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white supremacy

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UPDATED: 9:30 a.m. ET, Oct. 28

America was built on white supremacy and time after time its ideologies get Black people killed, injured, or traumatized–all because of lies.

When Payton Gendron, a self-proclaimed white supremacist, killed 10 Black people at a supermarket in Buffalo, he believed was helping to prevent the elimination of the white race.

In his manifesto, the boy wrote that his motivation for the attack was to prevent Black people from replacing white people and eliminating the white race and to inspire others to commit similar racially-motivated attacks.

Gendron was motivated by an idea called the ‘great replacement’ theory. The deceitful conspiracy theory states that nonwhites are being brought to the U.S. to replace white voters and sway elections and other liberal political agendas. Those who believe this malarkey believe an influx of people of color will be the catalyst to the extinction of the white race.

Nothing blinds you more than hate and fear–the two traits that best describe white supremacy. To understand the concept better, let’s dive into the meaning, history, and movement that is still a terror to Black and brown people all over the country.

White supremacy is the belief that white people constitute a superior race and should therefore dominate society, typically to the exclusion or detriment of other racial and ethnic groups, in particular Black or Jewish people.

America was founded on white supremacy ideologies. Article I of the Constitution called Black slaves three-fifths of a person. Article IV made it legal for runaway slaves to be hunted down and returned to their ‘masters.’ This idea that Blacks were inferior to whites, therefore could be owned, was ingrained in many Americans. Slavery made white supremacy legal and mainstream. Even the white people who didn’t own slaves had peers who did.

White Supremacy

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After The Emancipation Proclamation and the end of slavery, white supremacy changed from keeping slaves in check to terrorizing Black people. Southern leaders and white militant groups used extreme violence to keep Blacks in check. One of the most famous hate groups of the time was the Klu-Klux-Klan. The first KKK was established in 1865 in the wake of the Civil War. Their sole purpose was to violently oppose the Reconstruction era and make sure Black people were not afforded the same civil rights as their white counterparts. One of their most popular tactics was voter suppression, which is still used by Republicans to keep Black voters from the polls.

The second version of the Klan was formed in Georgia in 1915 but flourished after 1920. D. W. Griffith’s silent film, “The Birth Of A Nation,” helped propel white supremacist ideologies, as well as stoke white fear that Blacks were violent and dangerous. This version of the Klan was also a Protestant nativist movement that attached heavily to their religious beliefs. Not only were they anti-black, but they also hated Catholics and Jews.

The third iteration of the Klan was formed to oppose the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and ‘60s. White supremacists believed that the end of segregation would mean the end of their supremacy. Unlike other iterations, this Klan worked from within the government. Many white hoods of the 1950s were also the mayors, the sheriffs in their day jobs, and terrorists at night and violence were their modus operandi. Blacks were beaten, bombed, and or killed just for trying to exercise their right to vote.

White supremacists believed that if Blacks voted, their way of life would eventually be no more. Support for the group would dwindle after The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But the hateful idea of white supremacy would continue to morph and change to fit the times.

Over time the truth will come to light, and the term white supremacy began to develop a negative connotation. Its believers needed a more family-friendly word to describe their disgusting hate–insert the ‘White Nationalist.’

David Duke Patrols for Illegal Immigrants

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You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. White nationalism and white supremacy are the same things.

The Southern Poverty Law Center defines White nationalism as groups that espouse white supremacist or white separatist ideologies, often focusing on the alleged inferiority of nonwhites.

Former President Donald Trump was the symbol for white nationalists. He helped bring the idea from the fringe right to the White House, with his racist language and rhetoric on imagination. White nationalists believed Trump would finally put their grievances to the forefront of American culture, which is something white supremacists yearned for greatly.

It’s important to understand White supremacy in the context of an idea instead of just pointing the finger at white people. In other words, everyone who promotes white supremacy isn’t white. Some of the biggest mouthpieces that help foster some of the most destructive white supremacist ideas are Black people. 

Two of the most destructive Black pundits who promote white supremacy are Candace Owens and Kanye West. For years Candace Owens has helped spread white nationalist talking points as truths causing even more confusion for folks trying to combat hate. Having a Black woman who is willing to spew lies that benefit racists is a white supremacist’s dream and Owens never rarely disappoints. Her unhinged take on critical race theory, Black Lives Matter, vaccines, and so much more, validates white nationalist ideas that are meant to oppress Black people and people of color all over America. 

"The Greatest Lie Ever Sold" Premiere Screening

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Kanye West has also joined the cause to fight for white supremacy. Regardless of if you love him or hate him, it’s important to know that Kanye’s remarks about Black people and Jewish people are plucked right from the playbook of white supremacy. His recent remarks about George Floyd undermine the real problems centered around police brutality and Black people killed by police. His week-long antisemitic tirade, which cost him billions of dollars, was pulled directly from Nazi and white supremacist playbooks. You don’t have to be white to spread white hate. Kanye and Candace understand this all too well. 

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there were 155 white nationalist groups in 2019. Although that number has dropped in the last few years, their violence has not.

From Dylan Roof to Charlottesville, to Payton Gendron, white supremacy had been a stain on America that it has not been able to wash out. Conservative politicians have hijacked the nastiest parts of human nature and used them to manipulate the minds of many Americans.

Aryan Nations Leader Richard Butler At A Pulpit

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White Supremacy ideologies tracked by the SPLC:

Alt-Right

The Alternative Right, commonly known as the “alt-right,” is a set of far-right ideologies, groups, and individuals whose core belief is that “white identity” is under attack by multicultural forces using “political correctness” and “social justice” to undermine white people and “their” civilization.

Christian Identity

Christian Identity is an antisemitic, racist theology that rose to a position of commanding influence on the racist right in the 1980s. “Christian” in name only, asserts that white people, not Jewish people, are the true Israelites favored by God in the Bible.

Racist Skinhead

Racist skinheads have long been among the most violent-minded elements of the white power movement. Often referred to as the “shock troops” of the hoped-for white revolution, this movement flourished during the 1980s, 1990s, and the mid-2000s.

Neo-Confederate

Neo-Confederacy is a reactionary, revisionist branch of American white nationalism typified by its predilection for symbols of the Confederate States of America, typically paired with a strong belief in the validity of the failed doctrines of nullification and secession.

Neo-Nazi

Neo-Nazi groups share a hatred for Jews and a love for Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. While they also hate other minorities, gays, lesbians, and even sometimes Christians, they perceive “the Jew” as their cardinal enemy.

Protesters Gather In New York City To Rally Against Vaccine Mandates

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White Supremacy groups tracked by the SPLC:

Knights of the Ku Klux Klan

National Vanguard

EURO

Blood & Honour

Aryan Nations

Brotherhood of Klans

Proud Boys

Patriot Front

CLICK HERE to read more about White Supremacy groups in America.

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