The natural question of why people are protesting and demonstrating using violence is a constant refrain when analyzing the genesis of the response from people following the murder of George Floyd. Many are incredulous about why a community would commit acts of violence upon itself and others.
Renowned author and psychiatrist Frantz Fanon offered an answer to the question that comes up every time we are confronted with violence in American cities following extra judicial killings of people of color by law enforcement.
Frantz Fanon
In one of the English translations of his 1961 book The Wretched of the Earth Fanon opens his first chapter, entitled On Violence, as follows:
"National Liberation, national reawakening, restoration of the nation to the people or Commonwealth, whatever the name used, whatever the latest expression, decolonization is always a violent event. At whatever level we study it - individual encounters, a change of name of a sports club, the guest list at a cocktail party, members of a police force or the board of directors of a state or private bank - decolonization is quite simply the substitution of one "species" of mankind for another. The substitution is unconditional, absolute, total and seamless. We could go on to portray the rise of a new nation, the establishment of a new state, its diplomatic relations and its economic and political orientation. But instead we have decided to describe the tabula rasa which from the outset defines any decolonization. What is singularly important is that it starts from the very first day with the basic claim of the colonized."
This perspective on violence as expressed by colonized people rings true today. The marginalization of black people's rage - regardless of economic station - is a convenient way to limit discussion and debate about rudimentary causes of the spasms of violence we are living through.
Assuming the Enlightenment-era presumption that human kind's one great "superpower" is reasoned thought, then a simplistic characterization of protestors as "thugs" or "looters" misses the larger truth that systems of colonization (i.e. in the United States that takes the form of Jim Crow) intentionally construct and maintain racial cast systems that permanently keep many black people's lives in a constant state of violence (e.g. "underserved communities"). After all, the goals of rational humanity were considered to be knowledge, freedom and happiness. How surprising are violent responses to sustained violence meted out by state actors on singular communities?
Protesters in New Mexico following the death of George Floyd
The world has watched with curiosity the protests in Hong Kong in recent months. The concept of "one country, two systems" seems to chafe against the desires of many in the former British colony. Yet, casual observers of the happenings in Hong Kong often use terms like "democracy", "freedom" and "human rights" to describe their understanding of why protests are taking place.
Similarly, the resistance of black South Africans in the face of apartheid spanned decades of violent confrontations. While the intricacies of how freedom was won for all South Africans may not be well understood by most casual observers, what is clear is that the struggle there, which was originally framed by colonial masters as "terrorism", became recognized as a legitimate response to need for universal suffrage, equal liberty and justice under law.
Interestingly, in both circumstances the notion of violence was studied, debated and later acknowledged as having a role in the evolution of the discussion - and eventual achievement - of democratic freedoms.
Of course, these concepts continue to evolve. One cannot draw a direct line between violent uprising and expansion of liberties. Yet, one can reasonably ask the question: What role, if any, does violence have in the discussion of achievement of greater democratic ideals?
Fanon's controversial writings on the subject were confronting a different era with different imagined potential outcomes in the larger discussion of decolonization. He likely didn't envision the specific manner in which violence and violent response would continue to reflect the difficulty of throwing off the yoke of colonialism. But, I think his work on how human beings come to violence (through trauma), and how we are made to feel about violence is sobering.
Today, the world is grappling with the reality that the most powerful nation on earth is being dragged to the river’s edge and forced to look at its collective reflection. And like the character from Greek mythology Narcissus, the United States of America appears to be so enamored with itself and its own image that it risks melting away from the passions burning inside it.
I don't pretend to have the answer(s) that would help get American society on a path towards truthful confrontation of the systems that permanently oppress many. But, I would encourage folks to read (or reread) The Wretched of the Earth, as it feels very prescient at this moment.
Alejandro Bodipo-Memba is Founder & CEO of OVP Management Consulting Group, Inc.
