immeasurable toll on us. It is time to assess the challenging crossroads that Black people currently face and engage in a thoughtful discussion about our options.
The essential question about our tenuous relationship with our former enslavers is not new.
Booker T. Washington published “The Negro Problem” in 1903. W.E.B. DuBois concluded that it wasn’t a “negro” problem at all; it was white society’s problem.
For too long, we have played a losing game to achieve full citizenship and have our human rights respected. The goal posts keep moving; the bar keeps rising. Black people have remained loyal and patriotic to America for centuries, enduring extreme brutality, an unpredictable existence, and uncertain futures. No matter what we have accomplished, what we have sacrificed, and what we have endured, it has never been enough. Although there have been celebratory moments in our history regarding the enjoyment of American rights and privileges, these instances have been fleeting. The fatigue of playing the citizenship game goes deep.
The rise of the U.S. as a global superpower would not have been possible without the free and damn-near free labor of Black people. The wealth of former slaves has continued to be stolen, not just through labor, but also through land, homeownership, and intellectual theft.
Black people have demonstrated our bravery with every act of U.S. military service, yet this has never guaranteed our citizenship. Since Crispus Attucks, the first casualty of the American Revolution, we have been taking bullets. The courage of the Buffalo Soldiers, the 365th Infantry Harlem Hellfighters, the Tuskegee Airmen, the 761st Tank “Black Panthers” Battalion, and the 555th Parachute Infantry “Triple Nickels” have been reluctantly documented for posterity.
When racism denied us access to public and private spaces, Black people created our own communities. We built thriving and self-sufficient neighborhoods, which often became targets of envy and racial violence, extracting generational wealth and perpetuating further inequities.
Notable examples include Black Wall Street and Rosewood, which were burned to the ground. The watery grave of Oscarville, Georgia, lies beneath man-made Lake Lanier. St. Louis’ Mill Creek Valley neighborhood of 20,000 people was bulldozed in the name of urban renewal.
The ideology of white supremacy enables white individuals to commit violence against Black people with little fear of consequences. Black people face violence from the military, police, vigilante individuals, white hate groups, and anyone else defending white privilege and interests. Their actions rarely result in consequences for the perpetrators.
Black people have righteously met the requirements for full-fledged citizenship but cannot make it beyond the rung of second-class citizenship. We have seen the likes of Josephine Baker, James Baldwin, and Nina Simone reside outside the racially restrictive clutches of their native country. In recent times, sources have estimated that tens of thousands of Black folks have left the U.S. and aren’t looking back. Beloved recording artist Stevie Wonder accepted Ghanaian citizenship when the African country issued a special welcome for African Americans. Some of us are leaving the U.S. for safety, others for genuine opportunities. Most are leaving because they are simply tired of justifying and defending their existence every day.
The 1619 Project laid out our case in vivid and complicated ways. We have the receipts. Now it is time to determine our own future and residency based upon reality, rather than on the litany of empty promises and temporary rights enshrined in laws with expiration dates.
Jamala Rogers is a writer, community organizer, and political strategist. She is based in St. Louis, Missouri. Visit her at JamalaRogers.com