“Democracy doesn’t mean much if people have to confront concentrated systems of economic power as isolated individuals.” -Noam Chomsky
Although we at the Lois Curtis Center affirm that ample evidence indicates that changing the system from within is a myth, the recent primary losses experienced by Congresswoman Cori Bush and Congressman Jamaal Bowman have us thinking about how attempts to do so paradoxically further entrench the system. Both Bowman and Bush were amongst a number of Black and Brown people who gained professional prominence in 2020 in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder. Their ascent coincided with commitments made by white and other non-Black people regarding addressing systemic racism. And, yet, four years- and a massive reneging of the promises made in 2020- later, a stunning number of Black and Brown people who attained leadership positions in sectors across the board in the US-post George Floyd have been terminated, forced to resign, or fled for the sake of their mental health. Although it’s been troubling to observe this phenomenon, it’s also important to acknowledge that, when marginalized people are put into positions of power within an oppressive system, they will either be changed by the system or the system will spit them out.
One step forward, one tiptoe backward
When “advances” within an oppressive system are made by a marginalized group, backlash is to be expected- there’s ample historical precedent pertaining to movement work involving marginalized people to indicate this. It’s described in detail in the classic feminist text Backlash, by Susan Faludi, in which she chronicles the reneging of promises made to women during the women’s liberation movement in the US, as well as the outright acts sabotage initiated by women in power that have negatively impacted other women during the latter part of the twentieth century. However, the book fails to paint a complete picture of the backlash women in the US have experienced for a few reasons: the focus of the book is on white women only, and, although the book was written thirty years prior to the murder of George Floyd, it nevertheless fails to acknowledge the fact that white women in the US have a long history of using and outright oppressing other marginalized people for the sake of their own personal advancement. Again, this behavior, although deplorable, is a defensive mechanism employed by those wishing to maintain what they’ve personally attained in an oppressive system. Indeed, it is how the oppressed becomes the oppressor.
Sell (or get pushed) out
It can feel uplifting when historically excluded people are elected to positions of power, particularly within a political system that was built to subjugate them. And the backgrounds of Congresswoman Cori Bush, a nurse who, in the past, has experienced homelessness and Congressman Jamaal Bowman, a former public school principal, lend well to the triumph over adversity trope that resonates with so many in the US. Particularly those who feel that voting a certain way is enough to initiate systemic change. And, yet, both fought to maintain authenticity and integrity (while watching many of their peers do the opposite and, instead, sell out in the interest protecting their positions) in the face of pressure from the political machine and, inevitably, well-funded opponents hand-selected by the same political machine. Ultimately, they were earmarked for expulsion for the reasons they were elected in the first place.
Changing the system from within- and other lies we tell ourselves It isn’t “challenging” to change the system from within. It’s impossible. Especially if one is attempting to do so alone. Power concedes nothing. And “changes” enacted at a governmental level can be revoked- often so covertly it is imperceptible by bystanders (or those who refuse to see)- at any time. See how Roe vs Wade was overturned while Democrats had control of the House, Senate, and White House. See how police departments across the US have dramatically militarized in the years following the 1964 passage of the Civil Rights Act. See how the US has shifted its insatiable demand for free labor from enslaved Black people prior to 1865 to imprisoned Black people afterwards.
See how many Black and Brown people elevated in 2020 have been replaced- often by white women, as well as other Black and Brown people, who chose assimilation of self over liberation of all.
Connect the dots and see the picture.
Comments