The Black Fear of Confronting White Supremacy

The following is an excerpt from The Isis Papers. The Keys to the Colors. By Frances Cress Welsing, M.D. Washington, D.C. 1989. Available [HERE] and [HERE] 

It is known that an extremely high level of fear and a profound sense of vulnerability of existence can lead the human brain-computer into ineffectual patterns of circular thought. In such cases, problems perceived are avoided and never solved. This is in direct contrast to effective patterns of direct linear thought that move continuously forward in straight line progress, from problem perception and depth analysis to proposed conclusive modes of problem solution. This holds for in­dividuals as well as collectives. The sense of powerlessness evolves out of fear and vulnerability and, with its imposed patterns of circular (as opposed to linear) thought, sets the stage for mental (behavioral and emotional) illness, which is always seen at levels of increased incidence amongst oppressed populations.

Circular thought means moving from problem perception, away from problem solution (down a diversionary path), and back again to problem perception. This may then be followed by worrying and obsessive com­plaining. There is never consistent motion towards problem solution because to do so would challenge and alter the power dynamic of oppres­sion. Thus, high-level fear is set in motion. 

Circular thought describes the short-circuiting of logic networks in the brain-computer, an organ which has evolved by nature as a problem-solv­ing instrument.

Linear thought suggests movement from problem perception progres­sively towards problem solution, changing step-by-step whatever needs to be altered to achieve total problem solution - utilizing whatever means necessary to achieve this end. This form of thought is consistent with the function and structure of the brain as a problem-solving organ in the human organism.

In the film IP Man, Yip Kai-man confronted the oppressor, face to face, in order to achieve justice - knowing that death was certain. 

Black people throughout the world, live under the power of the white supremacy system of total oppression and domination, implying the absence of any true power to determine ultimately what happens to their individual and collective lives. This is the major and only problem facing Black and all other non-white peoples throughout the world. This is precisely why they are called and classified as Black and non-white, to set them specifically in oppositional contrast to, and in conflict with, the genetic reality of white. But because this is a frightening and painful reality upon which to focus Black and other non-white attention, we as Blacks, particularly in the U.S., succumb to circular thought. Likewise, there is not only a failure to approach problem solution, but there is a stubborn refusal even to look directly at the problem. Ultimately, there is a disturbance in problem perception. Therefore, Black people in the U.S. reject the conscious recognition of the global white supremacy system, its absolute necessity of non-white oppression and its very specific implications of a continuing powerlessness and potential destruc­tion - as opposed to a natural death - for Blacks and other designated non-whites.

Jonestown, Guyana is an outstanding example of the destruction that Blacks fear under the existing white supremacy system. In 1979,closeto 1,000 Blacks from the U.S. were relocated to Jonestown and then mur­dered under Nazi concentration camp conditions through a process con­trolled by white people. This extermination center was set up with the full knowledge of segments of the U.S. government. It is, thus, no accident that the year 1979 gives further witness to the near total collapse and loss amongst Blacks - individually as well as collectively - of the ability to effectively perceive, analyze and propose solutions to the problem of white supremacy and its implications for continuing Black powerlessness and social disintegration. In brief, it is clear in 1979, 21 short years before the year 2000, that there is no commitment by Blacks to analyze of the problem of white supremacy comprehensively. Blacks are without aperception or analysis of racism, or of a scientific counter-racism. Blacks, therefore do not know what to do with themselves.

Thus, we are witnessing a collective Black floundering and an ideologi­cal vacuum and disorientation. All that remains is for Blacks to escalate tragically their activity of powerless arguing and squabbling amongst themselves and to compete with one another for white supremacy jobs and grant crumbs. Or, Blacks can pretend, as a diversionary thought strategy, that the "real" struggle exists between imagined Black "classes" or between Black males and females. Every energy and psychological effort is expended, at both the individual and collective levels, to "black out" and avoid focusing on the true problem of white/Black confrontation - white supremacy. All Blacks realize, consciously and/or unconsciously, that to engage in such a realistic focus can mean certain death at the hands of white supremacists.

The total Black collective in the U.S. has yet to confront consciously the "mind-blowing" logic and thought-distorting shock and fear that set in following the assassinations of practically all courageous Black male leaders: Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Whitney Young, Medgar Evers and Fred Hampton, and then the holocaust of Jonestown, Guyana, which many conscious Blacks accept as a planned government action. Since all of these deliberate deaths have occurred, there has been a profound disinclination by surviving Blacks to confront the awesome and murderous reality of white supremacy directly. The struggle for justice and true Black power now is perceived "through a glass darkly" and not face-to-face because there is overwhelming fear. In spite of their super­ficial differences, the various analyses of the Black problem by the afforementioned men, if carried through to their ultimate implications, all lead ultimately to an eventual neutralization of white power control.

Since the demise of these Black men, who all were aware of the necessity to resist and destroy white supremacy, the remaining rhetoric coming from our Black collective is consistent with submission to and/or cooperation with the racist oppressive dynamic - albeit with an historical and continuing chorus of complaints. This behavior of submission to and cooperation with white supremacy is consistent with the illusion that there can be a complete integration of non-whites into the white supremacy system. In contrast to these modes of thought and action, the Black men cited above are examples of resistance to and destruction of white supremacy as an absolute form of injustice. These latter forms of behavior require high levels of self- and group-respect and can be sustained only when there is the willingness to give one's life for the achievement of justice, as each of these men demonstrated.

However, it has been demonstrated (by the aforementioned men) that the almost certain consequence of a pattern of consciously-determined resistance to and destruction of white supremacy is death at the hands of white supremacy advocates - those who see and understand white supremacy as necessary to white survival. Even young Black children are able to perceive and articulate that "If you try to help Black people, you will be killed." When I asked a 10-year-old Black boy, "Don't you want to study hard in school so that you can help Black people?" he immediately answered "No," giving the above explanation. The chill of this reality inherent in the maintenance of white supremacy does not escape Black children, and it most certainly does not escape their elders, although the latter are more sophisticated and know better than to admit the same openly.

This fear of death at the hands of the white supremacy collective -because it cannot be admitted aloud by the adult Black population - has been repressed. The result of covering the fear has been the emergence of the sick, protective logic that there is no longer a problem of white supremacy, except in England perhaps and in Southern Africa; for Blacks in the U.S., all of that has been solved. Additionally, there is the claim that the only remaining stresses are Blacks rejecting other Blacks, be it male versus female and female versus male, female versus female and male versus male, or the fantasized Black middle class versus the fan­tasized Black lower class. (Of course, the fact is that "class" does not refer to income alone but to actual existing power. And since Blacks across the board are oppressed and powerless under white supremacy, none of us have power. Therefore, there are no classes among Blacks.)

But to return to the issue of Black defensive logic, these patterns of logic, which emphasize that the existing problems are mainly between Blacks, are reflective of Black self-hate. This self-hatred is escalated and reinforced by increasing Black suicide, Black-on-Black homicide, child abuse and spouse abuse.

In addition to the aforementioned non-productive behaviors, there are also increasing patterns of behavior that can be described as inducing semi-trance states, such as rhythmic hand-clapping, singing, dancing, excessive "rock" music playing, listening to radio music and shouting in religious settings. These patterns of behavior are manifested continually by Black people to pitch themselves into possible altered cortical brain states. Likewise, such brain states seem to have the effect of dampening the sense of an overwhelming external pain or danger over which Blacks conceive we have no control. These practices, of course, avoid problem confrontation and thereby prevent problem solution.

Similarly, the increase in interracial marriages can be viewed as a means of escape and a means for Blacks to avoid the awareness of their continuing status as permanent outsiders - outside of the "white chalk circle" of white supremacy's numerical and genetic global necessity. It should be noted that in the white supremacy societal unit of Nazi Germany the highest incidence of interracial marriage between Semites (non-whites) and Germans (whites) occurred just prior to the ultimate destruc­tion of the Semites in the Holocaust. The Semites of the Jewish religion were looked upon as non-whites because their ancestors were Black and resided in Africa prior to entering Europe. (See Chapter 18.)

Similarly, some Blacks have sought to escape the confrontation with white supremacy through Marxist doctrine, by attempting to conceive of themselves as members of the "working class." They fail to see that Marx, who was a Semite (a non- white), was a victim of anti-Semitism. One third of the world population of Semites of the Jewish religion were destroyed by German white supremacy - meaning that millions of Marx's own descendants were destroyed in this process. Still, not one word of Marx's doctrine addresses itself to this potential fate of his own group. He did not understand that he was being classified as non-white, nor did he understand white/non-white color confrontation. Thus, he was ill prepared to address it and its destructive implications. He too became confused in recognizing himself as a non-white, in the struggle that goes on between the white classes: the upper, middle and lower classes. He failed to realize that, irrespective of income, education and position, he and all other fellow Semites constituted the powerless, non-white, non-class victims in a white supremacy system. All non-whites, then as now, fall outside all three of the aforementioned white class groupings because the word "class" specifically refers to power - ultimately the power to protect one's life and the lives of one's group members in the framework of an existing power system.

This attempted escape into Marxist doctrine falsely comforts some Blacks (as it did many Semites in Europe). In accepting this doctrine, they are convinced that there are some whites (the workers) who wish to unite with non-whites out of a supposed common interest. They further believe that these whites do not function under the white supremacy necessity (the global fear of white genetic annihilation by the genetically dominant non-whites) that governs the survival psyche of all who accept classification as "white" people. Though they have no proof that a sig­nificant number of such whites exist, some Blacks persist in following the Marxist doctrine in order to avoid the fear-inducing awareness that Blacks and other non-whites are and always have been, weak and vulnerable in the context of the global white supremacy system.

Like the 10-year-old Black male child I mentioned earlier, all Black adults will have to learn how to admit openly and honestly their fear of dying in the process of actively trying to destroy the injustice of global white supremacy. Only then will Black brain-computers cease patterns of circular logic, the logic of fear and escape, such that a firm Black analysis of the white supremacy dynamic can develop. With this estab­lished, a long-term commitment to white supremacy neutralization can follow. 

A prerequisite to overcoming fear is the growth of self- and group-respect. This respect cannot develop as Blacks strive to the blame one another for the symptoms of their common oppression. This respect cannot flourish in the presence of a belief that Blacks cannot develop their own analysis of and provide their own solutions to Black problems without the leadership, approval and/or funding of non-Blacks. In keep­ing with this goal, I recommend to the Black collective that we need not have any conferences other than to announce the existence of our fear of white supremacy and to share with one another all possible solutions for overcoming these fears.

Solving the problem of political and social oppression of a people is fundamentally no different than solving a problem of illness in the human body. What is essential in the latter instance is an accurate diagnosis of the problem through observation, examination and various clinical tests and studies. The diagnosis represents a summarized statement of the specific pattern of physiologic derangement and a statement of the major and minor causal factors. A program of treatment and cure is based upon producing the specific measures to counteract the causal factor(s) effi­ciently and to alter any potential for the return of those factors permanent­ly. Finally, the test of diagnostic accuracy is the effectiveness of the treatment and cure.

The physician functions as a scientist to the extent that he or she bases the plan of treatment and cure on concrete observation, examination and analysis of the problem. This physician/scientist is more dependent upon his or her current observations and analysis than upon some previously written descriptions of "similar" disease states found in some valued textbook written by learned and respected ancient authorities. The physician/scientist is ever-cognizant of the possibility of new disease states that never existed previously or of old disease states that never were described accurately and thus for which there are no established plans for treatment and cure.

Physicians who lack fundamental self-respect and self-confidence are unable to make their own observations and analyses because they do not trust their own sensory apparatus, nor do they trust the ability of their own brain-computers to make accurate correlations of the incoming sensory data. Therefore, they will be incompetent in observing and treating new problems, and they will be unable to perform adequately in the manage­ment of new variations seen in previously recognized disease processes.

External environmental dynamics, which affect the body in health and disease, are changing constandy, causing new and differing pictures of disease states. The major factor in diagnosis is the ability of the physician/scientist to make his or her own observations and for the brain to make critical analyses of the data of observation, which is experience. This series of acts, observation, experience and analysis then becomes the basis for all follow-up activity in treatment and problem solution.

In summary, the physician/scientist, beginning with his or her obser­vations, works to uncover the courses of disease. Through knowledge of the specific disease process, he or she works to affect treatment and cure. Just as the physician/scientist has to face the problem of physical disease, Black people and their scientists have to face and solve the problem of Black oppression under white supremacy. In fact, Black people seeking a scientific approach to the problem similarly must begin acting as scientists, observing their situation, recording their own data and follow­ing up with their own analysis of their observations, experience and data. Their own analysis will then inform them of what it is that they, as Black people, need to do to achieve their goal objectives.

To the extent that we fail to make our own fundamental observations and to validate our own sensory experience, we can conclude that Blacks lack the necessary levels of self-respect and self-confidence needed for independent functioning. To the extent that we believe we cannot depend 100% upon our own sensory apparatus, we fail to have confidence in our ability to make encompassing analyses; and to that same extent, we are forced into dependency upon those whose brain-computers we believe to be superior to our own.

If we do not have confidence in our ability to make independent Black observations, Black analyses and Black plans for Black action, why should we talk about or seek Black liberation? One never should seek independence from those upon whom one feels permanendy dependent, for that would be an act of suicide. And, indeed, if that independence were won, it soon would be returned to the former state of dependence. Furthermore, if we believe that we are intellectually inferior to white people, as our distrust of our capacity to observe and make correlations would strongly imply, we simply should say this out loud for all the world to hear: "Blacks are genetically inferior in terms of their intellectual capacity as compared to their white counterparts." Then we should content ourselves quietly and politely to be totally and permanently dependent upon the white collective for all that we need, do, think and say.

If Black behavioral, social and political scientists are supposed to be incapable of making accurate analyses of behavioral, social and political situations (local and worldwide), then Black physicians are also incapable of making accurate medical diagnoses, and all Black patients should seek white doctors.  This would imply similarly that Black lawyers are in­capable of successfully handling legal cases, and all Black law clients should seek white lawyers.  Likewise, all Black students should seek white teachers. Furthermore, all Black women seeking husbands should seek white husbands, and all Black men seeking wives should seek white wives.  This activity would carry such reasoning to its logical though absurd conclusions. If we do not wish to imply all of the above, let us get about the business of Black problem-solving, beginning with the problem of Black oppression under white supremacy. First and foremost, let it be the responsibility of every Black person to know and understand how the dynamic of white supremacy domination is expressed in all areas of people activity: economics, education, entertainment, labor, law, politics, religion, sex and war.