White And Black Labels Of People Are Metaphoric And Racist. They Should Be Rejected

Commentary May 29, 2019

White and black labels of people, also referred to as color classifications of races in terms of white and black, are abstract, metaphoric, and probably the most powerful symbols or drivers of racism in the world. Coined by hardcore racists after the abolition of slavery, the labels are used by racists who have assigned themselves the color white despite non-existent of white human beings, to claim superiority over others, and particularly to derogate Africans and people of African descent who they have indiscriminately assigned the color black hence disregarding all other true skin colors many African and people of African descent have. In other words, white and black labels of people are pure conceptions with concealed meanings that have nothing to do with the true colors of skin in real world except promotion and consolidation of racism in the world.

We will now elaborate the hidden meanings of the white and black labels of people by describing the fallacy about the concepts of white and black as regards skin colors of people and the way the concepts have been used by racists to facilitate their evil goals. Firstly, there are no human beings who are white in real world. This truth can not be disputed, and can be illustrated by many real world situations. In Sweden and many other countries for instance, driver's license photos must be taken against a white background, implying that driving licensing authorities in Sweden and elsewhere know and acknowledge there are no white people in the world. That is simply because, if one is white and takes a photo against a white background, there will be no image!

A further illustration could be provided by comparing color of snow to that of human skin, because snow is the best example of white substances. There is no doubt whatsoever that there is no human being with skin looks like snow! That means then, people who are currently classified as whites, i.e. Europeans and people of European ancestry, as well as some Asians, have skins with colors that are completely different from white. While there could be some people whose skin colors could be argued to be truly black, they are, however, very few indeed. As such, generalization that there are black people in the world can not be statistically or scientifically proven. Therefore, majority of the people classified as blacks, i.e Africans and people of African ancestry, have skins with colors that are completely different from black. Secondly, some proponents of the white and black labels of people, mostly Europeans, often refer to all non-Europeans especially Africans and people of African ancestry as people of color. By inference, they therefore suggest that Europeans or whites as they like calling themselves are colorless! In other words, white is synonymous to colorless, or simply Europeans and all those calling themselves whites are people of no color! Totally silly and above all ridiculous! How can anyone be colorless let alone white? That obviously doesn't make any sense.

Europeans are neither white nor colorless. The mirror doesn't lie, let those who believe they are colorless or white look at themselves on mirror and report to us what they saw! This view by some Europeans that they are people of no color while rest of mankind are people of color clearly illustrates the difficulty anyone one is bound to face in trying to rationalize the white and black labels of people. If no one is white, and only a handful of people in the world are black, then surely, white and black associations to people must be, as mentioned earlier, metaphors for something other than color. Some people have argued that white in race classification is a metaphor for power, control, oppression and even exploitation. Closely linked to this argument, is an inference that because they are those who claim to be white who seem to be the main proponents of color classification of races in terms of white and black, then black may be a derogatory metaphor hence racist.

There are many examples of racist entities that have used the white and black demographic classification to further and consolidate their racism goals. They include, among others, early American slave owners, white supremacists, Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazis, as well as former South Africa apartheid regime, former European colonial administrations in Africa and elsewhere, and many current European racist groups and individuals.

Common characteristic of the above racist entities is genetic derogation of Africans and people of African ancestry, while at the same time elevating genetic status of Europeans so as to rationalize discrimination, control, exploitation, brutal treatment, and even murder of Africans. and people of African descent. In this way, white and black labels of people become tools for rationalization of evil.

Also, because racists fallaciously portray their race as superior, their choice of white for their obviously non-white skins and black for skins of all African and people of African descent, can vividly be understood by what has so far been associated with white and black colors. For instance, in some quarters white is purported as color of innocence and purity, and black as color of guilty and impurity. Furthermore, white is associated with angels, birth, and marriage, while black is associated with evil, Satan, death, and funerals.

Racist propaganda tools like the absolutely abhorrent human zoos in that flourished in Europe and USA during the 19th and early 20th centuries, had overall purpose of buttressing the fallacious white and black demographic classification. Particularly, the zoos were aimed at rationalizing the deliberately flawed notion by racists that Europeans are superior over Africans, people of African descent and probably all other non-Europeans; as well as rationalizing exploitation of non-Europeans by Europeans through lets say colonialization and slavery. If a general consensus could be reached at this juncture, that in real world there is no such thing as human beings with white or colorless skins, then we are all people of color. By this we mean Europeans, Africans, Asians, etc. as well as their descendants, are all people of color with skins that could be described as, let say: brown, light brown, yellowish, pale, dark, light dark, pinkish, reddish, etc. Particularly, those who like calling themselves whites are in reality having skins that may be described as light brown, pinkish, pale, yellowish, reddish, or something close to that! Because and as illustrated above, we are all people of color, and that current color classification of people in terms of white and black is metaphoric with concealed racist agenda, then, a need for rejection of the classification becomes urgent and imperative. We are not only urging individuals to do so, but also local and central governments, companies and other private bodies, as well as international organizations including the United Nations (UN), European Union (EU), African Union (AU), Southern Africa Development Community SADC, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), East African Community (EAC), etc. Particularly, we would like to urge Africans and people of African descent to refrain from referring to Europeans and people of European descent as whites, and to themselves as blacks, from now on wards.

Also, descriptions of people like "black male", "black female", "white male", "white female", often used by law enforcement agencies in, let say, USA, and elsewhere, should cease. If it is necessary to provide categorical descriptions of people, then, that should be in terms of the peoples' ethnic groups, e.g. Africans, African descents, Europeans, European descents, Asians, Asian descents, etc., or simply nationality. This is important because, white and black demographic classification is metaphoric and racist, and has nothing to do with ethnicity or nationality.

Furthermore, albeit color of the skin is just a pigment hence mere cosmetic biological feature of the human body, those who may choose to give it importance, should use applicable real colors of human skin when describing themselves or others, like those outlined earlier. Using the white and black demographic classification to describe oneself or other people amounts to its endorsement hence acceptance of its racist rationale. You can not simply go about referring to Europeans and people of European descent as whites and yourself as black, and then cry wolf about the inhumanity of racism! How can you lament bitterly about something you have endorsed? We are therefore strongly urging African and African diaspora organizations with labels entailing the black concept, to be renamed to omit the concept. For instance, Black Lives Matter could be renamed Lives of Africans and People of African Descent Matter, or if referring to the USA, African American Lives Matter, or probably most appropriately All Lives Matter. It is important to mention here that emergence of the African American label for Americans of African descent, was in response to the fallacy of the white and black classification of Americans!

In concluding, eradication of racism in the world will never happen as long as white and black labels of people are embraced. That is because, as we have seen earlier in this article, the labels conceal fallacious philosophy about racial differences that favors Europeans and people of European descent, and with overall goal of dehumanizing and even demonizing Africans and people of African descent. Rejection of the white and black labels of people is therefore imperative if ongoing endeavors by activists and campaigners to eradicate racism and racial inequality in the world is to succeed. Because white and black labels of people are the cornerstones of racism, without the labels, racism has no conceptual framework!

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Commentary by: JK Freelance Group

Last update: November 6, 2020 _______________________ © 2015 - 2021 Africauptodate. All Rights Reserved