Join the Discussion in Chicago:
"Black people hating on immigrants
Nonsense, and worse, from people who should know better."
Sunday, Sept. 8, 4pm
1857 E. 71st Street
Chicago, Illinois
Download and read the PDF
One of the most maddening and heartbreaking things these days is to hear Black people, who have suffered so terribly under this system, hating on immigrants—talking about how immigrants are supposedly taking jobs and resources that should go to Black people and ruining neighborhoods where Black people have lived for generations.
When I hear this, I can’t help thinking about what happened when the mass migration of Black people from the South took place beginning after World War 1, a century ago. Coming into cities in the North, Black people were repeatedly and viciously attacked by racist white mobs, claiming that Black people were taking jobs from white people, that Black people were ruining the cities, and just refusing to “stay in their place.”
Sound familiar?
The same thing happened after World War 2, in the 1950s and 1960s, when Black people were moving into segregated “all-white” neighborhoods, or going to previously all-white schools, and they were often viciously, violently attacked by racist white mobs—even as, on the other hand, many white people were actively taking part in the fight against segregation, discrimination and racist oppression overall.
And today, especially with the Trumpite MAGA fascists, we see open, aggressive racism—against Black people, and against immigrants from what Trump has called “shit-hole” countries (and you know what that means—you know he doesn’t mean Norway)!
So I have a question for any Black people today who are caught up in this hating on immigrants:
Do you really want to be like the rabid white racists?
Or, do you want to put an end to this madness—that you, and the immigrants, are being put through?
Read or listen to the full message
